TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Chapter 1: New Season, New Coach

  Chapter 2: Faith and Physics

  Chapter 3: A Musical Mistake

  Chapter 4: Adjust and Continue

  Chapter 5: A Harmful Prank

  Chapter 6: Trust Exercises

  Chapter 7: When the Bar Breaks

  Chapter 8: A Confession

  Chapter 9: The State Championship

  Glossary

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  All About Gymnastics

  Explore More

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  CHAPTER 1

  NEW SEASON, NEW COACH

  Mia Hernandez started her warm-ups before she reached the gym. As she traveled the four blocks between her house and the gymnastics training center, she jogged, pranced with pointed toes, and power skipped.

  She didn’t care if people driving past her thought she looked odd. She wanted to fight off the chill in the November air and get her muscles working. Plus she needed to be ready to jump into the first practice of the new season with her teammates.

  When Mia reached the center, her home away from home, she quickly took off her sweatpants and hoodie. Underneath she wore her red leotard and black shorts. She slipped off her sneakers and socks, and pulled her long, curly brown hair into a high ponytail.

  As she walked barefoot to the floor exercise mat, she raised her head to look at the large banner on the wall. It read, Home of the Ridgefield Rams, Middle School State Champions.

  Mia took her first gymnastics class in this gym when she was five years old. Eight years later, she was a key member of the Ridgefield Rams, and they were hoping to continue their winning streak.

  On the mat, Mia stood next to her best friend, Riley, and joined her in stationary stretches.

  “Just starting?” asked Mia.

  Mia and Riley stood with their feet shoulder-width apart.

  “Yeah,” said Riley.

  They each did eight backward swings with their right arms and then switched to do eight on the left side.

  “I already did my cardio warm-up,” said Riley.

  “I did mine on the way over,” said Mia.

  After arm swings, the girls started trunk twists.

  “Do your neighbors think something is wrong with you when they see you prancing instead of walking normally?”

  “No, they’re used to it,” Mia said with a laugh. She often did cartwheels or leaps while walking with her parents and their Jack Russell terrier named Split.

  The girls leaned into deep lunges, toes pointed forward, back legs straight.

  “Are you nervous about this season?” Riley asked.

  Mia assumed Riley was talking about her uneven bars routine. Mia was confident and competent on every gymnastics apparatus, except for the uneven bars. Each time she practiced or competed, she feared she would balk and hurt herself, like she did in the sixth grade.

  “I’m always nervous about the bars,” Mia said.

  “I didn’t mean that,” said Riley. She gave Mia a sympathetic look. “I meant because we’re the defending champions.”

  Mia laughed, a little embarrassed. “Of course,” she said. “Getting to the top was hard. Staying there will probably be harder. This year, we’re the ones to beat.”

  “Right,” said Riley. “Plus, we have a new coach. That could change everything.”

  “Exactly,” said Mia. “Hey, look. Here she comes.”

  The girls stopped stretching as soon as they saw their new coach walking toward them. She wore black leggings and a blue and gold Ridgefield Rams T-shirt. Her blond hair was in a tight French braid. The other girls also stopped what they were doing and gathered on the floor exercise mat to meet their new coach.

  “Hello, girls. I’m Coach Taylor,” she paused and smiled.

  Mia shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She looked at her teammates. Everyone seemed a bit nervous.

  “I’m really excited to be here. I’m also a little nervous,” said Coach Taylor. “I know I’ve got big shoes to fill. It’s okay if you’re nervous too. Getting a new coach isn’t easy. Coach Bennett is an amazing person and teacher. I’m sure it was hard for you all to see her go.”

  Mia let out a deep breath. She felt better knowing that her new coach understood how they were feeling.

  “I think you’ll feel more at ease knowing that I was once a gymnast at Brookfield Middle School,” said Coach Taylor.

  Mia and Riley exchanged surprised looks. Allison Perez, an eighth-grader, booed. Some girls laughed nervously.

