UCLA’s gymnastics team is filled with Olympians,
All-Americans and athletes who have been heavily praised throughout
their careers.
And then there’s junior Kisha Auld.
Auld had been out of gymnastics for five years prior to walking
onto the team this season. Her discovery by the UCLA gymnastics
program was a stroke of luck.
After transferring to UCLA in winter 2002, Auld began her
gymnastics resurrection in truly amateur fashion ““ taking
some recreational gymnastics classes at the Wooden Recreation
Center.
“I would go to these classes about once or twice a week
and the instructors there taught me new skills and I started
regaining some of my old ones,” Auld said. “Finally,
the instructors started urging me to try out for the
team.”
Auld’s highest level of competition had previously been
level 8, an unimpressive feat considering competition starts at
level 5 and ends at level 10.
She was the equivalent of a junior varsity player seeking a spot
on the No. 1-ranked collegiate team, and UCLA coach Valorie Kondos
Field wasn’t very interested.
“She asked me what it would take to be on the team and
kept pursuing it,” Kondos Field said. “I didn’t
think too much of her because I wasn’t really interested in a
level 8 gymnast, but her perseverance was impressive.”
Auld was eventually given a two-week tryout period to possibly
earn a spot on the team.
During the two weeks, Auld flourished individually, but Kondos
Field felt something was lacking.
“We saw promise, but felt that she didn’t grasp the
real concept of team,” Kondos Field recalled. “She was
expecting a lot more individual attention, so I sat down with her
and said, “˜We’re going to give you another two weeks
and you need to show me that you get it.'”
And eventually, she did.
“It was difficult because I hadn’t been a part of a
team in a while,” Auld said. “At first, I was looking
to get feedback after every turn, but then I realized that there
were other girls, too.”
Auld would subsequently adopt this new attitude during the next
two weeks, impressing coaches enough to secure a spot on the
team.
“She finally realized that there were 18 other people that
I had to coach and she started working out really well by
herself,” Kondos Field said.
Next for Auld would be the challenge of establishing her role in
a team of girls she had idolized and followed on television.
“At first I definitely questioned my abilities,”
Auld said. “But it was made clear to everyone at the start of
the season that it doesn’t matter where you come from and
there’s a reason you’re on the team.
“Now I never question my position or value to the
team.”
Auld’s newfound attitude and determination have won over
teammates, and her one-time idols now find themselves working
harder to keep their spot in the lineup.
“When she first came onto the team, we didn’t know
how she was going to contribute,” senior Jeanette Antolin
said. “But her hard work has spread to everyone.”
“She’s opened a lot of eyes and now girls are
thinking to themselves, “˜Oh, she just took my spot in the
lineup,’ and they’re working harder because of
that,” Antolin said.
Auld’s role has been that of a vault specialist this year,
and in the team’s season-opener against Utah (her first
collegiate meet), she performed a Tsukahara layout full, one of the
most difficult vaults.
“I go to the gym every day and just try to get
better,” Auld said. “I push myself to be the best that
I can.”
Although Auld has secured a spot on the gymnastics team and
established a solid role for herself, she is far from
satisfied.
“My goals for the rest of the year are to improve my
skills and do something better than I did it the day before,”
Auld said. “I do expect to have a bigger role with the team
next year.”
But Kondos Field is thinking about the present.
“She’s been able to accomplish so much in such a
short period of time,” Kondos Field said. “And I expect
her to have a larger role on the team by the end of this
season.”