One shot. One opportunity. One dream season.
For gymnast Michelle Selesky, who will be graduating this spring, it is all she has. But while many might have given up and lost hope, Selesky would not have it any other way.
“Even though it’s only one season out of four, it is totally worth it for me,” Selesky said. “I love my sport and this is a dream come true. Compete at UCLA, it is all I have ever wanted to do so it’s been exciting to get out there and compete this year.”
With the seventh-ranked Bruins off to a great start, Selesky, who is team captain, is proud to be a contributor to the team’s success. She has competed in all of the team’s meets thus far and has set a career-high on the floor (9.900) and the vault (9.900).
“Her leadership is impeccable,” coach Valerie Kondos Field said. “She has a passion for the sport and for her team that is unsurpassed by her other teammates. With all of our injuries, I can’t even tell how far worse off we would be this season if she had not been so disciplined in her training. It really is a fairy-tale ending to a fairy-tale story.”
But after three long years of hard work, grueling training and strenuous workouts, Selesky feels fortunate just to have seen this dream come true. Over the past four years, fate has tried to crush this dream of hers several times, but Selesky has always been there holding on.
“The hope kept me going,” Selesky said. “I have a lot of faith in myself. I knew eventually the hard work would pay off and that I would get to where I wanted to be. It’s just that it took three years but I never doubted that I’d make it.”
Unlike many of her peers, Selesky was not a highly touted national recruit. She had never competed on an Olympic team, like her roommate Kate Richardson. She hadn’t even received a phone call from the coach asking her to come try out for the team.
But what she did have was character.
“She has unwavering integrity and character,” Kondos Field said. “When you talk about any of the faults she has, they come from working too hard or wanting something too badly. She is also extremely appreciative of the opportunity she has had here. Nothing goes past her without her being appreciative and grateful.”
Even after being rejected twice by Kondos Field, Selesky did not give up. She wanted only one thing and she would get it somehow.
“UCLA was one of the most important things in her life,” said her father, Kenneth Selesky. “She couldn’t see herself competing for any other university. Sometimes people said it was not meant to be but she wanted it and she made it be.”
With hard work, Selesky earned her spot at UCLA counting on something besides athletic ability ““ academics. Kondos Field invited her to participate in a two-week training program, telling her she would be cut afterward but have an opportunity to be the team manager.
“The first thing I saw was that she had a genuine enthusiasm for gymnastics,” Kondos Field said. “Second was her unstoppable work ethic. You would give her a drill and even after an hour, you would find her still doing it. And lastly, I felt that she had a lot of unexplored talent.
“It was this combination of work ethic, enthusiasm and talent that I saw. I wanted that in our gym.”
Nonetheless, her skill level was below par, and in a lineup full of Olympians and nationally recognized gymnasts, Selesky found herself in what seemed like a spot in oblivion.
Gymnasts are categorized according to their skill level on a scale of 1 to 10, with the best gymnasts being Elite. While the rest of her teammates were Level 10 and Elite gymnasts, Selesky entered UCLA as a Level 9.
“Prior to this year I barely competed because I was just learning my skills,” Selesky said. “I was nowhere near the other girls on the team so I had to learn all these new skills. I spent the last three years playing catch-up and training really hard just to be able to compete at this level.”
For three seasons, Selesky watched from the sidelines, cheering on her teammates while aching for a chance to participate. She trained and practiced as hard as the other girls, working during the season and continuing to develop her skills in the offseason.
Then, last season, Selesky sprained both of her ankles. It was a crushing setback for her and left her out of action for most of the season.
“There were times when she was a little discouraged,” Kenneth Selesky said. “She did not want to be a weight on the team. She wanted to be a participant and contribute. It bothered her that she could not help the team.”
Entering her senior year, Selesky knew she had only one more chance left to make her dream come true. She had to put the past behind her and look forward to her last opportunity and make the most of it.
So far, she has done exactly that. She has exceeded expectations and grown to be a regular member of the Bruins’ lineup. Even though she will not be honored as a UCLA great and even though her name will not become a gymnastics’ legend, Selesky’s hard work and determination will never be forgotten by those who matter most to her ““ her parents, her coaches and her teammates.
“Her hard work really pushes us to be better,” senior teammate Ashley Peckett said. “When she’s doing so well, it gives you healthy competition within the team. Her in the gym is such a positive inspiration. She has so much excitement to be there and she’s always trying to work a little bit harder.”
As the Bruins make a run for the NCAA Championship, Selesky knows her story has been a success regardless of what may happen. A national title would simply be icing on one amazing cake.
“I knew eventually that the hard work would pay off, and I would get to where I wanted to be,” Selesky said. “It’s just that it took three years.
“But I never doubted that I’d make it. It has been my dream since I was 11 and I cannot believe I have finally made it here. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”