In her freshman year, Pio gymnast Nina McGee was unsure if gymnastics would be a part of her future. Having been competing since age five, an injury almost stopped McGee from fulfilling her life-long goal of competing at a collegiate level.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, McGee came to DU with goals that were unfortunately postponed due to tibia rod surgery in both of her legs during fall quarter of her freshman year. The injury started as shin splints during her junior year of high school, but progressed to a point that could have ended her career forever. Although McGee was unable to perform during her first season, she never gave up on her dream to compete at a collegiate level for the Pioneers.
After a full year of physical therapy and learning how to run, walk and jump again, McGee was able to use the summer after her freshman year to slowly move back into her skills.
“Once I got through my rehab, I knew that I could do it,” McGee said.
Having been a Level 10 (the highest level in the Junior Olympic program) in the sport for the past five years, muscle memory and confidence in her skills allowed McGee to come back at full strength for her sophomore season.
“Thankfully, everything kind of came right back,” McGee said.
Assistant coach Carl Leland had known McGee’s club coach from Cincinnati and the two had been in contact concerning McGee’s recruitment to Denver.
“Being a college gymnast has been my goal since I was five years old,” McGee said. “I literally told my dad and coaches that I wanted to do college gymnastics.”
Other schools, like Michigan State, Auburn, Ohio State, West Virginia, UC Berkley and Georgia were also interested in McGee, but after a visit to the DU campus, McGee’s mind was set on coming to Denver.
For McGee, DU had the perfect combination of athletics and academics. She is currently a junior, hoping to pursue a career in Psychology when she graduates from the university in 2015.
“Gymnastics takes up about three hours of my day, but classes come first,” McGee said. “After practice, I have plenty of time to get homework done, I just have to manage my time and prioritize things.”
For the past three years, spending 20 hours a week with the 16 other girls on the team has allowed McGee to create irreplaceable bonds with her teammates and coaches alike.
“My parents put me in the sport and didn’t let me quit and my coach from back home got me where I am today. My coaches at Denver as well; they took a risk with me. After my surgery freshman year, we didn’t know if I would be able to come back, but they still allowed me to be with the team. My team has also been behind me the entire way as well,” said McGee.
Home meets and competing at DU’s Hamilton Gymnasium has been a major motivator and also something McGee always looks forward to—something McGee says she couldn’t do without.
“Competing at home is awesome, you know that everyone is there for you. At a home meet, you can always see your friends and parents in the crowd. After meets, the little girls always come up to you and say how well you did. You feel like a role model; it’s the most amazing feeling ever,” McGee said.
An all-around gymnast, McGee has received multiple accolades over the years for her high performance level and complex skill set. Last year she was deemed a 2013 First Team All-WAC on bars and floor, along with 2013 Second Team All-American on floor and bars.
“I love floor; it’s one of my better events. A double layout on floor is one of my hardest tricks,” McGee said.
With the remainder of the 2014 season and the 2015 season ahead of her, McGee hopes to achieve one of her life-long gymnastic goals before she graduates.
“A career high was when I got a 9.975 on floor last year. I was so close to achieving my goal of scoring a 10.00 before I graduate,” McGee said
After DU, McGee has hopes to move to either Atlanta or Kansas City and to continue being involved with the sport as either a volunteer coach or judge.
“A lot of people don’t know how much we practice and how much we are willing to give up,” McGee said. “Gymnastics has given me a lot of good qualities and life lessons and I hope to share that with others.”
Years of adversity, triumphs and hard-work have helped shaped McGee into the person and gymnast that she is today.
“Gymnastics is almost like an out of body experience, I get to go fly everyday. It amazes me that I can do it.”
