Photograph by Robert Scheer
Angela Gee, 15, is heels over head for the sport of gymnastics as she practices a flip off the springy platform.
By Katherine Petersen
Robin Tafel felt like she was on top of the world after mastering a flip with a full twist in her floor exercises. The young gymnast also uses the full twist in her dismounts from the balance beam and uneven bars.
The 11-year-old Tafel practices about 20 hours a week with the team at Sunnyvale Gymnastics Club. She often attends optional practices to set an example for the younger girls, said her mother, Sherri Tafel of Sunnyvale, who is president of the gymnastics club.
"It gives them a role model, and she's kind of like their big sister," her mother said.
The club, which started more than 20 years ago, is a parent-run nonprofit organization co-sponsored by the city.
Robin Tafel, who has been involved with the club for more than three years, took lessons in ice skating and ballet before choosing gymnastics as her sport.
"I get a chance to talk to all my friends. Gymnastics teaches me responsibility and dedication, and it's fun," Tafel said.
Her upper-body strength helps her do well on the uneven bars and floor exercise, although she still finds the balance beam challenging. The beam stands four feet off the floor and is just four inches wide.
"You have to keep your weight centered over the beam, and you have to keep your concentration. That's the hardest part. A lot of it is mental, but you also have to have the guts to do it," said Tafel, who admits she's fallen off the beam many times.
Many girls may be inspired to try their hand at gymnastics classes this fall after the U.S. women's team, known as the Magnificent Seven, vaulted its way to a team gold medal for the first time in history, Sherri Tafel said.
Kids need to have mastered certain skills, such as a flip-flop--which entails going into a back-bend position and flipping one's legs over to a standing position--before trying out for the team. These skills can be learned in the classes the city's club offers, which range from levels 1 to 4. The girls who are on the team at this time range from levels 5 to 9.
Tafel hopes to be competing at level 9 sometime this year. To move to the next level, girls must learn a number of skills and attain a certain score at competition on those skills.
Although different levels compete at different times of the year, the gymnastics team trains year-round. The sport requires a high level of commitment, Tafel's mother said.
"It's one of those sports that is physically demanding and if you don't put the work in, the muscles you need to do the skills will not grow. You won't have the energy required to perform. There's not a season because you have to maintain that physical stamina," she said.
Many people have the impression that parents push their children in gymnastics, Sherri Tafel said. "You can't push the kids in this sport; there has to be an inner drive. If Robin's not at the gym ten minutes early, then she considers herself late," she said.
The 40 to 45 girls in the club practice four to five days a week, depending on their levels, under the guidance of head coach Al Reilly. Reilly, who is also a surfer, loves his job, which allows him to surf in the mornings and arrive at the gym for a seven- or eight-hour day at 2 p.m.
Reilly competed in gymnastics in college and has worked with the Sunnyvale club for 18 years, the past eight as head coach. The girls practice at Raynor Park as well as at the Sunnyvale Community Center.
Gymnastics requires the ability to dance and present oneself, as well as strength and flexibility and guts, Reilly said. Many times fear, injury or a lack of flexibility can stop them at a certain level.
"After they hit puberty, their fear level goes up. It's like pulling teeth, so they need to start young," he said.
The girls need to want something just a little more than they're afraid of it, he said, adding that sometimes he has to remind them to imagine how good they will feel when they're successful.
"Robin [Tafel] doesn't understand the fear part of it yet. She's having fun. If you make it too serious and too strict, she might stop enjoying it. Robin could be there. She's at that age, talent and strength," he said.
The dance aspect of the sport may be her weakness, he added.
Natalie Wieland, 15, who lives in Santa Clara, has worked out with the Sunnyvale team for five years. She looked at different teams and chose Sunnyvale because of the coaches.
"I like their coaching techniques. They want us to do well, but they also want us to have fun. It's not push, push," she said of head coach Reilly and his five assistants.
To Wieland, Reilly is more than a coach. Every summer, he takes the girls surfing once or twice so their relationship is not all work.
"He's not judgmental. I can go to him for an opinion and not worry about what he'll say. He spends so much of his time with us," she said.
Wieland also likes the closeness of the Sunnyvale team. "We've become close friends because we spend so much time together. We do a lot of things together outside the gym," she said.
A sophomore now, Wield will continue with gymnastics at least through high school. She broke her foot last year and was sidelined for a couple months.
"I'll have to see where I am or if I've had any more injuries," she said.
She loves the floor exercises where she can incorporate her dance skills and express herself. While she likes the balance beam, she prefers doing routines on it for practice rather than in competition.
"When I'm in meets, it's the most nerve-wracking thing. It's hard to focus on what you're doing and you know the judges are watching you," she said.
Bonnie Sheets, 15, said her parents put her in gymnastics classes when she was little because she couldn't sit still. She switched to soccer after becoming bored and then came back to gymnastics at age 10.
"Ever since then, I've loved gymnastics. You have to dedicate all your time. You can't hang out with friends as much and you're trying to prove to yourself and everybody else what you can do," she said.
While she doesn't spend her whole life in the gym, Sheets enjoys gymnastics during the school year because she can forget about school and parents for a time during her workouts. She manages to find a balance between gymnastics and other activities such as acting and singing. She was inspired by San Jose's Amy Chow, who won a silver medal in the uneven bars at the 1996 Olympics, because Chow "had a life outside the gym."
"I find that very impressive. You can have other activities in your life and still be that good," Sheets said.
Her favorite events are the floor exercises and the vault, which don't demand as much back flexibility. Her coaches have given her special stretches to help her increase her flexibility. She said the balance beam can be challenging.
"Once you get a skill on beam like a back flip, it's the best feeling in the world," she said.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, September 4, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.