Ben Sky’s grasp on the competition was beginning to slip away.
The 17-year-old Concord gymnast was fighting for a trip to the Junior Olympics national competition in Michigan, but his rings routine at the regionals in Braintree, Mass., in April was hurting his chances.
The rings have long been Sky’s best event. His build is right: Bulging arms, a full chest and firm shoulders. His coach describes him as a “power kid.” But the routine that landed him first place at the New Hampshire State Meet in March was his curse at regionals. On the dismount, he landed flat on his stomach and tied for 25th place.
The vault was his next event, and his practice run went about as well as the rings. Sky’s vault maneuver is one of the most challenging moves done by anyone in the region, his Coach Craig Thibaudeau says. But Sky’s performance on the rings must have been lingering because he hit the mat again, not on his feet, but his frontside, knocking the wind out of him. He worked to regain his breath, but time was short – he was first up for the run that would count.
The order is chosen at random, but Thibaudeau was able to persuade the judges to let Sky regain his breath and go last. As the other gymnasts took their turns down the runway, spinning through the air, Thibaudeau took Sky off to the side. The coach and athlete have been paired since Thibaudeau first saw Sky do flips into a foam pit like a freestyle snowboarder at age 9. The courage to perform aerials coupled with a sharp instinct to listen to his body spelled the right formula for a talented gymnast, and such characteristics have stuck with Sky through the years.
They came into play that day in Braintree. Sky was called back up to make his vault attempt. With his ring performance dragging his overall score, he needed to stick it on the vault to save his chances at a trip to nationals. Another deep breath and he was off down the runway, bounding off the springboard, hands planting on the table for a blink and into the air. A round-off with a back layout and two twists. This time his feet landed firmly on the mat with a score of 15, the best anyone would do on the vault that day.
The score pulled him up from 23rd overall to 10th. He’d be spending Mothers Day weekend in Battle Creek, Mich.
“Ben was upset after the ring routine, and his vault takes a lot of focus and concentration,” Thibaudeau said. “To be in a place where you’re upset can be pretty dangerous. … And then he nailed it.”
Sky would go on to place first in the rings at the Junior Olympics and fourth in vault. He placed sixth overall, and returned to New Hampshire to enjoy the rest of summer before heading back to Concord High for his senior year.
Now his sights are set on making a college squad. The gymnastics world is relatively small, and men’s gymnastics is even smaller. There are only 16 teams with conference affiliation in the NCAA, plus five schools with club squads. Breaking onto the college scene is tough, but Sky’s performance at nationals bolstered his resume as one of the top high school gymnasts in the country.
“Definitely the goal is to compete in college,” Sky said.
He has already had some interest from a handful of programs – he would not divulge which ones – but he’s “feeling pretty confident” he’ll be able to make that next step, and Thibaudeau agrees.
“The prospects are very good for him being a college gymnast,” Thibaudeau said. “He’s amazing on the rings, won a national championship on the rings, and that’s an event coaches are looking to fill on their squads.”
Sky works with Thibaudeau at Granite State Gymnastics in Bow. With an older brother that competed seriously as a snowboarder, Sky was introduced to aerials at an early age. The family spent many weekends on the slopes, and one day, Sky joined his brother for a freestyle class in the gym. Turning flips into the foam pit, Sky took the turns off axis, like a skier or snowboarder might. At 9, he started working in the gym with Thibaudeau, straightening the flips on axis like a gymnast.
“Skiing definitely helps with awareness and stuff, like riding freestyle in the park,” Sky said. “So I already had some air when I went into gymnastics.”
Most gymnasts start a little earlier in life, Sky said, maybe age 6 or 7. But he learned the sport quickly and began competing, until his freshman year of high school when he was sidelined for more than a year with a back injury. He slowly returned to his training regiment, focusing first on his strength and then getting back onto the rings, vault and bars.
“What I admire most about Ben is things don’t always come easy to him, but he is always willing to stay invested and work with me to reach his potential in this sport,” Thibaudeau said. “He’s always setting high goals for himself.”
The next goal is to compete against the college gymnasts he follows like a fan.
“I watch it for inspiration,” Sky said. “How big they’re going, the skills they have, it’s all done at such a high level.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3309, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)