Get to know youth gymnast, Geneva area resident Gianna Prado
GENEVA, Ill. — Gianna Prado, 10 years old, has been competing in gymnastics for seven years at St. Charles Gymnastics Academy. Gianna told us how she loves a lot of things about gymnastics such as working hard and how strong the sport makes her. She also thrives in doing things that are scary, and then feeling proud when successful. All of this takes a lot of practice and Gianna loves spending 16 hours a week training with her teammates. “We have so much fun together. They are all so kind and they make me laugh. They are the best friends,” Gianna shared.
As gymnastics is a committed team sport, Gianna told us how being a member of a team has taught her that it’s not “all about me.” When she’s made a mistake on an event, she knows to still cheer on teammates and support everyone. Gianna has also had to learn how to work with different types of people with diverse ideas and personalities. She explained how it’s all about having fun and supporting each other, as the team is like family. When asked if she has a pre-game ritual she follows, Gianna said she likes to zone out by watching shows or listening to music to take her mind off the meets. “I don’t over think it. I stay calm and let my body do what it knows to do,” Gianna added. Her biggest challenge has been dealing with Sever’s Heel pain, as it’s difficult putting in a four-hour practice when in discomfort. To manage this, she must stretch, and ice daily, and be comfortable communicating with the coaches so they’re aware what’s going on.
When asked for the best advice ever given to her, Gianna recounted a story from her beam coach. During practice she was completing her skills on beam perfectly but would fall off at meets. This made her nervous this cycle would continue – perfect practice, falling at meets – but her coach guided her to listen to 10 of her favorite songs the morning of the meet, trust herself and her body, and to most importantly, have fun. The advice certainly worked as Gianna didn’t fall off beam for the rest of the season! Mistakes most certainly happen when competing in sports, but it’s how you overcome it that matters. At a meet two years ago, Gianna fell off the beam while doing a cartwheel, and was so upset that when she got back up to finish, she forgot the rest of her routine. Although she felt embarrassed, instead of quitting she stayed calm and looked at her coach who helped remember the next skill from the sidelines. Gianna didn’t cry, finished the routine, and was proud of herself.
When not practicing or competing in the gym, Gianna likes to hang out with friends and play outside. She also likes inventing and creating things, playing Barbies, reading, and writing stories. Her personal goal with gymnastics is to make it to a level 10 as she’s currently a level 6. Additionally, she strives to nail her front tuck-front layout on the floor, and back handspring-back handspring on the beam. But her biggest goal is to be the next Simone Biles with a goal of making it to the Olympics!
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.
