As we continue to adapt to our new normal for gymnastics training which includes social distancing and sanitizing stations/mats before rotating, Region 5 is making its way back with eyes set of 2021. Though not all 5 states have fully reopened ( most of Michigan still not open) many of our gyms have now been open for a full month and skills are returning to form and new upgrades are starting to emerge. During these first few weeks we will be featuring both old and new skills as everyone tries to recondition their bodies and minds to gymnastics again.
If you want your current or upgraded skills to be included in future making your move posts, upload your video to your gymnastics Instagram page or your clubs page (must be public) and tag us @region5gyminsider and #R5MakingMovesMonday.
It’s Sunday! That means it’s Senior Sunday and our continued recognition of our Region 5 Class of 2020 Graduating Athletes! It is important to recognize these amazing student athletes as they close one chapter and begin another. Graduations around the Region have taken place in many different formats from Virtual to Socially Distancing in person ceremonies. Our next Region 5 Graduate is Madeline Shone of United Gymnastics Academy in Illinois. Madeline graduated from Lake Central High School and will be attending Indiana University in the Fall where she will be studying Nursing. Let’s get to know Madeline a little better as she prepares to say goodbye to Illinois and head to Indiana to start the next chapter of f her journey.
How did you get into gymnastics? How old were you? I started gymnastics at 2 years old. My grammy babysat me and she wanted to give us something to do together so she put me in classes.
What is your favorite event? Why? My favorite event is bars because I love the feeling of swinging and flying, and there are so many fun skills to train.
Favorite Skill to train/compete? Why?My favorite skill is a double layout full out because I feel like I am flying when I do them.
Dream Skill? My dream skill is a double layout on floor.
What is your favorite part of gymnastics? My favorite part of gymnastics is all the relationships that I have built with teammates and coaches throughout the years and all of the life lessons the sport has taught me.
What college do you plan on attending? Why? I plan on attending Indiana University in the fall to study nursing because it has a beautiful campus and so many clubs and activities to get involved in.
What is your favorite meet to compete at? Why? My favorite meet to compete at is the UGA Classic because all of my family and friends get to come watch me, and all of the little girls come and cheer us on.
Biggest accomplishment in gymnastics so far? My biggest accomplishment in gymnastics was getting 2nd place on bars at regionals in 2018.
What is your favorite Region 5 Insider Feature or Series? My favorite Region 5 Insider Series are the All Access Workouts because it is interesting to see how different gyms train.
3 Things you could not live without? I could not live without my phone, my family, and chocolate!
If you could have 1 superpower what would it be? If I could have one superpower it would be teleportation.
Discuss not being able to finish your senior season like you had hoped. Not being able to finish my senior season was pretty devastating. I have been injured for the majority of the past two seasons, so I was really looking forward to coming back for regionals and competing one last time.
What are you doing to keep up your training during Corona Quarantine? During quarantine, I have been doing Zoom calls with my team to condition together and talk about goals for when we come back into the gym.
What do you miss most about gymnastics during this time? I miss all my teammates during quarantine, especially the little girls because they always put a smile on my face.
What is the first thing you want to do once you can get back to gym & training? Once quarantine is over, I will not be continuing training myself, but I am super excited to help coach the younger ones at my gym until I leave for school in the fall!
What will you miss most about being part of Region 5? I will miss being able to make those instant bonds with girls I have met at Region 5 camps and seeing familiar faces at all the meets.
Most embarrassing meet moment or gymnastics moment? I am the cover photo for the Region 5 “Best OMG Moments of 2015” video… I do look pretty funny though!
Do you have a nickname? If so, what Is the story behind it? Most people just call me Shone or Shoner!
Which athletes (any sport) do you respect the most and why? I respect Shawn Johnson the most because she has been a role model of mine for as long as I can remember.
Something you learned from Gymnastics that you will take with you? Some things that I learned from gymnastics that I will take with me forever are determination, hard work, commitment, and perseverance.
Most Memorable Gymnastics or Nationals Moment? My most memorable gymnastics moment is all the travel meets my gym took to Florida or Arizona and all the memories that my teammates and I made while we were there.
What is the most valuable piece of advice or wisdom your coach has given you? The most valuable piece of advice from my coach is that I should never be afraid to ask for help, whether it’s gymnastics related or life in general.
How do you want to be remembered, but us here in Region 5 as well as your home club & teammates? I would like to be remembered as someone who never gave up and persevered when things got tough.
What is something special your friends, family, school, coaches or teammates, have done for you during this quarantine to make missing out on those special senior moments a little easier to handle. My school is holding a virtual graduation in June and they are trying to have an actual ceremony for us in late July or August. They also have created a facebook page for us where we can say goodbye and thank you to all of our teachers.
Bonus Question: Tell me something interesting about yourself….I love pickles and pickle juice!
