Published Friday, April 11, 2008

11-year-old gymnast understands 'What It Takes To Be a Champion'

The Times-Herald

"To be a champion you have to not only work hard in the gym but also work hard in all aspects of your life."

Wise words written by an 11-year-old.

Alyssa Chappell was enrolled in "kindergym" gymnastics classes at age 3.

At age 4, she was selected for a developmental team, taking her from the recreational realm to the world of competitive gymnastics. She competed in her first gymnastics "meet" at age 5 as a Level 2 gymnast, nabbing the state title to wrap up her first competition season.

Now, six years and five "levels" later, Chappell trains in excess of 13 hours per week at the Newnan School of Gymnastics and Cheerleading.

Currently the No. 4-ranked Level 7 gymnast in the state, Alyssa knows what it takes to train like a champion. She wrote about it in a recent essay -- which was chosen by the University of Georgia's gymnastics alumni to be awarded a $500 Georgia Gymnastics Training Scholarship.

In "What It Takes To Be a Champion," Chappell describes the physical and mental attributes top-level gymnasts must possess to succeed.

"A champion gymnast displays her grace in more than just her body movements. We are creative in our movements and skilled in our performance. We are positive thinkers who are kind as winners and just as kind when we do not take the place we worked so hard to achieve," Chappell explained.

Above all, she stresses the importance of not only training like a champion, but living like one.

"The way we handle our gymnastics training is like the way we live our lives," she wrote. "We have the strength to follow through with our commitments at the most difficult times."

Chappell recounted suffering a broken foot only a month before her level four state competition.

"No matter what, I was going to compete in the state meet," she said.

Her determination paid off. She convinced her doctor to remove the cast three days before the meet and, with only two days of practice under her belt, placed second on the balance beam and third on the uneven bars.

Chappell has been homeschooled since the third grade. The transition was a positive one -- she's been able to spend more time with her family as well as focus on her training.

As talented in her studies as she is in the gym, she's especially interested in science. She recently impressed her teacher -- her mom, Jane -- when she discovered that a bar of soap submerged in water would rise to the surface if heated in the microwave.

As much as Chappell enjoys being in the gym, she still loves bouncing on the family's backyard trampoline with her older sister, Anna.

She loves green beans or, if she's in a sweets mood, chocolate ice cream, and enjoys watching movies like the recent "Enchanted" and "Nancy Drew" with friends and family.

In the gym, Chappell's first love is the balance beam, on which she placed sixth at the recent state competition.

Thanks to her winning essay, Chappell was invited to the University of Georgia "Gymdogs'" recent meet against University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) where she received her check during a post-meet ceremony. Prior to the competition, Chappell was given a tour of the Gymdogs' new training facility and locker rooms.

"It was really fun," Chappell said of the opportunity to mingle with gymnastics heroes, though her main inspiration is Mary Lou Retton.

Chappell is the daughter of Richard and Jane Chappell of Newnan.

The Georgia Gymnastics Training Scholarship was created to gymnastics alumni requests for a project that would, in essence, give back to the sport. The annual scholarship provides a stipend to offset training expenses for gymnasts in the eighth grade or younger. Applicants must complete a form that highlights both academic and athletic achievements, as well as submit an essay on a designated topic.