Solon High School prides itself on many things: its high achieving report cards and test scores, its drama department and, of course, its athletic department. But, there is one athletic team at SHS that many are unaware of: the gymnastics team.

The gymnastics team, made up of 18 girls ranging from freshmen to seniors, has been coached by Melissa Gillen for seven years. Gillen herself was a gymnast for 17 years, but retired as a level ten gymnast, which is the highest level a gymnast who can achieve, due to a knee injury. A previous coach of Gillen’s made her aware that Solon needed a coach, so she took the offer. Gillen teaches the girls specific strategies to help them improve their skills and qualify for higher level competitions.  

“[I teach them] to make good use of their time,” Gillen said. “It’s not about quantity but quality of practice time used. They are hard workers and need to utilize their time well while preventing injuries.”

With all the girls working hard and pushing each other to do better individually, they have won awards and advanced on to higher level  competitions. The team won first place at the Northeast Ohio Conference, a higher level competition were several athletic teams from multiple schools districts compete, two years ago. They have also made it to sectionals and districts for the past few years. This year, the girls are striving to go to states a team.

In order to achieve such lofty goals, the team will need more to back them up besides skill. Having such a positive and productive team dynamic is what really helps these girls bond, and what strives them to do even better.

“The girls are like a family,” Gillen said. “They become very involved in each other’s lives during season and become close like sisters. The friendships they create are lifelong. They all participate as a team no matter if they are competing or not…which  makes for some great fans to cheer their teammates on.”

Supporting fellow teammates is something many sports teams strive to have. Junior Lindsey Greenberg, who has been a gymnast for over ten years, was announced as Solon’s athlete of the week on Jan. 30. She shared that the feeling was indescribable, and that it was an honor to be achieve that award. She also shared that the love and support of her team meant just as much to her as the award did.

Achieving awards such as athlete of the week, or competing in higher level tournaments, it seems like the team would be discussed more throughout school announcements. Goodman explained many people don’t take them seriously, and that they could do more to advertise their huge events.

“People don’t really regard us as a sport because we take people of all experience onto the team…so people think of it as not good enough of a sport to be on,” Goodman said. “But on senior night this year, we’re putting posters up onto the walls to encourage more people to go to our competitions.”

The girls practice for three days a week, practicing for about three or four hours, which lead them to score well in many of their events. They’re also working on their routines and preparing for states. The team will be putting up flyers to advertise their next meet this Friday Feb. 7 in Twinsburg. All students are welcome to attend.