An often complicated sport to the untrained eye, gymnasts often walk a technical tightrope to perform breathtaking skills while making it look effortless. The Valley Co-Op girls are wrapping up their season, and are following up a second-place finish in DVC last year, as well as a third-place finish in Regionals. Things are looking up, and Coach Dylan Rowan is hopeful for the girls as they close out their season. “While we aren’t excelling necessarily, we have a chance to win DVC on all levels, even with Dekalb giving us some competition”
The Valley Co-Op had originally combined Waubonsie and Metea’s gymnastics programs, and recently merged with Neuqua’s program in December 2022. The girls have great relationships with their teammates from the other schools and are all super supportive of their teammates. “A lot of the girls practice with each other at clubs, and many of them also go to open gyms, so they can bond together in so many places,” says Rowan
Practices are a little all over the place, but even with a lot of athletes, these coaches are making it work. Many often exercise outside of the gym, and a few even do sports like diving in the fall to keep up their agility. “Some girls do other sports like diving or track on the side. Which usually fulfills their conditioning during the off-season,” says Rowan
The girls will be competing for a DVC title at Neuqua on January 25 for JV and January 26 for Varsity. They will be at Homewood-Flossmoor for Regionals on Thursday, February 1, at 6 P.M. Sectionals are at Hinsdale Central on Monday, February 5, at 6 P.M, and IHSA State Finals are at Palatine High School on Friday/Saturday, February 16-17. Make sure to support the girls during the home stretch of their season, and congratulations to all of these athletes for working so hard.
