Untold Athletes: Lauren Hansen – Gymnastics

Lauren Hansen is a senior on the gymnastics team and a native of Marstons Mills, Mass. Hansen is majoring in business administration with concentrations in sport marketing and sport management. Over her career, Hansen has received three WCGA Scholastic All-America awards and was named to the NCGA All-Championships Team in 2019.

The sport of gymnastics has always been more than just a sport to me, it has been an escape. When I walk into the gym, I can leave all my problems and worries behind me and focus solely on making myself a better athlete. Not only has the sport of gymnastics given me poise, agility, and mental and physical strength, but it has taught me skills that are transferable to all aspects of life such as dedication, time management, composure, and compassion. Gymnastics is all about striving toward perfection. The scoring system is designed to find every mistake and deduct, instead of rewarding you for what is great. If I did not put my heart and soul into every practice, and every competition, I would not have found success within the sport. Not only did gymnastics teach me how to be the best individual I could be, but I also learned how to be the best teammate. At the club level, gymnastics is an individual sport. Every routine and score is for you, while in college, the goal is to be successful as a team. This was quite the adjustment, but it changed my views on the sport completely. I am now competing for a bigger picture, and I put in everything I have every day because my team deserves the best version of me.

The pandemic has taken a toll on the sport of gymnastics as a whole, and on me and my teammates. Unlike other sports, gymnastics is nearly impossible to train without a facility to go to. We can't just find a court in the park to play a pick-up game at or throw around a ball to stay loose. We have all done our best to stay in good physical shape by doing different at home strength training exercises, but gymnastics involves a different kind of strength that can't be trained without a gym. In a normal year, gymnasts train year-round in order to prepare for a season that lasts three months. Time off is not something that we are used to, but we are doing everything we can to make our comeback as easy and painless as possible. Keeping a positive mindset has been key during these times, even though it can be very difficult. 

Last year, our season was cut short right before the most important meet of the season. We had worked hard as a team and greatly improved, ready to qualify for the national tournament that Ithaca College was hosting. Our hearts were broken, but we were looking forward to starting next season with vengeance. However, the pandemic has lasted a lot longer than anyone ever expected. Today, we are still trying our best to stay in shape and hoping we will be granted a season for the opportunity to show how hard we have been working on our own. The coronavirus has been an extreme challenge for me to overcome because of how little control I have over the situation. Since I tore my Achilles last year, I didn't get to compete in my junior season and now I may not get a senior season either. I worked extremely hard to come back from my injury and want nothing more than to be able to display my dedication in front of my friends, family, teammates, and coaches. 

Throughout my career as a gymnast, I have been taught that every single person on a team has their own role. Up until last season, I had associated my worth to my team only in successful and high scoring floor and bar routines. Last season, I was prepared to deliver these scores and hit routines for my teammates, but my Achilles had other plans. In that moment, I had to begin overcoming the greatest obstacle of my career and change my role on the team. Much to my amazement, taking gymnastics out of the equation helped me to become a different and better kind of teammate. One that could only watch, support, and encourage. Although I wanted nothing more than to swing and flip again, it was truly incredible to be able to witness my teammates grow so much throughout the season. My teammates made me realize that I was still extremely valuable in my new role, and I was needed on that team no matter what my role was. My ability to overcome this injury is because of the amazing support of my team, and I would not be where I am now without them. No matter how hard things got for me, I would just think about how much harder they would have been if I was doing it alone. The sport of gymnastics will forever be a part of helping me to weather my successes and my failures.