Watch out Eagles! Sophomore, Natalie Gallo, is taking the mat. She began her gymnastics journey around two years ago. Gymnastics has always piqued her interest since she was younger. When she was 13 she finally asked her mom if she could join. Gallo joined a gym in Alhambra, where she practices three days a week for three to four hours. She manages to balance school along with gymnastics, and successfully excels in both. She completes her assignments during class to allow her time after school to eat, change, and head straight to practice. 

She started the sport right before everything was shut down as a result of the pandemic.  Due to quarantine they met and practiced via zoom. Since they were not able to warm up on their skills, they spent two hours conditioning. Now post quarantine, Gallo and her team have returned to their gym to continue in person practice. Gallo stated, “We warm up for 30 minutes then start with our events, after our events are all done we do conditioning.” Conditioning is vital for every sport including gymnastics, “We do a lot of core, legs, and arms.”Gallo plans to take this seriously since she wants to pursue this as a career in the near future. 

Gallo went to her first competition on January 16th, which was a new experience for her. She gave a rundown of what a typical competition day looks like, “As soon as you get there you drop off your stuff and you only get a couple of minutes to warm up until you have to start.” This is when the blood really starts flowing and nerves start going. “When you start you get two minutes to practice the routine, and then you actually compete it, after that you go to the next routine and warm up while the other person is still performing,” Gallo continued. From that point, she repeats that process until all events have been completed. There’s four events to compete in, beam, bars, vault, and floor. Gymnastics incorporate several skills in each event such as stamina, coordination, strength, and balance.

At the meet Miss Gallo placed first for bars, second for vault, and third overall. Ultimately, Natalie Gallo is the type of person everyone should want on their team. She’s a team player who won’t disappoint.