Hi GymBeat Family,
It's February, so you all know what that means, competition season is here at last! Of course, it's not going to be the same experience as previous seasons, but that leads us to a good talking point for this month's newsletter; adapting to new experiences. A lot of things are going to be the same as we come out of this pandemic, and a lot will be different, but it is our approach to these new experiences that will determine how we move forward. Try to keep that in mind as you read through this month's newsletter. Enjoy!
Coach of the Month
Bailey Avila-Beach
Bailey comes to Gymnastics Beat with a huge background in cheer, tumbling, and gymnastics. Not only has his reputation grown the past 18 months he’s been with us, his skills teaching upper-level tumbling and cheer classes are the reasons many teen athletes are coming as far as Hanford, Selma, Kingsburg, Lemoore, and Visalia! This speaks volumes on how far parents are willing to travel to get the best training for their kids! Two of Bailey’s many goals are to one day coach a Junior 4 team as well as starting his own general gymnastics classes. In his spare time, Bailey loves video and board games…chess is his fave! He also enjoys karaoke, horror films, and musicals!.....hmm, what an interesting combination! His family, especially his brothers, all love to watch different types of anime! That’s why he dressed up as ‘Naruto’ last Halloween….Bailey is a character within himself! Congratulations Bailey for being selected as this month’s featured ‘animated’ coach and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! (Feb 24th)
Athletes of the Month
Suriana Leal
Suriana or ‘Suri’ has been cheering at Gymbeat (CVC & Pyramid Athletics) for 9 years! She is now 13 and in 7th grade at Bullard Talent. She is currently on Senior Level 5 and loves to throw her favorite tumbling skill: front through to full (full-twisting layout). Suri has always been a flyer, but loves all aspects of cheer, which includes tumbling, stunting, and especially bringing it home with dancing at the end of her routine! Her goals for cheer are like many other high-level athletes, to make it to the ‘Worlds’ Championships in Florida and come back with the title! Her head coach Stefan says: “It’s very possible next season after we’re all done with Covid”. Suri’s parents say: “One day, we hope Suri receives a college scholarship in cheer!” Outside of the gym, Suri has many hobbies to keep her busy! She’s involved in 3 performing-arts groups at school: Concert Choir, Jade Dancers, and Showcase. She is extremely dedicated to her studies, gets straight A’s, and aspires to become a doctor. She has a love of photography and all things ‘anime’ while being an avid GAMER! Suri has a black lab named Willow, whom she adores! Thank you, Suri (and your parents) for all of your dedication and love for GymBeat!
Jenae Alvarez
Jenae has been with us since she was 4 years old, taking gymnastics classes, and at age 5 moved on to our first competition cheer team CVC (Central Valley Cheer). She started out with the ‘Mini-Heartbreakers’ team and from that point on, there was no stopping her. Flash forward 8 quick years with tons of 1st place medals, banners, jackets, and national championships under her belt, Jenae has grown into one of the most powerful all-star cheerleaders representing our newly named Pyramid Athletics All-Star Cheer team and is currently competing for Senior level 5 utilizing her favorite skill, the ‘whip tuck’ and all types of difficult stunting! Now at age 13, Jenae hopes to fine-tune her techniques so that one day, she would like to represent PA and GymBeat at the ‘Worlds’ cheer championships in Florida! (Only level 5’s are invited to this grand-daddy of competitions). She has been under the guidance of head coach Stefan for many years and appreciates his dedication and love for cheer! Outside of the gym, Jenae loves to read and spend time with friends! Thank you, Jenae (and your parents!) for making Gymbeat your home away from home!
Sam's Corner
Competition season is here for both our gymnastics and cheer-leading teams! What a joy to see our athletes represent our gym as they finally get to show off their skills and routines via the virtual world! Yes, we aren’t able to travel yet, but that doesn’t stop our athletes from enjoying what it means to compete. It can be nerve-wracking and yet powerfully satisfying to win that 1st or 2nd place finish. Competition teaches us how to plan, practice, go through each step of the routine over and over, not only during gym time but parents, you’ll see your kids practicing even at home or the weekends prior to the event! It’s like school and the BIG test! We study, read our notes, and ask how to improve our scores. Athletic competition is no different! Each goal they reach and are able to attain, begs the question: “What’s next?” And by March or April, if Covid restrictions are lifted, we’ll be able to travel and compete in front of a real spectator crowd! We all hope so!
Exciting News
We would like to introduce and welcome our newly appointed Rec Director Eleanor Tune to our leadership staff! She was a coach for Gymbeat several years ago and moved to Missouri with her husband in 2017. While there, Eleanor worked for two gymnastics centers coaching Junior Olympics levels 2, 3, 4 & 5, as well as handling special events, scheduling, training, staffing, assisting the owner, and gym floor/front desk management. Eleanor and her husband recently moved back to Fresno and she couldn’t be any happier working again for Gymbeat, plus in her new position! We anticipate many of our families returning between now and the summer season and Eleanor’s responsibility will be to find the perfect fit and direction for all rec kids. Besides having her plate full with her new job, Eleanor tries to break away once in a while to watch her 9-year-old niece, Bella, practicing and competing for our ‘Junior Level 2’ Pyramid Athletics cheer team! Welcome back, Eleanor!
Recipe of the Month
Lemony Yogurt Pound Cake
Recipe by Food Network INGREDIENTS
1 .5 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup plain lowfat (2-percent) Greek yogurt
1/4 cup lowfat (1-percent) milk
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat an 8 1/2- by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with baking spray.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in another bowl and rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingers.
Add the yogurt, milk, olive oil, vanilla, egg whites, and whole egg, and vigorously whisk until well blended.
Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture and fold until just incorporated.
Transfer to the prepared pan.
Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, and then unmold and cool to room temperature.
Enjoy!
That's all for this month's newsletter! We hope you enjoyed it! Got any new goals for competition season this year you want to share? Email them to info@gymnasticsbeat.com and you could be featured in next month's newsletter!
Signing off for now!
-The Gymnastics Beat Team