Published: April 25, 2008 11:18 am            

Gymnasts have good year

CLINTON – “The Mississippi Valley Athletic Training Center, 1201 S. 17th St., (home of the Mississippi Valley Gymnastics Academy (MVGA)) is a full-service gymnastics, cheerleading, fitness and movement education program,” said owner-coach Lisa Miskowiec of DeWitt.

The MVGA philosophy states, “Gymnastics strengthens more than the body – social skills, confidence in oneself, and self-discipline are as important as coordination and body awareness, and are life skills never forgotten.

“We are committed to providing an atmosphere where children gain physical, mental and social skills while learning gymnastics in a safe and comfortable environment. Our aim is to help your child master attainable goals step by step by following USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Program curriculum and progressions.”

Miskowiec said, “In a good year we will have between 200 and 250 kids enrolled with a team of 20-25 being selected. Then we have a show team of about 40 kids who display their talent and skills before a crowd. We do halftime basketball shows, for instance, and summer festivals like the ones at Preston and Miles. Some of my students now are kids of kids I have coached.

“Of all the kids in the gym only about half are from this area (Clinton and Camanche) the rest are from Savanna, Eldridge, Long Grove, DeWitt, Bellevue and Goose Lake,” she said.

Lisa, like many other Iowa high school girl gymnasts, felt devastated and abandoned when the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) dropped gymnastics as a sanctioned sport in the state’s high schools following the 1988 season.

“When I was in the seventh and eighth grades I competed on the high school varsity at Mitchell, South Dakota,” she said. “Then we moved to the Des Moines area where I attended West Des Moines Valley High School. I competed on the Valley team my first three years then had the girls’ union shut us down my senior year.”

Since Lisa no longer had a high school program she went back to club gymnastics and competed for the Corner House club in Des Moines where she also had her first coaching position.

Valley is the school where present high school gymnastics phenom Shawn Johnson attends. Two MVGA instructors, Kiersten Hansen and Emily Tuisl, have competed against her.

Following high school graduation she attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD, where she met her husband, Allen, who works for Chemetal Oakite, a chemical manufacturer and distributor in New Jersey.

“We knew each other four weeks before becoming engaged,” she said. “It wasn’t until 15 months later, May 25, 1991, that we were married. Number 17 (17th anniversary) is coming up.”

The couple has four children, son Logan, 15; daughter Jaden, 13; son Kelvin, 10; and daughter Taryn, 5. Logan attends DeWitt Central High School where he competes in wrestling and golf. Jaden attends Central Middle School where she runs track and is big into music. She is a level 6 gymnast but would rather coach. Kelvin, an Eckstrand Elementary school student, swims and is active in gymnastics.

Lisa was living in Davenport and owned a gymnastics club there when the former Mississippi Valley Gymnastics Association (MVGA), owned by Bob Douglas, was put on the market in 1997.

“I snapped it up immediately,” Lisa said. “Since buying it (MVGA) I have added a 4,000-square foot addition and put in about $50,000 worth of equipment.”

There are 10 levels of competition under the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Program.

“We start at Level 4,” said Miskowiec. “Level 1-3 classes are for children aged six and up who move through the recreational program, until they get to Level 4 where they either go into the advanced non-competitive program or are invited to Competitive Team.

“This year we had six level fours, four level fives, three at level six, two at level seven and three at level eight. Our level eight competitors were Brianna Reed, Haley Kreiter, and AuBreeAunna Roling. And all three compete in other sports at school,” she said.

“It takes a lot of commitment for high school girls to stay in gymnastics in the state of Iowa.”

Each competitive level has an all-around score to reach the next level. A gymnast must have an all-around score of 31 to be a level five competitor and at least a 32 for levels six through eight. The move from eight through 10 is based on a coach’s discretion.

There are ten coaches at MVGA; three of them work also in the cheerleading classes. Cheerleading classes are given for every age, pre-school through high school.

“Our focus is on safety and fun,” Lisa said. “We teach skills in cheer, dance, jumps, stunting and tumbling.”

Mississippi Valley gymnasts competed in 10 events – five between September and December, and five between January and April. Jessica Spooner, Jessica Driscoll and Roling competed recently in Sioux City at the state gymnastics meet in Level 7.

The 10th Annual MVGA Tumbling Meet is scheduled for May 17th.

“This an opportunity for gymnasts of all ages and abilities to compete the tumbling routines we work on in class against others in their ability level,” Miskowiec said.

Roling, an eighth grader at Lyons Middle School, had a new high score this year of 36.475 in the all-around (composed of the Olympic events balance beam, uneven parallel bars, floor exercise and vault). Kreiter, a freshman at DeWitt Central, posted a new high score of 8.775 on the uneven bars, had a 9.0 on balance beam, and a 34.1 all-around as high scores. Reed, a sophomore at Bellevue High School, posted a 33.75 all-around score and had an 8.975 on the beam. Reed and Kreiter just missed qualifying for regional competition.

Girls in Level 7 were Jessica Spooner from Northeast and Jessica Driscoll from Miles. Those at Level 6 included Jaden Miskowiec of DeWitt, Brittany Stoll, Goose Lake and Emily Rittmer of Miles.

Competing at Level 5 were Baylie Parson from Clinton who attends Northeast schools, Courtney Stoll from Goose Lake, Tara Ruth from Camanche, a student at Prince of Peace School in Clinton; and Allie Lefebure from Camanche. Jayden Rathje of Northeast, Rachel Winter and Meagin Sichterman from Clinton, Cori Peterzalek of DeWitt, and Marly Bussa and Brooke Asmussen of Camanche were active in level four action.

There are five newcomers on the rolls – Lea Lefebure, Camanche; Destinee Irish, Clinton; Darcy Bertolino, DeWitt; Emily Vargas, DeWitt; and Mikaela Crossen of Calamus.

“I would love to help someone reach their goal of finding a place on a college gymnastics team,” Miskowiec said. “I had one, Lindsay Kleinfelter, who went to Illinois State.

“If someone on the team really works hard, is dedicated and wants it, I will try my best to help them reach their dream. We’re not talking about making the Olympics where only seven girls reach that goal every four years. But they have to love the sport and know what their body can do.”

        

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