… Kondos Field has long felt that college gymnastics offers “psychological rehab” for former elite gymnasts who spent their teenage years buried in the gym for 30-plus hours a week, a physical and mental grind that can leave some broken in body or spirit by the time they reach college.
That’s where UCLA’s Katelyn Ohashi found herself when she arrived on campus in 2015. Once one of the top juniors in the country, Ohashi’s senior elite career was derailed by injuries and struggles with body image that followed her to Los Angeles. …
Two student athletes at Oregon State University, gymnast Taylor Ricci and soccer player Nathan Braaten, started a campaign called #DamWorthIt. After the death of two fellow athletes to suicide, the duo wanted to do something so they began the campaign.
#DamWorthIt encourages candid dialogue around mental health
Someone once told me that a little vulnerability could go a long way. Mental health is a hidden epidemic & it's time for it to be seen. Let's talk about it, because you are #DamWorthIt#EndTheStigmahttps://t.co/Cw0iLBSnVW
Paul Ziert launched a GoFundMe fundraising campaign.
The point person for any victim will be Jessica L. Steyers, LCSW, MA, who is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of trauma. …
Ms. Steyers, a former gymnast, lives in New York City. …
The day the Jane Doe lawsuit was filed, I talked to a very distraught Larry Nassar. He told me that he was so sad that the two athletes that had filed suit has mistaken the “procedure” he had done to them as a abuse. He claimed that it was a justified medical procedure by the National Osteopathic Association and he had lectured about it many times. He was crying on the phone.
I felt sad for a colleague I had worked with for 20 years and later that day I posted, “Sending love and support” on his Facebook page. I now know that Larry was a master manipulator but at the time I felt compassion towards him. …
Lindsey Lemke is among many women and girls who started training at Twistars when she was 7-years-old. She’s currently a senior at Michigan State University. She competes on the university’s gymnastics team.
“When I was younger, I thought I was lucky to be coached by Geddert,” she said. “He was very well known and without a doubt had the best gymnastics club in Michigan.” …
… Geddert threw things at gymnasts during practice, including water bottles, blocks and pens.
Lemke also said Geddert would tell girls straight to their face that they were fat, “some who weighed only 100 – 110 pounds,” she added. …
Christy Lemke, Lindsey’s mother, said Geddert is “known” for the physical and emotional stress he puts on athletes he trains. …
On June 29, 2016, 10 days before the U.S. Olympic Trials, Baumann was training on uneven bars at WOGA in Plano, Texas, where she began gymnastics at age 3. Baumann didn’t catch the bar completely on a Shaposhnikova and fell hard, landing on her stomach and left arm. …
Her elbow looked good, but she was in so much pain we knew something was wrong, but we had no idea how bad. A day later her mom called and all she said, in tears, was ‘It’s over.'”
Scans had revealed that Baumann had torn several ligaments and muscles in her elbow and needed immediate surgery. Her lifelong dream of competing for a spot on the Olympic team was not going to be realized. She shared the news on Instagram herself the next morning. …
On August 31, Baumann underwent a second surgery on her right wrist to fix an issue that had pained her for some time. The rest of 2016 was spent in rehabilitation …
The new plan was to be 100 percent ready for today, in January 2018, when Florida begins its new season. …
Her younger sister, Rachel Baumann, a former elite who competed Level 10 last year and who has committed to Georgia, also made a montage dedicated to Alyssa’s comeback …
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