Monster month for young Panthers gymnast

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/04/2010 (5982 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Asking Brooke Bouchard to pick her favourite gymnastics apparatus is like asking a parent to choose their favourite child.

“They’re all my favourite,” says the quiet 11-year-old before a practice last week at the Panthers Gymnastics Club.

Bouchard loves gymnastics, and it shows. The pint-sized River Park South resident logs about 15 hours a week in the gym and says she never feels like taking a day off.

She may not go into competitions with expectations of winning, or even getting on the podium — “I don’t care what place I get, I just try to have fun,” she says — but Bouchard’s recent results speak for themselves.

At the Manitoba Winter Games in March, the Grade 6 student at Samuel Burland School won gold medals in the uneven bars, balance beam and all-around competitions to go along with a silver in the vault in the Provincial 2 tyro level.

Bouchard followed that performance up with an all-around victory at the Crocus Invitational, finishing first on the beam, second on the floor and vault and fourth on the uneven bars.

“I’m always excited to come to the gym,” says Bouchard, who took up the sport when she was five years old. “It’s fun to do flips and stuff.”

Samantha Holt and Amy Adolphe, two Panthers coaches, say Bouchard has some traits that aren’t always prevalent in young athletes.

“What makes her so consistent is that she always trains how she competes,” Adolphe says. “She always does things in competition just how we see it in practice.”

Holt adds that Bouchard has an exceptional work ethic.

“She’s excelling for her age,” her coach says. “I don’t know many 11-year-olds who are in the gym 15 hours a week. She’s a very hard worker, and in competition she doesn’t let the pressure get to her.”

Bouchard doesn’t claim to have any secrets to blocking out the pressure and giving her best performances under the watchful eyes of the judges. She says her only thoughts are to “have fun and try my hardest,” which so far has been a winning formula.

“With Brooke, I think it comes from confidence in herself,” Holt says. “It takes a while to teach someone how to mentally prepare for a competition.”

While some gymnasts are stronger in either the artistic or the athletic aspects of the sport, Adolphe says Bouchard has no weakness.
“What makes her such a good all-around gymnast is that she’s not focused on one thing,” Adolphe says. “She can learn new things and does them well.”

Holt says that Bouchard has the potential to go a long way in the sport, and certainly won’t be held back by any lack of commitment or effort.

Bouchard will be traveling to Regina at the end of April to compete in the Queen City Kinsmen event to end her season. Next year she’ll move to the Provincial 3 level, two levels away from being eligible for the provincial team that goes to the Western Canadian championships.

avi.saper@canstarnews.com