Gymcats Rock Old Main, Meet Their Coach Tabitha Yim and The Seniors
By Marisol Diaz
Facts about Lexi Mills:
- Senior, graduates in Winter of 2016
- Made the switch from dance and began gymnastics at age 4.
- The coaching staff is what convinced her to choose Arizona. She’s glad to have a team that she considers family. Her teammates are more than best friends, they’re her sisters.
- Strongest (and favorite) event: Beam
- Pre-performance ritual: Before every floor routine, she has a teammate in her corner to talk and help her focus
Who’s your inspiration?
My inspiration is my family. My parents put a lot of money and time into the sport and I feel like it is important for me to work my hardest to make them proud.
Any favorite memories/moments so far in your college career? What is it that you love about the sport?
My favorite memories would be my first college meet. It was so different than club gymnastics that I fell in love with the sport again. I love the feeling you get after nailing a perfect routine. We train such long hours with a lot of routines so when you finally hit that perfect one it makes all of that hard work worth it.
What are your goals heading into the new year? Anything different you want to do from last year? Any other thoughts about what your looking forward to?
My goal this year is for us to go to Nationals. I want to make that happen for all my teammates, especially the seniors since it is our last year in the sport. Im looking forward to all the changes being made to the program. I think there is a lot of talent on our team and I cant wait to show the nation what we’ve got.
Any difficulties/obstacles that you had to overcome in order to continue with the sport?
My junior year in high school right after I verbally committed to the U of A, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do the sport anymore. I was scared of all my skills and tired of the long days of practice. I wanted to be a normal student. I’m glad I didn’t choose to quit though or I would have missed out on the best experience of my life so far.
What’s your outlook on the upcoming season?
I believe we’re going to have one of our strongest seasons yet. The talent continues to grow on our team and we have a lot of hard working young women. I think a lot of people are going to be surprised when they see us on the floor this year. We are coming in with a completely different mindset.
Who out of the four of you is the funniest? Quietest? Most serious? Best dancer?
Shelby is the funniest, Danielle is the best dancer for sure, and Jessie is the quietest.
There you have it, Wildcat fans!
I have absolutely loved getting to know the gymnastics team and coach a bit better. I had fun hearing about what their pre-meet rituals are and seeing how much each of them care about their teammates.
These gymnasts have worked hard and continue to strive toward their goals for this upcoming year. I think that with hard work, their energy and positive attitudes along with their great new Head Coach Yim will take them far this year. I look forward to keeping up with their accomplishments. Good luck, girls and I hope to see you at Nationals this year!
Bear down!