Tamburro Utilizes Summer For Academics And Gymnastics

The summer time between school years can be used as a time to relax and catch up with family and friends at home. It can also be a valuable time for student-athletes to prepare for the next competition season.

While several members of NC State's gymnastics team trained from their respective home clubs, others remained on campus to utilize NC State's practice facilities and stay on top of their academic studies.

For sophomore Maggie Tamburro, she took advantage of the summer time to not only improve as a gymnast but to also catch up in the classroom. A Hummelstown, Pa., native, she made the ultimate decision to stay on campus to better prepare herself for the upcoming school year.

Tamburro wasn't the only one that stayed in Raleigh to work on their craft though- she had plenty of company in the gym everyday as other members of the team worked to improve their strength and skills.

The following is a reflection of Tamburro's summer and how her focus on gymnastics and academics has prepared her for the upcoming year.

Life As A Student-Athlete
On weekdays, I would wake up at 8:00 and go to class for two hours. Then, I would grab a snack and meet the other girls in Talley to hang out before practice at noon. Practice is shorter during the summer because there aren't as many girls in the gym so it usually lasts two hours. On Mondays and Fridays, we would do a lifting workout after practice. After working out, I would head home, make lunch, and start my studying for the day.

Summer classes move very quickly, so the amount of work required outside of class is a lot more than during the fall and spring semesters. I would typically spend most of the afternoon and evening working on my homework and preparing for class the next day. On Wednesday nights, we would do our running workouts before dinner. After dinner, I would finish my homework and if I was still awake watch Netflix with my roommates before heading to bed.

Catching Up, Getting Ahead
Since Reynolds was being renovated during our season last year, I had to take a lighter course load to allow for travelling most Fridays and weekends. So, part of my motivation for staying was to make up for a few of the classes I could not take during our season.

Summer classes are also a great way to take really difficult classes because you only have one or two classes per summer semester whereas during the normal school year you have around five. This allows you to center your focus on one class. As such, I would say that my primary motivation was academics because I wanted to tackle some tough classes and stay on track for my degree. However, I also wanted the opportunity to train with my coaches because this is my first summer as a college gymnast and I was looking to them for guidance about how to maximize my training to improve for next season.

Giving Back
I did work one week of camp; I worked as a coach for the girls during their afternoon workouts. It was a lot to balance with my classes and practice schedule. On camp days, I would go from class to lifting to camp to practice and usually get home around 7:00 pm, but it was worth it because I always enjoy working with young gymnasts. It's nice to see the sport from the perspective of a young gymnast to remind you to always find the joy in the sport.

The girls at camp are so energetic and enthusiastic. They are practicing for about six hours a day and they are still bouncing around by the time we send them back to the dorms. It's also a bit surreal for most of us on the team because we used to be the girls at camps looking up to the college gymnasts who were coaching us and now we're the coaches!

Practice Makes Perfect
I think that I made a lot of improvements this summer that are going to help me be more prepared for preseason and, ultimately, the upcoming season. Summer practice is completely optional, but the coaches are allowed to give us corrections and suggestions if we ask for them, which helped me a lot.

On vault, I focused on improving my technique and consistency to make an upgraded vault more feasible. On beam, I did countless repetitions of all of my skills to increase my confidence and consistency. I also worked on a new side skill called a 'barani'. On bars, I did a lot of repetitions and focused on improving my form to minimize deduction. On floor, I spent a lot of time learning a double layout to increase the difficulty and consistency of my floor routine.

My main goal was to improve my consistency on all of the events and I definitely achieved this. Consistency is crucial because when my skills are more consistent, it's easier to be confident at meets and even in practice. Also, doing lifting workouts this summer has definitely improved my strength and prepared me well for preseason. Collectively, I know that my summer training has maximized my chance for a successful preseason and season.

Tamburro Utilizes Summer For Academics And Gymnastics

Players Mentioned

Maggie Tamburro

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