The first two seasons of LSU sophomore all-arounder Ashlyn Kirby’s collegiate career have been defined by growth and change.
The Claremont, North Carolina native had Tommy John surgery in her senior year of high school and didn’t compete in a single meet in her final year at Shooting Stars Gymnastics.
As Kirby came to LSU last season and continued to make progress post-surgery, she only competed on floor once against George Washington and Iowa and scored a 9.625.
While Kirby loved making her floor debut as a freshman, she still longed to make a bigger impact in the rotation.
“Once my elbow and my body were ready, I just went into the gym every single day looking to get better,” Kirby said. “It’s been so much fun being a bigger part of the competition and actually getting to perform for LSU.”
Kirby has found her own voice on the team this season by serving as the floor lead-off. She has scored 9.80s and higher on floor in her last eight meets and set a new career high of 9.925 against Texas Woman’s.
“I really like being anywhere in the lineup that the coaches need me,” Kirby said. “They say that the first spot is consistent, knowing that you’re going to hit. So I’m glad that’s how they feel about my floor routine.”
More opportunities continue to open for Kirby. She broke into the bars lineup twice this season and served as an exhibitionist on beam in the meet at North Carolina State University.
She looks to senior all-arounder and beam lead-off Erin Macadaeg as motivation to keep working harder and being consistent in her respective lead-off position.
“We talk about all the time that the lead-off position is such a big position,” Kirby said. “She does a great job in that position. She’s one of the best lead-off beam workers in the nation.”
Kirby first became fascinated with LSU after coach Jay Clark ended his 20-year tenure with Georgia Gym Dogs.
Claremont is located three-and-half hours northeast from Athens, and both Kirby and her older sister Whitney admired the Gym Dog program growing up. Whitney competed as a Gym Dog from 2012 to 2014, but her younger sister didn’t exactly want to follow in her footsteps.
“I came down to LSU for a summer camp and just fell in love with everything,” Kirby said. “They offered me a scholarship, and within two days I verbally committed here.”
Now that Kirby is heading into the end of her sophomore season, the goal for herself and her team is to fine tune the small details so that they can be sharper for when the Southeastern Conference Championship rolls around.
Considering that some athletes do not recover well after Tommy John surgery, LSU coach D-D Breaux describes Kirby’s transition between her first and second year as tremendous.
“Because of the depth [of last year’s floor lineup], we did not push her to be ready sooner than what she was ready to compete,” Breaux said. “But she had a great summer and did a lot of conditioning and discipline in and out of the gym. Her performance has gotten better and better.”
“For me, just getting the experience of competing again was really necessary,” Kirby said. “Just the confidence that I’ve gained as the season progressed has made a tremendous impact in my gymnastics.”