A Look Behind The Bars and Beams
Gymnastics Club welcomes athletes of all experience levels, from beginners to lifelong gymnasts
Gymnast holding a planche while balancing himself on still rings at Nik Cole Memorial Meet in Texas Tech University
As students pass by various banners and signage throughout the Memorial Student Center, one sign stands out. Just outside the Student Rec Center, a board reads “Flips For Tips.” Students get a chance to see gymnasts outside the gym, spread out on the grass with their blue landing pad, performing tricks ranging from backflips to aerials.
The Gymnastics Club invites everyone, with or without experience, to join them not only for practices but for competitions as well.
“We offer a wide range of levels,” President Kayli Jones ’26 said. “We have a lot of people that have never done gymnastics before that are still able to compete, as well as people that have done it for 20-plus years. It’s been really cool watching them learn the sport. And they’re doing really well in competition as well.”
But behind the flips and tricks, the sport club is about something far simpler — a love for the sport, support from teammates and moments between competitions. For team captain Megan Rodriguez ’26, the club helped her rediscover her love for gymnastics without the pressure of coaches and competition.
For Rodriguez, the pressure to win eventually outweighed the joy of the sport, pushing her to quit gymnastics in high school. But four years later, a couple weeks after arriving at Texas A&M, she found the Gymnastics Club.
“I was like, ‘Maybe I’d go one or two days to see if I could still do my skills,’” Rodriguez said. “I show up to practice and I find out there’s no coaches — it’s just us leading each other. And I was like, ‘This is a cool environment,’ and I keep going. I joined the team and have been on the team since my freshman year.”
Now, as team captain, Rodriguez is responsible for choreographing competition routines, leading team practices and serving as the liaison between officers and team members. With open practices from Sunday through Thursday, members have time to work on their routines and skills to eventually compete with confidence.
Ximena Solis ’28 is one such member. Coming from a trampoline background, she had to relearn parts of gymnastics at Texas A&M, trying beam for the first time and experimenting with new routines on the floor.
“I was very nervous to compete on beam,” Solis said. “I used to be super scared. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna fall. I’m gonna give up score.’ But now, I’ve gotten more comfortable with the event, and it’s even affected how I practice. I’ve gotten less scared of doing and trying new things.”
The Gymnastics Sport Club travels across the United States by competing in invitationals and conferences, using each meet to prepare for the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs (NAIGC) National Championships.
“Those competitions leading up, they help us understand what requirements we need to meet, any deductions that we have and how we can improve on them,” Vice President Ahren Peters ’27 said. “By the time we get to Nationals, we understand our routines and we’re able to compete in the best way possible.”
This spring, the sport club is gearing up for a back-to-back competition run, opening with the Texas Gymnastics Conference (TGC) on Saturday, Mar. 28, followed by Nationals from April 8-11.
“In TGC only six people can compete per event,” Rodriguez said. “I try my best to have everyone at least do one event. Because why would you go to a competition and not compete? I would feel terrible. So I want everyone to at least compete one event.”
Despite the pressure of Nationals approaching, the team focuses on enjoying the experience before and after competitions.
“We usually get a day off where we get to do whatever we want in the city within reason,” Peters said. “We went up a mountain at one point when we were in Albuquerque. But overall, I think the best part is competing with them.”
For Solis, however, it was the small moments that stayed with her most, particularly the buddy letters.
“We get a different person to write a good luck letter,” Solis said. “It’s a secret letter, we call it a buddy letter. So, right before they compete, we give them the buddy letter and it’s just, ‘Good luck. You’re gonna kill it.’ It’s [a] super small detail, but I feel like it makes my day.”
As the club continues to grow, Peters said he hopes to make the team more accessible to students across campus. Stepping into the role of president next year, he hopes to expand outreach and introduce more students to the club’s recreational side.
“We’ve had a lot of people who are on the fence about joining the team,” Peters said. “But the club is open to anyone, even if it’s just for recreational use. [I want to start] really focusing on our home competition and getting as many people out there just to see what we can do – really get that Aggie spirit to join us in the Texas A&M Gymnastics Conference.”
Held at the Physical Education Activity Program Building (PEAP) on Saturday, Mar. 28 at 9am, the Texas Gymnastics Conference brings together gymnastics clubs from across the state. With morning and afternoon sessions available, swing by the PEAP and catch the high-flying routines of the Gymnastics Club up close.
“I started gymnastics when I was three years old,” Rodriguez said. “I did gymnastics for basically my entire life growing up. But there was a point in time where I just felt scared to do anything new. It felt like the pressure was getting to me. And I was always pressured to win.”
