ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 17, 1997 TAG: 9704180008
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA GIBSON THE ROANOKE TIMES
WITH MUSCLES TIGHT and brow furrowed, Lauren Sisler stares intently down the narrow, 80-foot runway.
Then, like a race-horse released from the gate, she bolts at full speed and punches a springboard that launches her tiny body over the vault in a twisting, turning blur.
The landing is just short. She falls forward onto her hands, scowls, then gets up to return to her starting mark. Sisler improves on the second vault - a pike Tsukhara - and draws praise from her coach, Lisa Mason.
``See? See how that was better? You got your hips up in the air,'' exclaims Mason, who has helped develop the 12-year-old into one of the best gymnasts in the region.
Sisler, a seventh-grader at Hidden Valley Junior High School, competes for the Roanoke Academy of Gymnastics at Level 10, one step below the elite level reserved for Olympic-caliber gymnasts. She is an alternate to compete in USA Gymnastics' national tournament after placing 19th in the regional qualifier April 13 in Downington, Pa.
Sisler will have another shot to qualify for national competition in May through the USAIGC (United States Association of Independent Gymnastics Clubs), a step below USGA. She has competed at the tournament the past two years, finishing 17th in 1996. Both national tournaments are in June.
``She's got a strong inner drive,'' says Mason, a former competitive gymnast who has taught at the academy for more than 10 years. ``She's extremely talented and has a lot of natural ability. But one of her greatest strengths is she's a competitor.''
Sisler's desire to win keeps her at the gym a minimum of 16 hours a week - Monday through Thursday from 4:15 to 8:15 p.m. - perfecting skills and routines. She gets home about 8:30, eats dinner, then starts on the evening's homework. It's a rough schedule, but Lesley Sisler says most gymnasts who compete at her daughter's level spend anywhere from 20 to 35 hours per week practicing.
``We look at it in the aspect that when she's 15 or 16, she'll probably still be doing this and a lot of others won't because they've burned out,'' she said. ``And I've seen the toll it can take on a body.''
Lauren Sisler says she has to work her social life around gymnastics but that the sacrifices are worth it.
``It sometimes puts a crimp in things like spending the night with my friends, going to the mall or hanging out at home,'' she said. ``But it pays off when I go to meets and win medals.''
Sisler, who is 4-feet-11 and 84 pounds, started gymnastics at age 4 and moved up quickly. She jumped from Level 5 to Level 8, then right to Level 10 by the age of 10.
Sisler, who credits her mom, dad (Butch) and coaches with contributing the most to her success, said she's content competing at Level 10. To become an elite gymnast, she explained, would require moving to another state to train at one of the nation's top schools.
``I usually don't think about the elite level,'' she said. ``I say `Wow, I'm in level 10. That's great!' I'd rather just get a college scholarship. I don't know where yet.''
Because of her skill level, Sisler has always been grouped with older gymnasts, an experience her mother said has contributed to her advanced emotional and personal development.
``I think she's matured quicker than most of her friends because she's had to,'' said Lesley Sisler. ``She knows that if she goes out to spend the night with friends and stays up late that it's no fun when she has to come into the gym and work out the next day.
"I do worry about it, but she's also very good at allotting her time. A lot of nights, she's in bed after 11, but she's still an honor student."
Despite the many challenges, Lauren seems to take it all in stride.
"I like to try new things, and I like to set goals and reach those goals," she said. "Gymnastics is just really fun for me."
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/THE ROANOKE TIMES. 1. Lauren Sisler of theby CNBRoanoke Academy of Gymnastics is working to earn a spot in two
national tournaments to be held in June. She is a Level 10 gymnast,
one step below the elite level reserved for those of Olympic
caliber. 2. (headshot) Lauren Sisler/'She's a competitor.' color.