Our next 20 Questions athlete is Madison “Polly” Greene from Champion Gymnastics in Louisville, Kentucky. Madison, who qualified in 2019 to her 1st JO National Championships, is a 3rd year Level 10 entering her Junior year of High School. What I absolutely love the most about Madison is her confidence, especially on the Balance Beam and Floor Exercise, as soon as she salutes she takes command of the event you can see this when she walks onto the Floor you can tell she means business. With summer coming to the end and meet season fast approaching, let’s get to know Madison a little better as she prepares for the upcoming season and the opportunity to represent Region 5 at the 2020 JO National Championships.
How did you get into the Sport of Gymnastics? How old where you? The way I got into gymnastics is through my cousin. My cousin was practicing gymnastics and I wanted to learn what she was doing, so she taught me and I ended up being pretty good at it so my parents enrolled me in classes.
What is your favorite event? My favorite event has to be floor. Just the feeling like Im flying when tumbling is what makes me love it.
Favorite Skill to Train/Compete? My favorite skill to compete has to be back handspring back layout.
Dream Skills? My dream skill is to compete a full in piked.
What is your favorite part of Gymnastics? My favorite part of gymnastics is probably the friendships and memories you create. Every meet you meet someone new and create new memories with your team and I think that is what makes me love this sport so much.
What college will you be attending? Why? I am currently undecided on what college I will be attending.
What is your favorite meet to compete at? My favorite meet to compete at has to be our home meet, Derby Classic. Its so amazing to watch all family, friends , and girls come out and support. The energy is always high and loud lol.
What is your biggest accomplishment in gymnastics so far? My biggest accomplishment in gymnastics this far has to be qualifying to JO Nationals and accomplishing my goals I had for this past season.
What is your favorite Region 5 Feature or Series? My favorite Region 5 feature has to be “Making Moves Monday.” Its so thrilling to see all the new and unique skills girls in our region are working on.
What is your go-to playlist or song prior to competition? My go to playlist for meets has to be either “2.0 country’’ or “Let’s get it.”
What are 3 things you could not live without? I could not live without hashbrowns, my phone, and coffee
If you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why? I would be a monkey because monkeys can jump, run, flip, etc
What are the 5 most important MUST HAVES in your gym bag?CHAPSTICK, a lot of tape, Grips, tiger paws, lacrosse ball
Do you have any pre-meet rituals or superstitions? My pre-meet ritual would have to be chugging a glass of orange juice because usually it gives me a little jump and then it gets my mind in set.
What do you like to do outside of Gymnastics? Outside of gymnastics I like swimming, shopping, hanging with friends, and going out to eat.
What is your most embarrassing meet or gymnastics moment? My most embarrassing meet moment has to be at nationals when I was gonna jump to the high bar but mid air decided not to and slid face first on the mat.
If you were not a gymnast what sport would you try and why? I would probably either choose diving or volleyball because they both are the most exciting to me.
What athletes (any sport) do you respect the most and why? I respect football players the most because they are like gymnast. They get hit, fall, smashed, etc but still get up on their feet and keep going.
What is something you have learned in Gymnastics that you will carry with you? I have learned to keep calm and go will the flow. This sport will throw a lot of curves at you and you just have to learn to handle them and keep moving forward.
Most memorable JO Nationals Moment? The most memorable JO moment had to be hitting my bar routine. I was very worried after practice day but knew I could do it as I have done many bar routines before. I kept calm and knew I could do what I wanted to do.
What is a piece of advice or words of wisdom you have received from your coaches? My coaches have all given me a lot of pieces of advice but one that they always remind me of is to not try harder than what I am capable of. A lot of times I will get mad at myself because I feel that I didn’t do my best or I am not getting a certain skill. But they tell me to not get in over my head and to just focus on what I can do.