  Coach Taylor smiled and held up her hands. “I guess I should have expected that. I know they’re your biggest rivals.”

  “But, you see,” Coach continued, “I have firsthand experience with them. I know how they’re trained. The current Brookfield coach was my coach.”

  “Well that might be useful,” Allison said.

  Coach nodded. “The ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu said, ‘Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated.’” Coach smirked when she said, “I know our enemy.”

  After a moment, she added, “And I will get to know each of you. My insider information, plus your hard work, will make us unbeatable.” Coach pounded a fist into her palm for emphasis.

  Mia looked at Riley and then glanced at her other teammates again. Everyone looked much less worried.

  “If we’re going to defend our title, then we’d better get to work,” said Coach Taylor.

  Coach led the girls through jumping jacks, high frog leaps, and more stretching. Then she split everyone up and instructed them to run through their old routines.

  “Today, I will mostly observe and take notes. I want to learn our strengths and see where we can improve.” Coach read names from her clipboard, assigning each girl to a station.

  Please send me to floor exercise first, Mia pleaded in her head. I want to start the first practice on a positive note.

  “Mia?”

  Mia snapped back to the moment. She hadn’t realized Coach had said something to her. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  “Mia, I’d like you to start on the uneven bars.”

  CHAPTER 2

  FAITH AND PHYSICS

  Mia’s stomach was in knots as she jogged to her duffel bag, which she had left against a wall. She unzipped her bag and fished out her wristbands and hand grips.

  Mia’s mom had bought her a new blue grip bag with her name embroidered in gold on one side and “You’ve got this!” on the other.

  That’s right, Mia thought to herself, seeing the words. I’ve got this.

  She slid on her wristbands. Then she strapped on her hand grips as she walked toward the uneven bars.

  I’ve been getting better and stronger each year, Mia reminded herself. I’ve landed on my feet countless times since I fell in sixth grade. I can do this.

  She was jolted out of her mental pep talk when Allison walked up behind her.

  “Bawk!” Allison chirped like a chicken in Mia’s ear. She had been doing this ever since Mia’s uneven bar disaster.

  “Allison, knock it off already!” said Mia. “Your joke is two years old. It’s not funny! It was never funny!”

  Mia’s cheeks warmed from anger and embarrassment. Why won’t she let it go?

  Looking around the gym, Mia realized her teammates were watching her snap at Allison. Coach Taylor also noticed and quickly walked toward the girls.

  “What’s going on?” asked Coach Taylor.

  “Nothing,” said Mia.

  “It clearly was something,” said Coach.

  “Fine,” said Allison. “I bawked at Mia. You know, like a chicken. Bawk-bawk.” She flapped her elbows to demonstrate.

  “O-kay,” said Coach Taylor, slowly, emphasizing each syllable. “And why are you making chicken sounds at Mia?”

  “Because in the sixth grade, I balked during a bars routine,” said Mia. “I was working on my first salto backward straight dismount. When I wasn’t practicing, I was watching every video I could find. Plus Coach Bennett taught me about faith and physics.”

  “Faith and physics?” asked Coach Taylor.

  “A body in motion stays in motion,” said Mia. “We have to follow through with the motion. If we freeze, we fall. She also said we have to have faith in ourselves after all of our hard work.”

  “Faith and physics. I like that,” said Coach Taylor. “So, what went wrong?”

  “I lacked faith, and because of that, I violated the first rule of physics,” said Mia. “I didn’t commit to the move. I launched myself but didn’t go into the rotation. I halted the motion and flailed in the air until I landed face-down on the mat.”

  “Were you hurt?” asked Coach.

  “I cracked a rib,” said Mia. She shrugged. “It could have been much worse. I mean, I have fallen lots of times. That’s part of learning, but this was in competition.”

  Allison rolled her eyes. “This is the longest story ever. Are you done?”

  Mia ignored her. “I balked, so, she bawked at me. Get it?”

