Interview with Utah Gymnast Jaedyn Rucker

1. What age did you start gymnastics?

6

2. How did you start in gymnastics?

my mom used to be a gymnast so one day she took me into the gym and ever since then i’ve been a gymnast :)

3. How did you deal with mental blocks?

I went back to the basics and trained those until I was comfortable with moving to the next step. I also learned how to trust myself and my coaches.

4. Who was your role model/someone you looked up to in the sport?

Aly Raisman has always been someone I looked up to and continue to look up to.

5. What was your hardest struggle during your time as a gymnast?

When I tore my ACL and meniscus my senior year of high school right after ai signed to Utah. I was out for a whole year and a half because I had some complications with the surgery and I was unsure if I was ever going to be able to do gymnastics again. I believed in myself and prayed A LOT and thankfully everything worked out and paid off. Never give up!

6. How do you handle nerves when you are competing?

I remember that nerves are a good thing and it means you care. The feeling of being nervous is recognized as either excitement or fear. It’s all about perception  I choose to see it as excitement. When I salute the judge I trust in my training, thank Jesus and have fun.

7.What was your biggest accomplishment in gymnastics?  

In the year of 2022 I won the National Chanpionship on Vault.

8. What did you do after you were done competing? Did you stay involved or did you do something totally different?

I am still currently a gymnast, but I plan on staying in this sport for as long as I can. I plan on getting into coaching.

9. What would people need to know if you are starting the sport for the first time?

It takes a lot of time and commitment. It also takes a lot of sacrifice and dedication for it to be worth it. You learn many many life skills from this sport.

10. What is your favorite meet?

My favorite meet is the Final Four on the Floor. That is the National championships for Collegiate gymnastics.

11. How do you handle pressure from peers/coaches/fans?

I try not to look at it as pressure. If they are your peers, coach or fans then they are going to support you no matter how you preform. I look at competing more as an opportunity that I get to be the best I can be and I keep building that confidence with every meet.

12. How do you overcome setbacks and challenges?

I would say I just never allowed myself to give up. No matter how hard or challenging the task is, there is always a way to get through it. Lean on your closest friends and family to help you get through it.

13. Did college gymnastics ever cross your mind as something you wanted to do?

yes! I am currently a gymnast on the University of Utahs gymnastics team.

14. Least favorite event and favorite event? And why?

Least favorite event is bars because it’s so scary and it never came natural to me. Favorite event is vault because you get to show how explosive you can be and it only takes 3 seconds ;)

15. Hardest and easiest gymnastics skill to train?

the hardest skill to train for me is probably my half in half out on floor. The easiest skill to train for me is probably my yurchenko 1 and a half on vault.

16. How did/do you deal with getting in your head on skills?

I went back to the basics!

17. How did you stay out your head at practice and at meets?

at meets I just tried to live in the moment and have fun. You already did the training so no need to overthink. If I feel myself start to overthink then I try and find things to distract myself.

18. Have any of you got a skill for a few weeks on any event and they a week or too later you just can’t do it? This is happening with my round off on beam right now but glad I have a back up series? If this has happened to you how have you dealt with it or overcame it?

I just kept doing drills and training it until it clicked again. Sometimes that happens but don’t give up!

19. Advice you would give to current or people who want to start in the sport?

If you’re willing to sacrifice a lot of things and dedicate yourself to the sport then it is 100% worth it. It teaches you many life skills you will need in the real world later on.