International Gymnast - November 2010

ior and Pan Am junior championships, and this
year, at age 13, she dominated the U.S. juniors—
her 116.450 would have placed third in the senior
division—and claimed the senior Pan Am champi-
onships. Her U.S. title also landed her on the
September cover of IG. “I was really excited to see
my picture on the front cover of the magazine,” she
says. “I mean, it was very great winning nationals
for the second time in a row.”
One meet she didn’t win in 2010 was the Pacific
Rim championships in Melbourne, Australia. But
she did finish second, behind fellow American
Jordyn Wieber.

Wieber, who won the 2008 U.S. junior title but
was injured in 2009, was favored to unseat Ross as
the junior national champion in Hartford, Conn., in
August, but she injured her ankles on a low landing
off beam and had to withdraw. “I knew she was one
of my tough competition, so I definitely, like, tried
to do my best,” Ross says. “And I wanted her to do
her best too, but she got hurt.”
With gymnastics taking up so much of her life,
Ross still prefers to attend public school. “I did
homeschool for one year but I didn’t really like it
that much,” she says. “I love school.”
Ross attends four core classes at Aliso Viejo
Middle School before hitting the gym for workout in
the afternoon. She names vault or beam as her
strongest events, and has been working on an
Amanar vault with hopes of competing it soon. Any
other upgrades? “I’m trying to get a new dismount
on beam and more turning skills on bars,” she says.

Ross says she misses former teammate McKayla
Maroney, who switched to All Olympia after the
2009 U.S. championships. “I do work [out] in a big
group [at Gym-Max], but yeah, she used to be real-
ly close friends with me,” Ross says. “But she still
is.”
Ross is still thriving at Gym-Max, however, and
her results are proof. “[Howie and Jenny] are real-
ly great as coaches,” she says. “They both have the
same style of coaching and discipline.”
Such a training atmosphere has prepared Ross
well for the demanding national team training
camps at the Karolyis’ ranch near Houston. Ross
says she’s attended about 10 of the camps so far. “I
really enjoy seeing all the other team members and
getting to hang out and know each other,” she says.
“My least favorite part is missing school and every-
thing.”

JEFF SIPSE Y (2); COACHES PHO TO SUPPLIED

National team coordinator Marta Karolyi knows she has a gem in Ross. “She is a very balanced girl and a good competitor,” Karolyi says.

Ross with coaches Howie Liang and Jenny Zhang at the 2010 U.S. championships

“We love this sport, we love the girls. We want to do what we can to teach them.”

—Jenny Zhang

Indeed, there is much to appreciate about Ross, who captivates audiences and judges alike with her mature presentation. “I do try to perform more elegant, but I’ve kind of always been that style,” says Ross, who’s never had any ballet or dance training. Her floor routine was choreographed by national team coaching staff member Antonia Markova. And the name of the music? “I’m not really sure,” Ross says with a guilty giggle.

Such details don’t seem that important to Ross,
even if she does claim to being “neat and organ-
ized.” She’s also late to the personal website scene,
having just launched her own after her 2010 U.S.
junior victory ( kylaross.net). “I do enjoy the fans,”
she says. “I mean, they’re the ones who support us
and come to all the meets and stuff.”
Ross has her eye on some meets in the future,
specifically the 2011 Pan American Games in
Guadalajara, Mexico. Of her various travels so far,
she says her favorite places have been Australia and
Italy. And with her October 1996 birthday, she is
hopeful for a trip to London for the 2012
Olympics. “I do feel lucky that my birthday was
right before the cutoff,” she says.