We don’t see …
gold medals as
the end result,”
Bouskill says. “It’s a
nice reward if you can
achieve that … but we
want them to come
out of the sport
happy and healthy.”
From pointed toes to
elegant hand positions, this “Floor
Barre-Ballet” program
teaches proper body
posture, alignment
and ballet techniques.
(elite) levels, and Jets caters to all three.
If a girl wants to compete at the State
level, she can train a maximum of 10
hours per week. That number increases
with each level.
“As coaches, we try not to select the
kids [for elite],” Bouskill says. “We put the kids
through our development program, so all of
them get the same opportunities right away. And
the cream rises to the top.”
In February, Bouskill brought four gymnasts to
the U.S. for the Nadia Comaneci International
Invitational and WOGA Classic. For the Aussies,
a trip to the U.S. can offer much more than
merely the chance to compete against stiffer
competition. “It’s a little bit of a carrot to dangle
in front of the kids,” Bouskill says.
It also gives the girls a chance to
see how other countries train. At
WOGA, for example, the Jets gym-
nasts saw a much different level of
dedication. “The depth across their
program is so much stronger than
what we have in Australia,” Bouskill
says. “It’s not that you can’t repli-
cate it. It’s that most people don’t
replicate it.”
Many elites in the U.S. are home-
schooled to accommodate training
schedules. And after high school,
lucrative college scholarships await
for the top women. Neither of those
situations exist Down Under.
“People would view [home-schooling] as probably a bit insane,”
Bouskill says. “Almost as if you’re
going to put all your eggs in one
basket. And we don’t, as a
club, encourage that.”
move on,” he says. “There are very few 18-plus-
year-olds, and that is something we’ve asked our-
selves: Why?”
2010 floor exercise world champion Lauren
Mitchell, 19, is one of the rare exceptions. But
when you’re winning medals at the world level,
motivation usually is not an issue. “Lauren’s cer-
tainly helped a lot, and not just her achieve-
ments,” Bouskill says of promoting longer
careers for women. “Her personality lends
itself—she’s fabulous. That’s what our sport
needs more than anything else.”
As difficulty levels continue to rise in gymnas-
tics, injuries often contribute to a gymnast’s deci-
sion to retire. Which is why Bouskill is in no rush
to produce an Olympian.
“We don’t see gymnastics and gold medals as
the end result,” he says. “It’s a nice reward if you
can achieve that. What we do see is what the
kids get out of the sport. We allow them to aim
for whatever they want, but at the same time, we
want them to come out of the sport happy and
healthy. Not many people make it to the top of
gymnastics, but there’s a whole life ahead of you
[that] you need to live.” IG
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