Four gymnasts at the Bloomington United Gymnastics (BUGS) and Soccer Center stretch on the mat on a Monday afternoon, as Zac Efron’s “Bet on It” plays on the speakers.
One of those gymnasts is 14-year-old June Harrison, who’s been involved in the sport since she was 4.
Now a freshman at Bloomington North, she planned to join the school’s gymnastics team this year. The team has gone to state the last four years, but her season was canceled after the corporation could not find a coach to fill the role.
“I was actually really sad,” she said. “I had known so many teammates that were interested in it, and I also was interested in it myself. So, it was definitely a heartbreak. And to those who had to quit, that's really sad for them as well.”
Harrison will continue competing with BUGS as she has for the last eight years but would’ve liked the experience of team competition.
“The season is more team-based, and like cheering on your teammates, having a fun time,” she said. “And here [at BUGS] it's like, we're trying to get the best scores. It's more competitive, which is great in some aspects, but from a different point of view, it would have been fun at North, too.”
Both North and South cancelled their gymnastics seasons after failing to find coaches; both previous coaches stepped down at the end of last year’s season. At the corporation’s October board meeting, MCCSC Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Operations Jeffry Henderson said they’ve been trying to fill the positions since September.
“The candidate pool for gymnastics coaches is very, very small,” he said. “The candidates that have applied have been interviewed, but unfortunately, at this time, we have been unable to secure a qualified and well-trained coach to assume the role.”
Just over a week later, the corporation wrote to families canceling the seasons.
“We recognize that this news is disappointing for our student-athletes and families who were looking forward to participating,” a letter from North officials said. “This decision was made only after careful consideration of safety, staffing, and program quality.”
Lesli Berry, BUGS owner, said she had reached out to the corporation offering to help find a coach. South’s athletic director told her in an email it was too late due to deadlines for contracts with judges and other schools.
“I have a lot of people who were gymnasts, who are old enough now that they might be able to coach, or former coaches who've moved on to have full time jobs and might be able to do it in a part time capacity,” she said. “So, I wish they had reached out to me before making that decision.”
If the corporation had contacted her earlier, she thinks they probably could’ve avoided canceling the seasons. In an email to WFIU/WTIU News, North’s Athletic Director Andrew Hodson said eight girls had expressed interest in joining the gymnastics team this year. Neither South’s athletic director nor the corporation responded to a request for information or interview on the subject.
This isn’t the first time North has been at risk of canceling its gymnastics season. The school was in a similar situation in 1992, when Berry was a freshman at Indiana University.
“My Bloomington High School South coach that had coached me called and said, ‘North's coach is retiring and they haven't found another coach. They're going to cancel the program if they can't find a coach, could you do it?’ And I was like, ‘I know gymnastics, but I don't know anything about coaching.’ And she's like, please, you know,” she said. “So, I went and interviewed and took that job only because it was at risk of the program being lost.”
Berry went on to coach gymnastics at North for 10 years before leaving to open BUGS. About 500 gymnasts practice at Berry’s facility. Most are in the North or South districts. Both high school teams have gone to the state competition multiple times. Berry said she’s sad that gymnasts can no longer represent their schools in these kinds of competitions.
“Girls sports do tend to be smaller sometimes, or, you know, get moved past,” she said. “I just think it's a huge part of giving girls a positive identity, something to identify with…I don't want them to lose that opportunity to take something that's been their identity for a long time, and turn it into a stable socializing space, also to represent their school.”
Siena Johnson, a senior at South, has been involved in the sport since she was six and joined her school’s team her sophomore year. She said she was sad the season was canceled but also felt a sense of relief.
“Gymnastics is always just a very hard sport,” she said. “We put a lot of stress on our bodies. It’s just tiring. It took up a lot of time, and I just wasn’t having fun anymore.”
Johnson was hoping someone from BUGS or a parent would step up to coach. Even if she wasn’t enjoying the sport anymore, she’ll still miss the team-based environment. She’s also disappointed she doesn’t get her senior season.
“It’s hard that we don’t really get a goodbye to the sport,” she said. “That was probably the most difficult thing to swallow about this. We didn’t even have a proper banquet last season. So, we don’t really have closure for gymnastics, and it’s just very saddening because it’s been a part of my life for so long.”
She hopes that the school will be able to find a coach who can better support the team. Now, she’s done with gymnastics and looking forward to lacrosse in the spring.
South’s athletic director didn’t answer Berry’s questions about whether the corporation is planning to continue trying to find a coach and if the equipment will be retained.
“If they don't, it won't be feasible financially to restart the program, because gymnastics equipment is really expensive,” she said, “but they already have everything they need at both schools, and they're all set up, and they have their own space. So, I hope they just maintain that, and we can try to help them find a coach for next year.”
North’s Hodson said there’s a chance gymnastics will come back next year if a qualified coach is found.
After talking with some high school gymnasts who were supposed to compete this season, Berry is considering creating a high school level competitive gymnastics team to help fill the gap. Rising Star Gymnastics might also start a program for gymnasts in grades seven through twelve. Both programs could kick off as early as January.
