SPORTS PROFILE: Mackenzie Kuller joins new co-op Gymnastics team

Noah Raaum, Staff Writer|December 13, 2016

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Noah Raaum

Senior Mackenzie Kuller has been doing gymnastics off and on for her entire life. “When I was little, I was really into gymnastics, but then I stopped [in Upper School] because SPA didn’t have a team,” Kuller said. Although she’s the only student from SPA that joined the co-op team, she has been enjoying practicing with the other team members from Cretin-Derham Hall.

From beam, to bars, to floor, to vault, senior Mackenzie Kuller is thrilled that gymnastics has become a part Saint Paul Academy and Summit School’s winter sports program. Kuller is representing SPA in new a co-op gymnastics team combined with two other students from Cretin-Derham Hall. This is the first year that SPA has been invited to the co-op team and the first time that the school has ever been involved in gymnastics. Small but strong, the team is ready to push forward into the new year.

Gymnastics requires strength, flexibility, agility, and balance Some skills can take years to master, and the techniques are incredibly strenuous. In the recent 2016 Summer Olympics, Simone Biles from the United States won the gold medal for all-around, vault, and floor. Olympic gymnasts begin their training before they can walk, and practice 30+ hours per week..

Kuller has been doing gymnastics off and on for her entire life.

“When I was little, I was really into gymnastics, but then I stopped [in Upper School] because SPA didn’t have a team,” Kuller said.

Although she’s the only student from SPA that joined the co-op team, she has been enjoying practicing with the other team members from CDH.

“It’s nice to get to know people from another school, and even though it’s small, I kind of enjoy how small it is because you really get to know the people,” Kuller said. “It’s a fun way to get exercise and socialize with people while also being part of a team.”

The co-op team is planning on attending one meet per week and going through mid-February.

“Practice is pretty basic, we’re just trying new things to improve our routines. We don’t have any specific goals like making it to a competition, but just getting it off to a good start,” Kuller said. “Everyone’s here to learn new things.”

The team is still in its development stage, but it’s slowly coming together.

“We’re a pretty new team so we just want to figure out how to make it work and develop a pattern to start the team off well,” she said. “I hope that the team will continue to be a part of SPA, and that more people will be interested in the future.”