Junior Eli Wright didn’t always see himself on a gymnastics team. But one coach, after noticing his talent and skill set at a gymnastics summer camp, offered Wright an opportunity to join a boys’ team. Since joining, Wright now trains rigorously for intense competitions around the country.
The team travels to one major meet each year, typically held in Texas, with Nationals traditionally in Florida. Despite the sport’s individual nature, Wright’s favorite part about gymnastics is being part of a team that motivates each other to strive to be their best.
“It’s a team sport, but also a single person sport. You compete for yourself, but you also compete for your team. And everyone there is pushing you to be your best. [It] gets pretty hyped when anyone does something new,” Wright said.
Wright trains in the gym for about 20 hours a week. During the summer and early fall, Wright focuses on skills and conditioning. In between the busy competition schedule in the winter, Wright refines his approach, trying out new techniques, and cranking out sets of sequences around previous conditioning.
“You’re going to be having competitions like every other week around January through March. So it’s just a lot of refinement through then,” Wright said.
Wright has competed in the U.S. National Gymnastics Championships. Bigger competitions throughout the year include travel meets like the Stanford Open against teams from around the country. The presence of Division-I scouts at these competitions adds pressure to succeed. According to Wright, athletes must finish in the top 20 in their own age groups to advance to nationals in the regional event.
“And of course we have states first, which is just NorCal, since California is so big, I compete against everyone in NorCal, then we have, if you qualify, you go on to regionals…consists of California, Northern California, Southern California, Hawaii, Arizona. I think it’s going to be Utah this year, and Nevada…it’s pretty difficult to qualify for nationals from there,” Wright said.
Wright competes in all six events, including floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and his own personal favorite: high bars.
“I don’t know, some people find [the high bars] really scary, most people find it scary, you use your own body weight, and you use, really, all sorts of your body to make yourself work,” Wright said.
Through gymnastics, Wright has learned grit and the importance of pushing through adversity and not giving up despite inevitable setbacks.
“But I’d say keep pushing through. A lot of times in my career, I’ve thought about quitting just because it’s so hard mentally, and coaches and teammates are always pushing you to keep on going,” Wright said.
Along with sleep and nutrition, Wright devises a plan for each competition or practice to have a clear goal and strong mindset.
“I would say, know what you’re going to do, know what you’re going to get done, what you’re going to improve on. And I think that’s how you make the most out of every workout. Just be focused on that day. I like to say one percent better, like you don’t want to come into that day thinking that you’re gonna get a new skill or you’re gonna become one of the best … you’re looking to move the needle very slightly,” Wright said.
Wright said he hopes more people of all ages will try gymnastics and enjoy the sport given its declining popularity.
“I would just tell people to try it out. It doesn’t matter…if you’re going to start young or start old. I think it’s just really cool to learn how to do these kinds of tricks as people call them,” Wright said.
