Feb. 14, 2002

"You don't realize what you have till its taken away from you." These are the words of wisdom sophomore gymnast Terri Baker has had to face during her first two years of college. She hasn't lost a family member or a friend, but rather the ability to compete for the Missouri gymnastics team.

Baker injured her left knee the night before the Cat Classic meet her freshman year at Mizzou when she fell during a beam dismount. Her injury prevented her from competing at all during her first year on the team.

"I came to Mizzou with high hopes of competing. I expected to be able to compete all 4 years," Baker said. "So my biggest inspiration now is that I WAS able to do all that at one point. Now it's a struggle, but at the same time its so rewarding once you get through all of it."

After sitting out a year with her knee injury, Terri came back her sophomore year with high hopes of making it into the Tiger lineup on the balance beam, but was again sidetracked when she injured her same knee again the weekend before the team's first meet.

Baker says that her teammates and her coaches have been the reason that she is able to step confidently back into the competitive arena after two years.

"My coaches have made me realize, even though I have been hurt, how good I can be," she said. "They want me to realize that and want me to get back into things. My coaches and my teammates are always there to talk to about anything."

Although it might appear that her injury would have a negative affect on her, Terri has taken this challenge and allowed it to influence her in a positive way.

She is pursuing a double major in nutrition and fitness as well as sports medicine and hopes to use the survival skills she's learned from her experiences with college athletics when she graduates.

"I'd love to work with athletes because my experience and what I've done and been through," she says. "It's been a learning experience for me. If somebody else were to get hurt now, I would know how to talk to them because I've been through those feelings."

Baker wants only the best for her team and she knows that she may or may not be the person they need to achieve that best. She does, however, have her own personal goals for the upcoming season.

"I would just like to get out and compete again, but it's a week by week decision," she said. "Our team's doing awesome this year, so if I don't get put in the lineup that might even be a good thing too! I hope that we just go out and show everybody the potential we know we have."

Although the reality of her injury initially frightened Baker, she became determined to come back and compete and has used that resolve as her inspiration and motivation.

"The big debate on whether or not I'd be able to do gymnastics again was really scary," she said. "I also had a fear of failure, but you never should be afraid of that. The doctors told me it was okay to go back and compete and I wanted to have something to show for all the work I've put in. It's not just about love of the sport anymore. It's about wanting to prove to myself and everyone else that I can do it."

Baker's role in the Tiger lineup this season is still uncertain, but Terri's injury and recovery has helped her learn something she never might have learned on the gymnastics floor.

"College gymnastics is making me realize how special it is to be part of a team," she said. "But most of all that you don't realize what you have till its taken away from you. You can't take anything for granted."