  “I got it,” said Coach.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. She was about to say something when Mia spoke again.

  “And it wasn’t once or twice. She bawks at me all the time. It’s annoying.” Mia then looked directly at Allison and said, “You’re annoying.”

  “Whoa, girls,” said Coach. “Let’s all take a deep breath.”

  “Sorry, Coach, but I’ve been dealing with this for two years,” said Mia. “I’ve been working hard to get over what happened, and she keeps rubbing it in my face.”

  “Lighten up,” said Allison. “Did you ever think that maybe I’m trying to encourage you?”

  “How is bawking at me encouraging?” Mia demanded.

  “We lost that day because of you,” said Allison.

  “I know,” said Mia. “You don’t need to keep reminding me.”

  “Well, I hate to lose,” said Allison, “so, I’m reminding you that fear leads to losing. One slipup costs us first place. We’re state champions this year. We can’t afford to freeze in midair.”

  “I know that,” said Mia. “I’m not buying that you’re trying to encourage me. You’re trying to intimidate me. You want to mess with my head so that you have a better chance of winning individual events, especially on bars.”

  Allison shook her head. “I don’t need to intimidate you to beat you, Mia.”

  “Okay, I’ve heard enough,” said Coach. “First of all, we’re all on the same team. I know there’s competition among teammates. Believe me, I went through the same thing when I was a student athlete. We fought to qualify for all-around and event finals. We also battled to be captain in our senior year. It got nasty—really nasty. Even when you’re on a team, you seek individual glory. I get that.”

  Coach turned to Allison and said, “I hate to lose too. Seriously, I despise it. I expect us to win every meet, no matter what. But bawking at Mia isn’t helping her. If your goal was to encourage her—”

  “Yeah, right,” Mia interrupted.

  Coach put her hand up to Mia. “If your goal was to encourage her, as you said, then it’s not working. Let’s stop with the chicken act.”

  “Fine,” said Allison.

  “Mia, now that Allison has agreed to stop bawking, I want you to let this go,” Coach said. “You need to support each other. Also, you both need to set an example. You’re eighth-graders. The younger girls look up to you.”

  Mia and Allison glanced around the gym. Coach was right. The other girls were trying to practice but kept looking over at them, distracted by the drama.

  “Fine,” said Mia.

  “Good,” said Coach. “Let’s focus on crushing other teams instead of fighting among ourselves.”

  Mia and Allison nodded.

  “Now, Mia, show me your old routine,” said Coach. “I’d like to see your faith and physics in action.”

  Mia mentally ran through her routine as she double-checked her hand grips and chalked up. When she was ready, she faced the low bar. She took one more deep breath and then jumped forward.

  She gripped the lower bar, completed a glide kip, and pushed herself into a handstand. Her body came back around, doing another glide kip, but this time she completed a stoop through and reached for the top bar.

  As soon as she gripped the top bar, she did another kip cast to a handstand and then two clear hip circles into handstands. Mia did her first giant circle backward into a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn in a handstand.

  Next came three backward giant circles with straddled legs. With each full swing around, she gained momentum in preparation for her dismount.

  The bar squeaked as the weight of her body circled around it. The air whooshed in her ears as she picked up speed.

  A body in motion stays in motion, Mia thought to herself. Stay in motion. Commit to the move. If you freeze, you fall. Have faith. You’ve got this.

  As Mia came around the final time, she let her hands go and flipped her body once all the way around. Her legs were stuck together and perfectly straight. Her toes were pointed. She landed on the mat with a thud and stuck the landing. A perfect salto backward straight—the same dismount that scared her two years ago.

  “Go, Mia!” shouted Riley from across the gym.

  “Great job, Mia!” said Coach Taylor. “I love that you’ve mastered the skill that once terrified you.”

  “Thanks!” said Mia.

  “Actually, it almost looks too easy for you now,” said Coach. “You’ve got some complicated moves in your routine, but then you end with a low-level dismount.”

