March 7, 2002
It's not everyday you meet someone who completely dedicates their life to pursing a dream, but at the young age of 12, that's exactly what MU gymnast Rachel Bridges decided to do. What started as the inspirational goal of a child eventually developed into a hardcore regimen of athletic training that would fill the next five years of her life. For some this would seem extreme, but for Rachel, participating and growing in the sport she loves, created the fondest memories of her childhood.
In her hometown of West Des Moines, Iowa, Rachel and her mom found a flier for The National Academy of Artistic Gymnastics that held summer camps each year. They looked into it and Rachel decided to make the trek and spend her summer training in Eugene, Ore. The camps offered different sessions, but with the dedicated enthusiasm that has characterized her athletic career, Rachel wanted to glean every ounce of experience she could from the opportunity and she decided to stay the entire eight weeks.
"I learned a lot that summer. Practicing twice a day for eight weeks, I learned so much," Rachel explained.
In previous years, the owners and coaches of the gym, Dick and Linda Mulvihill, have invited gymnasts with promising potential to live with them while training. They have coached National and even Olympic champions such as Juliann McNamara and Tracee Talavera.
At the end of her summer at NAAG, Rachel was awarded the prestigious honor to live and train during the school year with the Mulvihills. Before deciding, she returned to home for two weeks to discuss her future plans, but with the encouragement and excitement of her mother, Rachel quickly found herself back in Eugene.
"We just kind of packed up the minivan and left," Rachel said, "I was the only one living with them at first. I trained with two other girls from California but they lived in other houses."
She began her days with schooling in the morning and gymnastics in the afternoon and evening. At one point, she had morning practices, which began at 5:30 a.m.
After five years of intense training at NAAG, Rachel traveled back to Iowa for a visit. While there, she suffered a severe seizure and was later diagnosed with a heart condition. Trying to recover, Rachel stayed in Iowa but, ironically, contracted mono. Between the heart medications and mono medications, Rachel was sideline from the gym for nearly six months.
"I couldn't even walk up the stairs because I was so weak. I was lifeless," Rachel said.
When she finally regained her strength, Rachel knew she wanted to pursue her dreams in gymnastics. But with her health as a consideration, she opted to stay a little closer to home. Rachel joined a club an hour north of West Des Moines that was affiliated with her club in Oregon. Her love for gymnastics encouraged her to continue the demanding physical regimen, even if it meant a two-hour drive everyday.
"I had been doing gymnastics for so long and I felt like I had nothing to show," Rachel said. "It was something I loved and I knew I would have regretted not continuing. College gymnastics was always something I looked forward to and I knew I at least had to try."
Finishing her senior year in high school, Rachel began looking into colleges. One of her coaches from Oregon had moved and was a coach for the University of Southern Utah. Rachel visited the school and absolutely fell in love with beautiful scenery of the desert campus.
"My mom still makes fun of me because I chose Utah because of the beauty," Rachel said.
But after a year of competing for Southern Utah, the landscape proved not to be enough for the tumbler, Rachel decided she needed more academic direction. She had previously been recruited by Missouri and decided to look into it again and with her family's overwhelming endorsement of the Tigers, her decision to transfer was easily impacted.
"I have a lot of roots in Missouri." Rachel explains. "My grandfather graduated from Medical School and my cousin from Physical Therapy School at Mizzou. My mom even attended Stephen's College," she added.
Abiding by NCAA regulations, Rachel was red-shirted her first year at Mizzou. It was a difficult time for her because the rules forbade her from even marching out with team at the beginning of the meet. While hard at times, Rachel realizes that it was an important learning experience.
"Last year I grew up a lot, matured and got stronger. I realized during that time how important gymnastics is to me. It was interesting being on the outside of gymnastics and looking at the sport from a whole new perspective," Rachel said.
Rachel's passion for her sport and the growing understanding and maturity in the arena shines through when she competes. She uses her favorite event, the floor exercise, to express herself and show everyone her true personality. Along improving her floor routine, a year without competitive gymnastics has reinforced Rachel's resilient dynamic has also pushed her to excel as a strong contender on the beam and vault this season.
Training with the country's best, learning to overcoming obstacles, dedicating herself to the pursuit of a dream and doing so with a hard nosed work ethic seems like an overwhelming challenge for anyone. But for Rachel Bridges, a true love for the sport of gymnastics and the fulfillment of accomplishing her goals has fueled her overwhelming task and placed her as one of Missouri's top competitors in 2002.