Published Sunday, August 17, 2008

Sasha's story similar to her Olympic hero

The Times-Herald

Millions of little girls watched in wonder as Nastia Liukin went after the gold medal with the grace and confidence of a born champion.

For Sasha Sorokina, 13, of Newnan, that wonder was mixed with something else -- a knowledge of Liukin's every movement that's been ingrained through years of gymnastics training.

Sorokina saw more than Liukin's and teammate Shawn Johnson's awe-inspiring acrobatics. She clenched her teeth during each short landing, knowing the pinching pain of an ankle joint bent too far. She gasped with each balance beam bobble, knowing staying on or falling to the mat is a difference of mere centimeters. And she held her breath with each tiny step taken on a landing, knowing from experience that first place and second are often separated by a 10th of a point -- or less.

Sorokina's own story isn't so different from that of her Olympic hero. She and the newly-crowned champion that graces her bedroom walls were brought to America when they were very young. Both followed in their parents' footsteps -- and walked right into the sport of gymnastics.

Lyudmila Sorokina, Sasha's mother, began her gymnastics training at age 6 in a special training facility for Olympic hopefuls in Kirovograd, Ukraine. She reached level 10, the competitive level just before Elite -- the level at which Olympians compete. At 18, her competitive career drawing to a close, Lyudmila began coaching. She learned to coach in the way she had been coached all her life -- hard, and with the expectation of champion-caliber gymnastics from one and all.

In 1999, Lyudmila received the invitation to come to America through a friend. She was 26, and she and her husband, Viktor, had Sasha, then 4. Leaving her home was not an easy decision, but it was one in which her parents encouraged her.

She and Sasha flew to Atlanta, a job lined up for Lyudmila at Newnan School of Gymnastics & Cheerleading. They were greeted by owner Cricket Shelnutt and gym manager Kathy McMichael.

"We spoke no English," Lyudmila said. But she was immediately accepted, and shown such "love and patience," she remains deeply grateful for the friends she considers family nearly a decade later.

Lyudmila did not plan for her daughter to become a gymnast, but Sasha caught Shelnutt's attention. While Lyudmila coached, Sasha watched the other girls in the gym, often trying skills on her own after they had gone home.

"Sasha could learn a lot by just watching," Shelnutt said.

He casually invited Sasha to join a slightly older group of girls training on a fast track to competitive gymnastics, at first every once in a while, then nearly every practice.

A short time later, Lyudmila was surprised to learn that Sasha hadn't been just playing, but training, and doing rather well.

Sasha, now an eighth-grader at Arnall Middle School, trains between 18 and 20 hours each week. A level nine competitor, her small stature lends itself to the complex flips and twists she performs, and her gracefulness -- particularly during her floor exercise routine -- sets her apart from competitors her age.

Lyudmila admitted coaching her daughter is a challenge.

When Lyudmila watches Sasha, she said she feels "happy, but worried at the same time," a similar gamut of emotions viewers watched cross the face of Valeri Liukin as his daughter stepped up to perform each routine.

"It feels differently. I love the other kids, but with your own it's something different," Lyudmila said. "When she competes, my heart beats so fast."

Most challenging for Lyudmila is the realization that though Sasha is her daughter, they are two different people.

"She's not me," Lyudmila said, admitting she often tends to forget and push Sasha as she had been pushed. She credited her daughter's ability to quickly set differences aside and keep going.

"I was strong mentally, but Sasha is stronger physically," she said. "I don't care if she does not go to the Olympics. I want her to do gymnastics so she can be the best that she can be. I want her to reach her full potential."

Lyudmila has evolved as a gymnastics coach in the past few years. She's learned to coach each child as an individual, and that while some need to be pushed to produce results, others need a more patient hand. Unlike where she grew up, children were no longer sent away when they refused, or were unable, to perform.

"I had to adjust to them," she said, referring to her students. "I learned different ways to coach."

Lyudmila said though she would love to see her students become champions, producing them to be just that is no longer her goal. Her focus has shifted to helping her students find pleasure in the essence of the sport itself, in performing skills the way they were meant to be performed.

"I want children to understand the beauty of gymnastics," she said.

Sasha has responded well to the changes in her mother's coaching, and though the pair spend a large chunk of their week as coach and pupil, they still find time to enjoy being a family.

Sasha said she enjoys cooking with her parents -- her favorite dish is a Russian meat ravioli that her family prepares together. She loves to draw, play the piano, sing and read.

And though she would love to be wearing Nastia Liukin's Olympic gold, Sasha sets realistic goals for herself, one at a time.

"Right now, I want to make it to Regionals, then Nationals," she said of this year's competition schedule. "I try to reach one goal, then shoot for another one."