Gymnastics is a very interesting sport when it comes to the concept of the little details involved and the various key details that need to be understood before attempting the many dangerous stunts and skills in the sport. I, for one, love the sport and its many components but for some, it may just seem like a confusing, dangerous, and scary activity. You may assume that the sport may be just for girls, however, it is quite unique for men to do gymnastics as I started out doing gymnastics when I was only five years old. I absolutely loved doing the various exercises as I sweat for three hours straight. I know that may not sound very appealing to most, but for me, it was absolutely amazing getting up on a tall bar at the age of five and getting to swing off of it into a foam pit. As I slowly grew through the years going through countless levels of challenges, I learned new skills that all contribute to the bigger and more breathtaking skills I am able to accomplish now. My brother, Sam, is also an amazing gymnast, trains with me at Hotshots gymnastics, right outside of Syosset. One year, we both had an amazing year as we each claimed a second prize in level 6 at the Regional competition. Having gone through three years consisting of compulsory and team, with an additional seven at levels four, five, six (twice), eight, nine and the highest level, then, I will continue to practice throughout high school. My brother is close behind as this is his 9th year and he is going through his second year at level nine. Level ten is a challenging level for me as I am competing against many other competitors. Just last year there were over 150 kids in my age group alone for the regional competition. I ended up finishing one placement short of a trip to the national championship, although it was disappointing, I have made it my priority to get a lot better to be able to make it next season to nationals. My parents have been very supportive of my career as they have been the ones to come to every meeting and pick me up from every practice. They are also the ones that pay for my classes and training. I also have the support of my Coach Cris and my former Coach Erika. With their help, I was able to go from a forward roll to a front handspring to a frontflip and so on and so forth. I absolutely love this sport as it has also made me strong and it has revealed characteristics about me that have 100% changed my life.