Certain high school sports gain all the attention when it comes to media and recruitment, but how are other athletes like gymnasts recruited to compete in college?
Football is one of the most popular high school sports in the United States, and recruitment is one of the most important aspects of college football. Discovering a talented player is easy when every high school in the country has a football program, but sports like gymnastics aren’t offered at public schools around the nation. The talent comes from the club level.
As athletes get older and progress through high school, gymnasts continue to progress through a private club, competing at outside meets including events like the Junior Olympics. College coaches start recruiting gymnasts as early as middle school in order to secure the top prospects in a highly competitive sport. For everyone, though, recruitment is different.
Haleigh Bryant, current LSU gymnast and 2021 Vault National Champion, described her gymnastics recruitment experience. She recalled growing up and falling in love with the sport from the beginning.
“Ever since I stepped into a gym I was like, ‘this is what I want to do’.”
As she went through her early career, Bryant realized gymnastics came naturally. She proceeded to excel as she climbed levels in the USA gymnastics program, eventually becoming an exciting prospect as she got older. Her college recruitment started early, and she describes how she became an LSU Tiger.
“I actually committed in eighth grade, [Jay Clark] came to my gym to set up a visit, this was the only place I visited, and after I came here, I was like this is where I want to be. I want to be a Tiger,” Bryant said.
Bryant’s journey to LSU reflects how a lot of gymnasts are recruited. Outside events and national rankings often dictate the attention gymnasts get from the college level, and athletes can potentially be recruited as early as middle school. For some, like Bryant, the process is easy. For others, only 81 schools have a gymnastics program, and making one of those rosters is far from an easy task.
