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02/26/2012 11:00 PMAmanda Macolino's first athletic experience came as a competitive dancer, although she stopped with that sport due to frequently experiencing stage fright. But Amanda didn't want to completely stop competing and so her mother Debbie suggested she try a different sport, one in which she could use some of the skills she'd developed through dancing.
Debbie brought Amanda to In-Flight Gymnastics in North Haven, where Brian LeRoux taught both she and her sister Lauren the basics of that sport, from handstands to cartwheels to back handsprings. After five years there, Amanda began learning some of gymnastics more advanced maneuvers at Hamden's Spirit Zone, and now a few years later, the freshman has come full-circle as she's again competing for LeRoux with Indians' gymnastics. And by virtue of stepping onto the mat year after year and giving her all with each performance, Amanda stays her once-prominent stage fright is nothing but a distant memory.
"I've competed so many times now that my stage fright is a thing of the past," Amanda says. "I still do get a little nervous, but once I salute the judges, the nerves go away and I just focus on showing everyone what I'm capable of doing with my head held high and hope for the best."
In the recent season, Amanda showed everyone that she was capable of making an immediate impact with the Indians, proving a solid all-around gymnast who fared well in all four events and saw her campaign culminate by tying for first on beam with a score of 8.60 against Law in North Haven's finale.
"That was the first event I won, and when my sister told me, I actually asked her if that was correct and needed a double check," jokes Amanda. "I'm really glad I went out for the high school team because it's helped me make new friends and also helped me do better at my Spirit Zone meets because I was competing three times a week. Brian is a great coach, we have some skilled girls on our team, and it's like a family. Everyone will be back next year so watch out."
Speaking of family, Amanda says she's always been motivated by her older sister through their ascents up the local gymnastics ranks as Lauren was typically one level ahead and so Amanda worked that much harder in order "to be as good as her." Even though Lauren is a Level 7 gymnast and still one notch ahead of Amanda at Level 6, there's no question that the friendly sibling rivalry has brought out the best in both athletes.
"There is a friendly competition between us as we always want to be the one to do better," says Amanda of her sister, a sophomore captain for the Indians. "But we're still there for one another by giving advice and cheering each other on and that's helped make both of us do better."
One person who's as pleased as anyone to see both Macolino sisters thriving is Coach LeRoux, who discusses how big of impact Amanda has had on his program in such a short amount of time.
"Amanda showed a lot of determination to make herself better and polish her routines and just kept getting better week after week; I'll never forget how the joy erupted on her face when she won the beam against Law," LeRoux says. "Amanda performed well in all four events this season and is big part of our future as she's one of the girls we'll be building our program around the next few years."