After a year of struggles, Marissa switched gyms with the hope that a change in scenery and coaching would rekindle her love of the sport. She moved to Future Gymnastics Academy owned by Olympic coach, Christian Gallardo. After a week, Marissa is already executing skills that she hadn't done in over a year. The future looks bright.
For gymnasts who want to compete at the highest level in college, Alabama is on the short list of dream schools. Marissa is no different and she recently got a taste of what it is to be a member of the Crimson Tide gymnastics program when she spent 4 days on campus attending their summer camp. She stayed in the dorms with a Tide team member, practiced her skills, and choreographed an amazing dance routine with some of the other attendees.
After 4 years in the day program, Marissa wanted to improve the balance between gymnastics and school. After a meeting with her head coach and a month or so of doing half days at the gym, Marissa decided that she wanted to go back to school and be a regular kid. She is back in a group with all the young ladies with whom she started gymnastics when she was five years old and couldn't be more excited.
After a season of ups and downs including a major case of the "twisties", Marissa went into regionals hoping to finish the season on a strong note. Instead, Marissa turned in her best meet of the year and qualified for level 9 Easterns in Virginia Beach, VA. At Easterns, Marissa turned in another strong performance finishing 4th on beam (9.500) and 9th in the all-around (37.225).
Hoping to begin her dream of becoming an elite gymnast, Marissa traveled to Cincinnati for the Coaches Spectacular Elite Compulsory meet. Overcoming some initial jitters and a fall on beam, Marissa performed well enough to earn a qualifying score of 34.500. Next, she will try to get the required optional score for Hopes at the KPAC Cup Elite National Qualifier in Charlotte, NC on March 10-11. Great job and good luck Marissa!
Marissa attended TOPs A camp at the National Team Training Center in Huntville, Texas with her coach from December 2-6, 2015. At camp, the top 8-10 year old gymnasts work on basic skills, optional skills progressions, and learning the elite compulsory routines. She made some new friends but the highlight of the week was placing 3rd in the physical abilities competition. Great job, Marissa!
Hoping to build on a strong performance at the state meet, Marissa traveled to South Bend, IN for the region 5 championships. Competing against the top gymnasts in the region brought out the best in Marissa as she scored her season high on beam, won bars and floor with a 9.750 and 9.450 respectively, and had the highest AA score in any age group with a 38.400.
Marissa turned in one of her strongest performances of the year against some of the strongest gymnasts in the state this past weekend. Starting on bars, she had no major errors and earned a 9.325. Marissa remained consistent for the rest of the meet scoring a 9.650 on beam, 9.450 on floor, and 9.500 on vault. Her total score of 37.925 earned Marissa the all-around state championship.
Marissa traveled to Sandusky, Ohio for her first meet in a month. The four weeks off were evident when she came off the beam for the first time all season and scored an 8.850 on vault. While she scored her lowest scores of the season on these two events, she earned her highest scores of the season on floor and bars with a 9.750 and 9.825 respectively. Her all-around score of 37.425 was good enough for first place.
Marissa experienced Chi-town with her mom, grandmother, and cousin this past weekend. Arriving Thursday, they visited the American Girl store where each of the girls had their doll’s hair done and purchased several outfits. Next, they visited the Nike Store and the Willis Tower where the girls posed for pictures. On Friday, Marissa competed at the Navy Pier and scored 37.625 for first place all-around.
At the Buckeye Classic, Marissa overcame a slight injury suffered during practice earlier in the week and a sluggish warm-up to turn in another strong all around performance with a score of 37.400. She took first place on UB, BB, FE, and AA however the highlight of her weekend was hanging out with Nia Dennis and Gabby Douglas while our level 10 gymnasts were competing.
Marissa watched the Alabama gymnastics team against UK in Lexington. She also got a couple of pics with the Alabama gymnasts before travelling to Indianapolis for the Circle of Stars. On Sunday, Marissa earned her highest score to date at any level: 38.275 for 1st place in the all-around.
Marissa competed this weekend in the Coaches Spectacular hosted by Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy. Marissa hit every routine but tough judges scored gymnasts low all day. Still, she scored a 37.025 and took third place in the all-around. She also made the event finals where she scored 9.300 on beam.
Marissa and her mom traveled to Atlanta for the Atlanta Crown Invitational. Marissa once again had a strong meet taking first place on vault and beam, and second on bars, floor, and all-around with a 38.075. The highlight of the weekend though was seeing her dad who surprised her by taking leave from a deployment with the Army to attend the meet.You can see a video of the reunion here.
Marissa and the rest of the family headed to Nassau, Bahamas for a week of fun and sun at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. Oh...she had her first meet of the season too. Marissa overcame some jitters in warm-up and had a strong meet taking first place on vault, bars, beam, and all-around. She also took 2nd on the floor. The Atlantis Crown Invitational is the largest meet in the Caribbean. Great job, Marissa.
Marissa returned from TOPs A Camp at the National Team Training Center in Huntsville, TX. She traveled with Coach Fernando Villa. She tested for the team in October and was one of only 54 gymnasts named to the team. Courtesy of USAG, Marissa worked on improving her skills and routine upgrades. Coach Villa also informed us that Marissa scored 9th on the physical abilities testing. Great job, Marissa.
Marissa returned from the NTTC in Huntsville, TX where she attended an Elite Developmental Camp with teammates Shania (l) and Nikki (r). Under the supervision of national team coaches, Marissa worked on improving her skills and received some suggestions for upgrades in her routines. Great job, Marissa.