It’s Tuesday!! That means it’s 20 Questions Tuesday! Today we are recognizing Samantha Macasu of Legacy Elite in Illinois. Sam had a big year in 2019 qualifying to her first JO National Championships and Region 5 All-Star Team. Sam started out 2020 qualifying to her first Nastia Liukin Cup after that competition her road to Nationals came to a screeching halt with the cancellation of the remainder of the season. 2020 would of continued to be a great year for Sam, who was primed and looking at making her 2nd JO Nationals Dream Team. I absolutely LOVE watching Samantha on the Balance Beam, her favorite event, because she works the Beam with tremendous confidence all of her movements are sharp and crisp all the way through her finger tips! That same confident crisp movement transfers perfectly over to the Floor Exercise where Sam sure knows how to perform! Watching her on Floor just puts a smile on your face! Her routine is so fun, bubbly and bouncy you can definitely tell she is absolutely enjoying what she is doing while not only performing to the judges and crowd, but throwing some hard tumbling passes as well.
Samantha is a young Level 10, which means she has many more years with us here in Region 5. I am so excited to watch this talented athlete continue to represent Region 5 on the National stage, she definitely will continue to be “one to watch” from Illinois in the next few years. As clubs around the Region are getting back into the swing of things as gyms start to re-open, let’s get to know Samantha Macasu a little better as she prepares for the 2020-2021 competitive season.
How did you get into gymnastics? How old were you? I got into gymnastics because of my older sister doing gymnastics when I was two.
What is your favorite event? Why? My favorite event is beam because I feel confident in that event the most out of the four.
Favorite Skill to train/compete? Why? I like competing my yurchenko full on vault because I love the cheering when you land the vault, and I like practicing my flip-flop layout on beam because it feels really fun when I’m in the air.
Dream Skill? My dream skills are a Double Arabian and Double Layout on floor. On bars, my dream skill that I want to get is a connection with a blind-full to a full-out dismount.
What is your favorite part of gymnastics? My favorite part of gymnastics is the gym’s atmosphere with my teammates and setting a goal and then accomplishing it.
What college do you plan on attending? I’m undecided at the moment.
What is your favorite meet to compete at? Why? My favorite meet to compete at is JO Nationals because it’s fun competing for Region 5 and bonding with the other gymnasts in the Dream Team. The other meets that are my favorites are the Legacy Elite Classic because of our fun, big, cheering crowd, and the Nastia Liukin Cup because it’s a fun experience competing with a giant crowd.
Biggest accomplishment in gymnastics so far? My biggest accomplishment in my gymnastics career is qualifying to the Nastia Liukin Cup.
What is your favorite Region 5 Insider Feature or Series? My favorite Region 5 series is the All Access series.
What kinds of things really make you laugh? My teammates really make me laugh the most.
3 Things you could not live without? I could not live without my friends, family, and my house.
If you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why? If I could be any animal I would be a monkey because monkeys are playful and energetic
Thoughts on the 2019-2020 Season ending like it did? I feel sad that the 2019-2020 season ended as like it did because everyone was excited for the end of the season meets, like state, regionals, and nationals.
What are you doing to keep up your training during Corona Quarantine? During Corona Quarantine, our team was doing Zoom gym workouts together. but we are now back to practice in the gym.
What do you miss most about gymnastics during this time? I miss seeing and talking to my teammates and I also miss seeing my coaches everyday.
What is the first thing you want to do once you can get back to gym & training? The first thing that I want to do when I get back to the gym and training is work harder in the gym to get better at my skills.
Most embarrassing meet moment or gymnastics moment? At my first meet in level 4, I fell off of the beam, and fell again while getting back onto the beam
Do you have a nickname? If so what Is the story behind it? One of my nicknames is Macasu, because of my last name, and most people also call me Sammy.
Which athletes (any sport) do you respect the most and why? An athlete that I respect the most is Kyla Ross, because of her hard work and dedication to the sport to get her where she is now.
Something you learned from Gymnastics that you will take with you? Something that I learned from gymnastics is to always have a positive attitude and to never give up.
Most Memorable Gymnastics or Nationals Moment? One of the most memorable moments for me was going to nationals with my team and having fun with the team.
What is the most valuable piece of advice or wisdom your coach has given you? A piece of advice that my coach gave me is to work hard and focus on my goals.
Bonus Question: Tell me something interesting about yourself…. Something interesting about myself is that I love to paint and draw in my free time, outside of gymnastics.
As we continue to adapt to our new normal for gymnastics training which includes social distancing and sanitizing stations/mats before rotating, Region 5 is making its way back with eyes set of 2021. Though not all 5 states have fully reopened ( most of Michigan still not open) many of our gyms have now been open for a full month and skills are returning to form and new upgrades are starting to emerge. During these first few weeks we will be featuring both old and new skills as everyone tries to recondition their bodies and minds to gymnastics again.
