Feb. 14, 2002

Not even four concussions in six months could keep junior Laura Anson from being a Tiger. After sitting out the first semester this year, the Missouri gymnast is back on the floor, stronger than ever and ready for any competition that comes her way.

After suffering from post-concussion syndrome stemming from a nasty fall during a tumbling pass in practice her Sophomore year, Anson took a semester off to recuperate and decide if she would ever be able to endure competitive gymnastics again.

"I think that the scariest thing I've ever faced would be having to think about whether or not I could keep competing after I got hurt last year," Anson said. "I had to think about giving up the sport for good. But my teammates have been so supportive. They kept telling me that I would come back and they kept pushing the point that I could do it if I wanted to."

Anson says that her teammates and her own personal desires to succeed helped her decide to come back to the sport she's loved since she was eight years old.

"My other teammates are my inspiration now," she said. "The way that a lot of girls have turned around and have learned new stuff is impressive. Plus we keep getting better every season and that inspires me to want to come back and want to be better and help them out."

All of the Tigers have high hopes for their team this year, and Anson is no different. Though she hopes to achieve some things on her own, she knows her limits and wants her team to succeed more than anything.

"I'd like to be able to contribute in every event in every meet," Laura said. "It'd be nice to be an All-American on an event, but there's so many good girls out there now. But for our team I can definitely see us going to regionals and doing awesome, maybe even nationals. It's not out of our reach by any means."

Anson will help her team out this season by specializing in the vault, uneven bars and possibly the floor exercise.

"Now I'd say my biggest challenge would be becoming comfortable again with doing everything and competing and doing the hard workouts that we're doing. I'm going to have to find my place back on the team," Anson said.

Backed by her family from Kansas City including her parents and older brother and sister, who never miss a home meet, Anson has a strong cheering section during home competitions. Laura has also gotten the chance to watch her younger sister, Janet, develop into an outstanding gymnast and is having to sit on her hands while Janet decides what college to attend.

"We're very close and gymnastics has helped that a lot," Laura says. "She doesn't know where she wants to go, but Mizzou is up there. She has a lot of schools looking at her. I'd love for her to come here obviously, but I'm trying to stay out of it so that she can make her own choice," she says with a smile.

Anson has also been strongly encouraged in her comeback by her coaches who have helped motivate her and help her see her own potential.

"They've taught me to be positive about myself and to keep trying," she said. "I've had to go through the injuries, but they've taught me to stay with it and not give up." Coaching is something that Laura has also pursued in her own life lately. She works for Show-Me gymnastics club here in Columbia where she coaches young girls ages 7-16. Unlike many of her other teammates, however, Anson does not plan on pursuing a career in athletics after graduation.

"I want to manage a hotel somewhere," she said. "Somewhere warmer, specifically NOT in Missouri. As much as I love it here and have been raised here, it's just too cold!" Although Anson says she dislikes the state of Missouri, she couldn't be happier that she goes to school here at Mizzou.

"The Mizzou athletic program is very good to their athletes. They make us feel at home and make sure that we have everything that we need," she said. "They give us tons of opportunities and they make sure that we're going to school and that school is our number one priority."

Anson also remembers how growing up in the world of Missouri club gymnastics allowed her to meet and get to know many of the girls who are now her teammates at Mizzou.

"This school was close enough but also far enough from home for me," she said. "And I knew the girls who were going to be on the team. I competed with and against them my whole career in club competition."

Laura is now relying on many of those time-tested friendships as her support system as she eases back into life as a Mizzou gymnast.

"Team is everything. In club it's all individual, but here the things you do have nothing to do with you and everything to do with your team," she said. "I knew that my teammates would have been there if I would have decided not to come back to the sport. They weren't going to leave me and they will always be there for me."