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11/07/2011 11:00 PMAfter countless months of going to practice four times a week, coming up short at lower levels, and a runner-up finish last year, Madison's Erin Maxwell finally got her state championship.
Erin-an 8th-grade Madison resident and a gymnast at Campbell's Gymnastics in Clinton-prevailed at the USA Junior Olympics Level 6 State Championship in May and is preparing for her rise up to Level 7 in the coming months. Despite years of competing for the right to call herself the state's best, Erin put together four solid events on her way to the all-around title not only in her age group (13), but also for Level 6 as a whole.
"It was really exciting; it showed all the work paid off," Erin says. "I was really excited, happy, and proud of myself with all the hours and stuff I put in. Since it was my second year, I knew I had to give it my all. I made myself think positive and knew our coaches prepared us well. I knew we would all do well."
Erin won the all-around with a score of a 36.8 out of a possible 40 points. She won the bars (9.325), was second in the beam (9.15) and floor (9.2), and came in sixth in the vault (9.225), leading to new confidence in the youngster.
"I just had more confidence. The first time I competed I was really nervous, but with more hours and more training, the more confident I was in my second year," says Erin. "Confidence is underrated-if you don't have positive energy you are not going to do as well as you should. A low feeling can psych yourself out."
Erin had competed in past years at lower levels and again last year in Level 6. Despite winning individual events in the past, and finishing as the overall runner-up last year, this was the first time Erin claimed the state title.
The levels at which each gymnast competes in denotes how they will be judged. The higher the level, the more difficult and technical gymnasts have to be. The biggest difference between Level 6 and her next quest of Level 7 is the freedom the gymnasts are given. At Level 7, gymnasts are expected to create their own routines, a challenge Erin is excited to tumble into.
"I'm really excited to get to have a new routine instead of all the compulsory routines," she says. "I'm a little nervous, but I know we will be prepared and that our coaches will prepare us. My style is going to be fun, exciting, fast, maybe a little slow, and dramatic, too. I'm a dramatic, confident dancer on the floor."
Still, calling the shots on when she will spring and flip doesn't suddenly make the sport a walk in the park. Erin still has work to do, perfecting her stronger events while looking to improve on her areas of weakness.
"Floor is my favorite just because I love flipping and it is a good energy outlet," Erin says. "My least favorite is bars; it is toughest for me and where I've had my hardest moments. I also love the beam, although in competition it makes me nervous. But in practice I really like the beam, too."
A gymnast since she was five years old, Erin has been competing for the last five years. She joined Campbell's Gymnastics four years ago, loving the coaching she has received, going as far as saying she'd consider continuing on with Campbell's as opposed to competing for her high school team.
"She is a very poised and graceful gymnast," said Earl Campbell, Erin's coach. "She comes to a competition and loves to put on a show, looking confident even though on the inside she might be a nervous wreck. You can't always coach that; some just get it."
Erin goes to Campbell's four times a week for four hours a day. Those are a lot of hours to log for a middle schooler who is having her attention pulled in many directions at once, but Erin says she couldn't be happier committing to her sport or her team, even if it means some tired nights.
"I'm usually really tired, but it motivates me and makes me want to keep going," she says. "I just keep thinking about how many hours and how hard we work and how great the couple minutes of competing feels after practicing that hard."