If you want your current or upgraded skills to be included in future making your move posts, upload your video to your gymnastics Instagram page or your clubs page (must be public) and tag us @region5gyminsider and #R5MakingMovesMonday.
It’s Sunday!!! That means it’s Senior Sunday!! We are continuing our coverage of our Region 5 Class of 2020 graduates who have definitely had a crazy last few months. As we have officially entered Level 7 of this crazy Jumanji Game someone opened full of Corona Virus, Flying Snakes, Saharan Dust Clouds, Protests and whatever else the world is going to throw our way, these athletes have handled this time better than many twice their age. I am confident those that are part of the Class of 2020 from High Schools and Colleges will continue to persevere and handle anything that will be thrown at them in this crazy game of life.
Our next Class of 2020 Graduate is Kelsey Kollhoff from Gym-Nation in Ohio. Kelsey, who is a [2017] Level 9 Eastern National Balance Beam & All-Around Champion, graduated from Miamisburg High School and will continue her academics & athletics at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the fall. Kelsey’s coach Patrick Jordan speaks very highly of not only Kelsey’s gymnastics talent, but how she is an athlete who catches the eye of others on the competition floor and shines under pressure. Patrick explains that he has watched Kelsey really embrace the leadership role on her Gym-Nation team where, according to Patrick, she has honed the skills to become both loved and respected by her teammates. She is also very good at reaching out to those younger teammates making them feel special and important. This leadership characteristic, that many gymnasts exhibit, will definitely be important as she leaves her home gym and steps foot into a new gym and family in Wisconsin. Let’s get to know Kelsey a little better as she finishes up her summer training at Gym-Nation as prepares for the next chapter as a Warhawk.
How did you get into gymnastics? How old were you? I started Gymnastics when I was 4, my parents put me into a tumbling class, and I liked it and just stuck with it.
What is your favorite event? Why? My favorite event is Beam because it’s what I’m best at
Favorite Skill to train/compete? Why? My favorite skill to train/compete would be a tkatchev on bars because it’s just really fun
Dream Skill? My dream skill is a double lay off bars
What is your favorite part of gymnastics? My favorite part of Gymnastics is the bond that you create with your teammates
What college do you plan on attending? Why? I will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the fall, with plans of majoring in Psychology. I will be continuing my Gymnastics as part of the Warhawk Gymnastics Team.
What is your favorite meet to compete at? Why? My favorite meet to compete at is The Cup because it’s our home meet and there are always so many friends and family there.
Biggest accomplishment in gymnastics so far? My biggest accomplishment in gymnastics so far would be placing first on beam & all around at the 2017 Level 9 Eastern Championships
What is your favorite Region 5 Insider Feature or Series? My favorite Region 5 Series is coaches wired
3 Things you could not live without? 3 thing I could not live without would be Skyline, my phone and my dogs
If you could have 1 superpower what would it be? If I could have 1 superpower it would be mind reading
Discuss not being able to finish your senior season like you had hoped. The season ending like it did was upsetting because I wanted to finish my JO career strong and I had a few new upgrades that I was planning on competing by the end of season
What are you doing to keep up your training during Corona Quarantine? To keep up training during Corona Quarantine I did a lot of walking my dogs and going on bike rides
What do you miss most about gymnastics during this time? I miss being able to see my friends everyday and tell them about my school day
What is the first thing you want to do once you can get back to gym & training? The first thing I want to do when we can get back to the gym is to make sure I can still do all my skills
What will you miss most about being part of Region 5? I will definitely miss going to region 5 camps and getting to train with/meet so many girls from around the region
Most embarrassing meet moment or gymnastics moment? I had made it to finals at Arnold Classic, and everyone had to say their name into a microphone and I was absolutely terrified to speak in front of everyone. When I got up there to say my name, I forgot my name and just laughed and ran.
Do you have a nickname? If so what Is the story behind it? no nicknames
Which athletes (any sport) do you respect the most and why? I would say cross country because being able to run for that long takes some serious mental toughness
Something you learned from Gymnastics that you will take with you? I learned that being confident in yourself will make things a lot easier
Most Memorable Gymnastics or Nationals Moment? My most memorable moment was finding out I had won level 9 Easterns AA, which meant I could get a puppy
What is the most valuable piece of advice or wisdom your coach has given you? The most valuable piece of advice or wisdom I have received from my coach has been to just be confident in yourself
How do you want to be remembered, but us here in Region 5 as well as your home club & teammates? I want to be remembered as someone anyone can come and talk to about anything no matter what
What is something special your friends, family, school, coaches or teammates, have done for you during this quarantine to make missing out on those special senior moments a little easier to handle? I got a lot of clothes
Bonus Question: Tell me something interesting about yourself…. I’ve watched greys anatomy from start to finish at least 15 times if not more
