Gymnast Brings Her Life Back into Balance

By Allison J. Hall

World Staff Writer

When 10-year-old gymnast Ashley Kelly left the Tulsa World of Gymnastics in December of 1994, she did it because she wanted the chance to be a child. When she returned to the gym eight months later, it was because she wanted the chance to be a gymnast. Kelly, now 12 years old, said she was competing at one of the highest levels of gymnastics when the pressures of her school work and the long hours spent at he gym began to make her question her participation in the sport. My coaches wanted me to move up to the next level and I was stressed with my homework," Kelly said. "I felt like I wanted to do stuff without gymnastics."So for several months, Kelly had the time to attend birthday parties with her friends and the freedom to go on vacations with her family, things she had never been able to do before, she said.It wasn't until she tried her luck at another sport that she finally decided to go back to gymnastics, Kelly said."It was my first day of tennis and I hated it," she said. "I came back the next day."Linda Bradshaw, who co-owns the gym with her husband, said seeing Kelly back at the gym was a sight she was not prepared for."I was taken aback," said Bradshaw, who has been coaching for 20 years. "Here was this kid who had been at the top of the worldÉshe had been one of the hottest kids in the state."And where a first-place, level-10 gymnast had once stood was a girl who had to start from scratch with her training, Bradshaw said."She had lost muscle tone and a tremendous amount of strength," she said. "She had to start at the bottom of the totem pole and begin working her way back again."Kelly said she was unsure of what her reception would be from her coaches and teammates, but found them to be happy to see her back."I just missed gymnastics so much and I'm so excited to be back," Kelly said.As pleased as she was to be back in the gym, both Kelly and her coaches knew it would be no easy task for her to relearn the skills it took years to perfect and months to lose.Kelly began training again, working four hours a day, six days a week ~ doing whatever it took to get back her skills."I think I'm more motivated now than I ever was before," Kelly said.Bradshaw said she has seen a definite change in Kelly's attitude since her return to gymnastics."Now I'm seeing a little girl who is more focused than when she quit. It's a different kind of dedication," Bradshaw said. "Now she's doing it entirely for herself."Although Kelly has been back at the gym for a year, it has taken that long for her to get back to the point where she can compete again at level 10, Bradshaw said.

"She doesn't seem to take anything for granted anymore. Everything had been on the up and up for her before, "Bradshaw said. "I also think she gained a better perspective on what the sport means to her."Although initially she wondered if Kelly would ever be able to get back on top again, Bradshaw said she does not doubt that she will do well in competitions this year, which will steer her toward the next level of gymnastics ~ Elite. "She's ahead of where she was before, "she said. "I'd like to have that time back, but all-in-all, it answered questions for her that she needed to know."Bradshaw said she understands why some children who are athletes get burned out. "They give up a lot of things other kids get to do," she said. "But there were a lot of lessons to be learned for all of us." One of the things Bradshaw said she has learned is that it is important for coaches to treat all children the same, even the ones who are blessed with talent's like Kelly's. "The cream will rise to the top," she said. Bradshaw said she is optimistic that Kelly can work her way toward being on a national senior team and is even looking farther, to the year 2000 for the next summer Olympic games. "I'm a realist and in the 20 years I've coached, I've never told a kid that he or she would make the Olympic team," she said. "I think now I have a kid who can make it." But for Kelly, the hope for such a future is not as important as the path she is taking to get there, which includes continuing to work harder than she ever would have before she quit.

"I have to take it day by day," Kelly said. "I kept thinking, "Just keep going, you'll probably make it~and I did."