  Mia’s stomach sank. I know where this is going, and I don’t like it.

  “Let’s plan to add a more difficult dismount,” said Coach. “It will be a good personal challenge for you, and it will help the team in competitions. A higher-level move earns more points.”

  “True,” Mia said reluctantly.

  “How about we add a twist to your backward straight? Or you can try a double salto backward tucked, or a double salto backward pike,” said Coach.

  “If she’s upping her dismount, I will too,” said Allison. “You know, a little friendly competition.”

  Mia shot Allison a hard stare.

  At the end of practice, Mia told Riley what happened.

  “Doing one full rotation was hard enough. Now she wants me to add a twist or do two full backward tucks?” said Mia. “And of course Allison wants to outdo my every move.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Riley. “I know learning a new dismount will be hard. Coach is right, though. Harder routines will be good for the team.”

  “I know,” said Mia. “It’s just … I was so looking forward to our new season. Now I feel like there’s a big cloud hanging over it.”

  CHAPTER 3

  A MUSICAL MISTAKE

  Mia and her teammates practiced for two hours, three days a week. Mia had been practicing her new dismount. She decided to try the double salto backward tucked since the move was similar to one she did in her floor exercise routine.

  But Mia wasn’t ready to shoe off her new dismount at Saturday’s meet at Mayfield. She spent her time in practice mastering the move, but she often landed on the crash pads instead of on her feet.

  “Don’t worry,” Coach Taylor told her. “You’ll be ready by the state finals, which is when it will matter most.”

  Coach Bennett used to take the bus with the team to other schools. Coach Taylor, though, said she would drive. She wanted to get there early to make sure she had everything organized.

  As soon as the Ridgefield Rams school bus arrived at Mayfield Middle School, the girls scrambled down the steps and made their way to the locker room. The girls quickly removed their coats and layers of clothes over their team leotards. Their leotards were royal blue with yellow-gold rhinestones around the scoop neck and the cuffs of the sleeves.

  Mia checked the mirror to make sure that every wisp of hair was slicked down and away from her face. All of the girls agreed to wear something yellow in their hair. Some laced yellow ribbons through their French braids, while others used yellow hair ties to secure their ponytails. Mia’s hair was tightly wound in a bun secured with a yellow scrunchie.

  Once her hair was perfect, Mia checked her drawstring bag to make sure she had everything she needed: water bottle, wristbands, grip bag, deodorant, snacks, and athletic tape.

  She hooked her arms through the bag’s straps and then looked at Riley.

  “Ready?” asked Mia.

  “So ready,” said Riley. She then raised her voice and said, “Let’s go get our first win!”

  The team cheered and walked into the gym, one behind the other. After warm-ups, the girls were split into groups and sent to their first events. With sixteen girls on each team, a group of Rams went to the vault and another went to the beam. A group of Mayfield Hornets went to the bars and another went to floor exercise. Each group competed at the same time and then rotated to the next event.

  Mia, Riley, and Allison were among the Rams who started on the vault. While Mia waited for her turn, she ran through each move in her head. She also cheered on her teammates, even Allison. Like Coach said, they were on the same team and needed to support each other.

  When it was Mia’s turn, she stood next to the run and waited for the judge’s signal that they were ready for her. When the judge raised his hand, Mia stepped onto the run and lifted her arms to show she was ready and about to begin. She hopped on her toes once and then took off.

  She raced down the padded runway. Her arms pumped hard to help fuel her powerful stride. When she approached the springboard, she turned slightly and put her hands on the pad. She kicked her legs into a roundoff that ended with her feet landing on the springboard.

  The move propelled her body backward toward the vault. Her hands came down onto the top of the vault. She pushed herself up and out as her legs came around twice, straight and together, before she landed on the mat. Her feet planted in the spot. No steps or wobbles. She threw her hands in the air to signal she was done.

 

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