Huge. That’s the only way to describe the gymnastics team this year. This year’s team is the biggest in school history with 29 members, 14 of whom are new to the team, and seven of whom have never done gymnastics before. The coaches are shocked at how much improvement they have seen this season.

“It hasn’t taken that long for inexperienced gymnasts to learn. They catch on quickly,” sophomore Brianna Fisher said. “It does take time and skill, but the majority of them pull their own weight and have impressed us so it’s not a disadvantage or issue training them. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Many of the team members have placed in the top ten in all of the events, including vault, beam, bars, floor, and all-around, for each meet that Liberty has competed in. Liberty has placed second at all its meets this season, including against Bellevue (with 127-112 points), Interlake (146-120), and Lake Washington (134-107). However, the team doesn’t want to focus on points so much as having fun and doing its best.

“Our overall team goals are for people to make it as far as they can, improve our overall score as well as individual scores, and get as many people to stay in KingCo as possible,” Fisher said. “We want to give everyone a chance to compete in the meets, especially the new members.”

Fisher is among the many returning team members and has been at the top of the scoreboard for Liberty at each of its meets. She really enjoys helping everyone reach their personal goals as well as the team’s goal as a whole. The other returning gymnasts have also been doing their best to help the new members figure out the best tricks and routines for their upcoming meets.

“This season we aren’t trying to focus on winning as much as working as a team and enjoying it. We still want to improve ourselves and reach personal goals, but also make sure everyone has a chance to participate in an event,” assistant coach Jaimie Roberts said.

The large number of new members has given the team an advantage in meets: more gymnasts means more chances to score high points and add variety to each performance.

With such a big team, Liberty is able to put many participants in each event. The season has seen many accomplishments, and the team is proud of its progress.