By Madyson Montoya – Contributing Writer
Since the age of five, sophomore Nikki Duggan has been in the gym nearly every day to get where she is now.
With gymnastics being such a physically taxing and time demanding sport, it would seem inevitable for motivation to die out.
Duggan has kept her passion throughout her entire career because for her, the joy never stopped.
“When I was younger it was really fun getting to the next level,” Duggan said. “Once we got here, it’s more fun because now it’s a team.”
Love for the sport can only get you so far when it requires intense physical activity every day.
Injuries are bound to happen, and Duggan is no exception.
“I just have a bad back from tumbling,” she said.
Being in the sport for nearly 15 years, Duggan has to brush it off because it’s a part of the process. Injuries don’t, and won’t stop her from pushing hard for the rest of her teammates.
“She’s coming in with an injury and it’s really inspiring,” junior Taylor Chan said. “She’s a really good fighter and it encourages the ones that are coming in.”
As an older member on the team, Chan has been able to see Duggan’s growth over the past year.
“Sometimes she doesn’t even wear her back brace so she can do harder skills,” said Chan.
First-year head coach Joanne Bowers noticed Duggan’s extraordinary presence right away by doing a difficult release move on the bars at the first practice. The team’s reaction is what intrigued Bowers.
Quickly learning that Duggan’s release move was a new skill she got in the offseason, Bowers knew Duggan would make a valuable member for meet season.
“Every time she goes up, I hear what her teammates are saying,” Bowers said. “She must have worked really hard this summer to improve and people are noticing.”
The returners on the team are crucial to the encouraging atmosphere. Duggan is stepping up in a major way in her second year, leading by example and providing encouragement.
“She’s a good, inspiring person,” Chan said.
Transitioning to collegiate gymnastics can be difficult because it goes from an individual sport to a team sport. Before the college level, gymnasts are hoping to beat their teammates — and now, the mindset has to change.
Training as a unit with the pressure of messing up can be discouraging at times.
“Usually the freshmen take a little longer with the process,” Bowers said.
It doesn’t stop with the freshmen. Duggan, along with the rest of the team, are constantly encouraging each other at practice.
Chan and Duggan said that the team is always cheering and the gymnasium is never mute.
The culture remains identical, but the atmosphere has changed with Bowers. Positive reinforcement is key for first-year head coach at SJSU.
“Everyday is so positive,” Duggan said. “We’ve never had this much fun inside the gym.”
With the previous coaching staff, it was known which members were on scholarship and which were walk-ons. It was a previous tactic that did not work to encourage all teammates.
“As a team, we don’t see people as scholarship or no scholarship,” Duggan said. “That was more of a coach thing.”
In some ways, the old tactic did help as one of last year’s walk-ons proved herself and was rewarded with a scholarship, according to Chan.
Duggan works to encourage her team every day, but she’s not alone. The team is what makes the encouragement go around day in and day out.
“A lot of us don’t know how good we actually are,” Duggan said “Our teammates see it in us.”
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