Kelsey Lee has never been a big fan of buses, and much of that can probably be traced to one day her freshman year, when she missed gymnastics practice because she didn’t get off a bus at the right stop.

No worries, though.

“They laughed,” she said of her coaches.

The first of many laughs, it would turn out. Lee, now a senior on the gymnastics team, has gained a reputation as a serious yet easygoing teammate.

“I know I’m the team clown,” Lee said. “I try to make it a less stressful atmosphere because gymnastics is very stressful, just making your routines.”

Her ability to lighten the atmosphere has evolved throughout her many years in the sport. She started as a 2 or 3 year old jumping around on beds and couches and by age 4 was already involved in organized gymnastics.

From the start, it was a serious endeavor for her. Her mother, Gail Lee, was thrown off at first because her daughter wouldn’t acknowledge her in the crowd at competitions.

“Originally I was offended: I had to learn that she was just one that was very serious about her sport,” Gail said.

Some of it might have been the influence of her father, Eugene Lee, who was in the Marines and at one time worked for the FBI. He is also a football, basketball and baseball coach.

Eugene said Kelsey was passionate about gymnastics not long after she started.

“Kelsey was dragging us to practice,” Eugene said. “She was telling us it was time to go to practice.”

While he said his competitive nature likely had a great influence on her, Eugene said Kelsey has added the humorous dimension to her experience with the sport over time.

“As she’s gotten older in age and in the sport, I think she’s learned how to bring it down a notch,” Eugene said. “She’s able to find the fun in it while being competitive.”

Leigha Hancock, a senior and Lee’s roommate of three years, said Lee keeps a good balance in showing the freshmen how things work.

“They definitely understand the seriousness of working out and being part of a team from her,” Hancock said. “She’ll tell you when she doesn’t like something. She’ll tell you how to fix it.”

Senior Heather Zolton, also in her third year as Lee’s roommate, said Lee makes sure not to be too intense when helping the first-year team members.

“It helps them a lot to open themselves up to the team. She’ll joke around with people, and she still helps them,” Zolton said. “She still coaches them, but she does it in a way that makes the freshmen feel comfortable and more like a teammate.”

On Feb. 1, Lee will return to her home state of Maryland for the Governor’s Cup competition. It’s something the family is looking forward to, said her father and mother.

“This is a really exciting and very important competition for the family,” Gail said.

And her father noted that all family members will definitely hear about the upcoming meet.

“We’re going to make sure that those family members who haven’t seen her [compete in college] get a chance to see her this year,” Eugene said.

But until then, Lee will continue working to improve and helping her young teammates get adjusted to college. A big part of that is Lee, Hancock and Zolton setting an example for their teammates.

“It’s very important for us three to really keep ourselves up and keep our attitudes in check and try not to get frustrated because if we get frustrated, then so does the rest of the team with us,” Kelsey Lee said.

While competitive, she keeps it all in perspective for the younger gymnasts.

“You can tell that the freshmen are very nervous, and they’re scared that they’re going to let us down. They came to all the seniors in Arizona and were like, ‘We’re going to try our hardest, and if we fall, don’t be mad at us,'” Kelsey Lee said. “But we just try to stress the importance of just trying your best.”

Just don’t expect Lee to be helping any of her teammates learn how to use the buses.

“I’ve learned the routes of the buses, and I’ve learned that I just shouldn’t take the buses,” Kelsey Lee said. “That’s just not good for me. I’m not good with that.”