Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Katelyn Shaffner, left, and Melissa Chan strike some challenging poses while practicing their gymnastic routines.

Gymnasts balance physical and mental exercise

Best friends look ahead to Olympics

By Shari Kaplan

The smell of sweat mixed with chalk powder hangs in the air of Airborne Gymnastics Training Center, as does an echoed call-and-response of coaches and athletes working together.

But the strongest presence in the airy Santa Clara gym are the high expectations of the gymnasts--many of whom dream of Olympic glory down the road, and some of whom who may actually find those dreams coming true.

Among these ambitious youngsters are two Los Gatos natives who are also good friends: 11-year-old Melissa Chan and Katelyn Shaffner, who just turned 12. Both girls have been involved in gymnastics since preschool age and both have placed high in state and national competitions for several years. Their four events are uneven bars, vault, balance beam and floor exercises, the latter including jumps, twirls, somersaults, backflips and frontflips.

"I started jumping on my mom's furniture when I was two or three," Melissa says of her earliest gymnastic memories, casting a mischievous glance at her mother Diana Chan.

Chan says when she discussed her daughter's athletic exuberance with her pediatrician, he said Melissa had the right body--as well as the energy--for gymnastics and suggested she get involved in the sport. And that's just what she did.

"I said, 'I don't know why she loves jumping so much--we come from a family of dance!'" recalls Chan, who says Melissa now considers Airborne her second home and her coaches like an extended family.

According to Katelyn's mother Karyn Shaffner, her daughter was an extremely active baby and loved attention. Shaffner says she suspected early on that Katelyn would do well in gymnastics, so she wasn't surprised when her daughter took so well to a tumbling class.

"One day on the drive home, I said to my mom, 'I want to be in real gymnastics!'" Katelyn says, laughing. And soon she was.

"It makes me feel happy when I do gymnastics, because I can do things that most other kids can't do," she adds.

The girls moved through the compulsory skill Levels 5 and 6 as lithely as their small bodies move through the air. Level 7 is called "optulsory" because it combines compulsory and optional elements, followed by Levels 8 through 10. These are called optional because each gymnast--working closely with her coach--chooses her own music for floor routines and choreographs her routines on all events.

Katelyn, who practiced 16 hours a week while at Level 7, now works out 22 hours each week due to her new Level 8 status. Earlier this year, Katelyn was named 1998 NorCal Level 7 State All-Around Champion; this Junior Olympic meet was her first time winning an all-around title. At the same event, she also took first place on the balance beam--her favorite event.

Melissa has passed Level 10 and is going elite, which requires at least 30 hours of training each week. Last year, she was selected for the U.S. Gymnastics Federation's Junior Olympics National Team. Earlier this year, she became the 1998 All-Around Champion at both state and regional meets for Level 10 gymnasts and took first place on the beam and floor events at the state level.

"You have to be a high achiever and a focused, self-motivated person," Chan says of the girls' winning edge. "Gymnastics is more than just a physical sport; it's a very mental sport, too."

"It's hard to explain to anyone not involved in gymnastics the amount of dedication involved on their part," Shaffner says, looking at the girls, "and on the parents' part. Your car becomes a taxi, bedroom, eating place, homework place and dressing room."

"There's also more than a reasonable amount of risk in this sport. You have to be careful, smart and focused all the time," Shaffner adds. Both she and Chan admit they've never gotten over the stomach-in-knots feeling they get while watching their daughters perform difficult routines.

If the girls become Olympic-level gymnasts--which Chan and Shaffner see as good possibilities--their earliest Games would be in the year 2004. Along with these dreams, the girls have other goals as well.

Melissa, whose loves include her pet rat Sharkey, eating steak and potatoes and doing math, says she would like to be a certified public accountant and a gymnastics coach. Katelyn, who enjoys hamburgers, reading and going shopping, hopes to become a veterinarian. She too says she would enjoy either coaching or teaching gymnastics.

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