There are times in life when you face a crossroads and have to decide if you are on the path that is building you up or tearing you down. JDP senior Katie was on that path as a gymnast. She started gymnastics training when she was 3 and fell in love. She’s still at it 20 hours a week, every week.
At the age of 10 she was selected, along with 7 other girls to enroll in the Elite training program for future Olympians. She was incredibly honored and ready to give it her all.
Katie, along with the other girls, would practice daily for 4 hours, have 2 hours of school time, 30 minute lunch and then 2 1/2 more hours of practice. So daily the expectation was the girls would practice 6-8 hours and then continue their school work when they went home from 6:30-9:00. Katie did this from the age of 10 to 15. At 15 she asked herself why the love of gymnastics was gone. She realized she had burned out and wasn’t looking forward to it anymore the way she always had. She knew it was time for a change. 
To regain her joy, she switched off the Olympic training tract and onto the college route. This involved a 20 hour a week practice regimen and Katie soon found the love of gymnastics reborn in her. The Elite tract she had been on saw 1 of 16 end up on competing at the Olympics. She’s happy for those that can endure the regimen, but knew it was not for her. 
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When it comes to gymnastics, so much else has had to take a backseat. All the gymnast who compete at this level are homeschooled to allow the flexibility for travel that is a necessity. Katie started homeschooling in 4th grade and her mom was able to handle the teaching until she hit 8th grade. At that time Katie began schooling in essense what is a virtual style with a variety of teachers on line, much the way students in MD have been experiencing school since the Covid-19 outbreak. 
Katie competes in vault, bars, beam and floor work. Floor and bars are her favorite. Her time competing has not been without injury. She broke both her elbows and was so worried when her 3 different casts came off that her gymnastics career could be over she couldn’t wait to do a handstand. She felt compelled to try one right away even though her arms wouldn’t straighten out flat. With fierce determination that is required to compete at this level, she had her arms straight for handstands in 10 days.
Katie incorporated her grips used in bar work into her formal portrait. Glam meets grit which caused her to grin big! She said she’s used to being a gym rat with messy hair and rarely ever sees herself dressed up. When I revealed her portraits her reaction was priceless and I had to write it down: “Woah, I am shook! That’s me?!? I knew your work was amazing but I’m not the most photogenic person. I never knew I could look like that!” Oh it most certainly is you beautiful!
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Katie wore a ring her dad made for her through her session…and this session was created as a surprise for her dad! I heard he was overwhelmed and thrilled by what we created!;) 
Katie knows that competing as a gymnast has taught her valuable life lessons that will be important throughout her whole life. She has learned to discipline herself to accomplish goals in the gym and the classroom, responsilibty, and time management. Her best friends are fellow gymnast who understand the rigors expected of them in ways that other friends do not. Missing practices is not an option. These girls travel together, eat together and learn to depend on one another as a team. The philosophy of the coaches is to build camraderie amongst the girls so they are prepared for college with the life skills to make them successful when their parents won’t be there. 
Katie has seen the pay off for investing mightily to make her dreams a reality. She will be attending Southern Utah University this fall on a full athletic scholarship. The small beautiful campus full of friendly people made her feel right at home although it’s across the country. It has one of the best training faclities in the US. It is a 4-5 hour flight time which will always require 2 flights plus a 2 hour drive when they arrive. I’m fairly certain her family, aka her biggest cheerleaders, will be wracking up the frequent flier points over the next 4 years!
Katie’s home gym is Docksiders in Millersville, so we are very grateful to Westminster School of Gymnastics and Cheer who graciously welcomed us into their facility for Katie to work her magic. The little gymnast who were in training while we were shooting were in awe of Katie’s abilities and eager to achieve mastery of their own skills. 
Always on the hunt for an interesting perspective, I asked Katie to do her thing over top of me!
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When Katie took to the floor she was like a sprite springing into action in grace and fluidity that was incredible to watch.
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One last run on the tumble track as almost an afterthought as we were preparing to leave. Katie’s mom loves watching her perform and asked her to do one run on the tumble track before we left. I’m sure glad she did! Arline plans to try and watch Katie compete in college and let’s hope she’s able to do that in person often!
To close, I told Katie I had this photo I captured of MARTA (the metro system in Atlanta) for years waiting for the right portrait to use it in a composite creation. Katie supplied the inspiration and MARTA was renamed Katie for the day! Katie I wish you all the best in the pursuit of your dreams dear one! You were an absolute blast to create for and it’s clear you are a joy to all who get to do life with you! 😉
