Emma Anson and Elly Yochum joked with each other as they stretched during a gymnastics workout on Tuesday afternoon.
Head coach Jason Farr shook his head and joined in on the laughter when he glanced at his Redmond High athletes, who are headed to the 4A District 1/4 meet at 4:05 p.m. tomorrow at Newport High.
Farr knows that he’s got a solid duo on his hands. Anson, a junior, and Yochum, a freshman, have bonded this season and the coach wants the girls to keep that camaraderie alive tomorrow and hopefully all the way to the state meet on Feb. 20-21 at the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall.
The girls know they’ve got their work cut out for them at districts and Farr wants to make sure they’re focused and having fun.
“These two, I want them to look back on it and say they enjoyed it, did well and got something out of it,” Farr said during a break in Tuesday’s practice at Eastside Gymnastics Academy in Woodinville.
Anson, 16, only stretched during Tuesday’s practice because she was giving her sprained left ankle and sore back a break, but said she’s “ready to push through the last little bit” at districts and possibly state. She qualified for state last year on floor and is set to perform in the all-around competition tomorrow.
It took her a while to get on board with 4A KingCo meets this year because she was sidelined with a back injury for several weeks.
Anson didn’t like sitting out one bit.
“I would say a good metaphor for it was like you have an itch and you can’t scratch it,” she said. “It’s a horrible feeling when you’re yearning to compete, but not being able to do it. I’m excited to be competing again. My skills are not my best — but I’m doing my best.”
Farr said that Anson is a hard worker on all her events and is especially graceful when she’s flowing to the music on her floor routine.
As for Yochum, 14, she’ll be competing on floor and vault at districts. At the 4A KingCo meet, she was thrilled to pull off a tough tumbling pass on floor to raise her starting scoring level to 10.0 — she notched an 8.65 on the event.
“It was a new tumbling pass and I worked on it that day in warmups. That’s what got me to districts,” Yochum said of the front tuck, step out, round off, back tuck pass.
“It was crazy,” Anson said of her teammate’s stellar floor performance.
Yochum, whose family moved to Redmond from Boise, Idaho two years ago, returned to gymnastics this year after taking four years off to nurse an injured back and several other injuries. She’s surprised that everything came back to her so quickly and she’s proud of herself for performing well at each practice and meet.
Farr is impressed with Yochum’s positive attitude and willingness to challenge herself and gain extra points on her routines.
Both Anson and Yochum began their gymnastics careers at 4 years old and competed with club teams before joining the high-school ranks. These days, Anson is part of Eastside Gymnastics Academy’s exhibition squad when not competing with Redmond High; in her time away from the Mustangs, Yochum plays soccer with the Crossfire Premier program.
Aside from challenging themselves physically in the gymnastics arena, Anson said they’ve got to be on top of things mentally, as well.
“The mental part of gymnastics is 50 percent or more of the sport,” said Anson, noting that the keys to achieving success are 100 percent commitment, zero hesitation when trying to stick tough routines and having trust in yourself and faith in your ability. “You have to think you can do it — can’t is an illegal word in the gym.”
“You have to put everything into it and you’ll be able to accomplish anything,” said Yochum, who noted that she missed competing and having that adrenaline rush. “It’s a really good experience to come back — a great feeling.”
