Female members of Gymnastics Energy performed well at the first provincial qualifier.
Jordan Orzel exceeded expectations at the first provincial gymnastics qualifier.
The 15-year-old Vineland resident placed first all around in Level 6 age 16 on the strength of first-place showings in vault, bars and beam, and a fourth-place result on the floor.
“I was really surprised,” she said.
She credited her coaches for the unexpected performance.
“We have a whole new set of coaches this year and they have a different attitude towards everything, new ideas and ways to teach new skills,” the Grade 10 student at Blessed Trinity said.
She feels her biggest improvement has come on bars.
“I am now able to do a giant where you go around the bars in a full straight body (position) which I had never really done before,” she said. “I was always really scared to do it but I kind of got over my fear and just did it.”
She overcame her fear thanks to encouragement from her coaches, who broke the move down and gave her the confidence to do it.
Much of her improvements have come through effort.
“She is a super hard worker and anything I ask her to do, she will just do it,” coach Stacey Cameron said. “There is no hesitation and she is not scared to do it.
“For example, on the beam, she completes a dive roll and everyone else does back handsprings because she wants to be that standout gymnast.”
Orzel has plenty of attributes which have helped make her successful.
“She is naturally talented, she comes to the gym with a great attitude, she works hard and she is good with everybody else,” Cameron said.
Orzel also swims competitively at Blessed Trinity and plays travel soccer in Grimsby and that cross training helps in her gymnastics pursuits.
“Swimming helps me gain strength and soccer helps with the cardio.”
Read full article – By Bernie Puchalski