From stepping into the footsteps of famous Olympic gymnasts to getting autographs, Salem senior Sheridyn Miller is new to the gymnastics team at P-CEP, but she has been competing for much longer. Throughout her time in gymnastics, Miller has been inspired by different Olympians that she looks up to. The Perspective sat down with Miller to discuss the opportunities she’s earned and the challenges she’s overcome. 

Molly Okon: When did you start competing in gymnastics?

Sheridyn Miller: I’ve actually been a competitive gymnast since I was younger, not really for the school, but I did it outside of school up until age 12, and then I actually stopped doing it for a few years. This is my first year doing it for Salem High School. 

MO: What teams did you compete with outside of school?

SM: So I have done gymnastics outside of school for actual gyms, like GTC, Salcianu Elite. I was a gymnast at those two gyms for years, and I competed there.

MO: What inspired you to start competing?

SM: Ever since I was little I’ve just loved watching gymnasts, and so my parents got me into it, because I always flip around the house and I always wanted to go to the Olympics. That was always my dream. So I got into gymnastics, and then kind of just competitive gymnastics.

MO: Was there a certain gymnast you saw on TV that you were really inspired by?

SM: I loved Jordyn Wieber. I got her autograph when I was younger, and Kyla Ross as well.

MO: Tell me about a specific time when you competed in your favorite gymnastics event. What was the outcome?

SM: I competed bars. I remember I was super nervous. The warm ups were not going well, and I was really nervous, and then I knew it was time to compete. I competed, and I ended up getting first place on bars, so it went really well. That was a time that I remember, because I [didn’t] expect it to go as well as it did.

MO: What do you think is the hardest part about competing with bars?

SM: You practice it so many times, and you want to do it the same every time, but sometimes things just don’t go over well. So honestly, probably, the anxiety before competing just kind of gets in your head a little bit. But I would say that’s probably the hardest part, is just dealing with the mental battle of it.

MO: This year, being on varsity, what do you hope to learn from the team to help you become a better player?

SM: I hope to learn their work ethic, like what they’re kind of used to, how to support the teammates better and just overall be a great teammate. I want to know what this team environment’s been like, because I’ve obviously worked with other teams, but never Salem gymnastics before. So just to get to know the team better and just grow closer to the girls would be overall great.

MO: What are your goals for this upcoming season?

SM: Just to grow more skills and to get more confident in my routines.

MO: Is there a certain event you’re hoping to improve?

SM: Probably floor, just because I haven’t done it for a little bit. I’ve been getting skills back, even just with this time I’ve been in it, and so I hope to get more and more back. 

MO: Have you broken any personal records?

SM:  I know when I was eight years old, I qualified for something called TOPS testing, which is basically where you get to go to a little ranch they have in Texas, where a bunch of Olympians have gone to. I qualified for that. I got to compete there, I got to spend the night there. I traveled to Texas with my gymnastics coach. My parents stayed in Michigan. There were Olympians’ names carved into the beds you stayed in. I was able to stay there for a few days. It’s called the Karolyi Ranch [named by the owners, a husband and wife team who coached Nadia Comaneci in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics; Comaneci was the first gymnast ever to score a perfect “10,” earned on the uneven bars, with Bella Karolyi coaching her], so that was really cool. And overall, just winning first place on events, that’s nice. I got to go with one of my friends that was at my gym. She also qualified, so it was her, me, and then our gymnastic coach, and we were nine [years old], so it was my first time ever being on an airplane. 

MO: Do you plan on continuing gymnastics beyond high school?

SM: I want to. I told my mom. I was talking to her about this yesterday. I was like, just being back in it makes me want to continue doing it afterwards. We were talking about how I would stay doing that as well. 

MO: How do you mentally prepare yourself to get ready before a meet?

SM: I try to talk highly about myself. I run my routines through my head. Especially right before I compete, I’ll like to run it through my head and try to visualize how I want it to play out. The way that I go about it is to think positively and just plan how I want it to go in my head before I go and compete.

MO: What is some advice you would give to someone who’s thinking about trying out for the gymnastics team?

SM: I would tell them to go for it, because I know a lot of times I get in the way of my own self. And I’ll try to be like, “Okay, maybe I want to do it,”  but then I’ll try to think of reasons why I wouldn’t want to do it, instead of just thinking, “I might as well just go for it and just see how it plays out,” which is what I did when I joined Salem gymnastics. It’s overall been a great decision. I definitely recommend that people just take that risk. 

MO: This last question is a little bit odd, but we want to get to know your personality a bit better. Would you rather explore space or the bottom of the ocean and why?

SM: Even though I have a really bad fear of the ocean, I would say the ocean, just because I don’t have that much of an interest in space as much as I do exploring the ocean. I’m scared of it, but I also love animals, so I feel like I’d be more curious about that.