Don’t think, just do
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — My name is Caden Severtson and I am a level 10 Gymnast. This is the highest level in gymnastics. For the past 12 years I have been the top 2 in the state of Idaho and the top 10 in our region (Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon and Alaska) for my level. I have made it to Nationals 4 times in my career and have been ranked 6th in the US for Pommel Horse at Nationals.
Age: 17
Years in current sport: 12
Gym Name: Avant Coeur Gymnastics
Attends: Post Falls High School
My personal goal in my sport is to get a scholarship for college to extend my gymnastics career and education at the same time. The biggest challenge is the mental part of this sport because the skills you are doing at such a high level are hard and dangerous, but you must remember your coach wouldn’t be letting you do that skill if they didn’t think you were ready. I was always told, don’t think just do. If you sit there for too long, you’ll over think it, so you just must go and not over think it. The best advice again that I was ever given was “don’t think just do” because it really does help the mental side of this sport.
What I love about this sport is the adrenaline you get from a new skill or competing. It’s the best part and it feels good when you accomplish a skill that you’ve been working on for a long time, hard work pays off.
My pregame ritual is honestly eating a lot the night before, and almost eating nothing the day of a competition because I get butterflies bad, even though I’ve been doing this for 12 years. And just listening to music keeps me relaxed and calm. What I like to do outside of my sport is motocross, skiing, hiking, and hunting.
Being a member of our team has taught me to persevere through the ups and downs in life, and how to manage or move around difficult situations.
The best piece of advice I’ve gotten from a coach is, “not always the best gymnasts are the most talented, the ones that shine on the podium are the ones that work their butt off day in and day out.”
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