Miki Northern, freshman, stands before two judges, hair packed tightly in a bun, hands sweaty, but ready to do her bar routine. Everything rides on this moment: one slip-up can ruin her score, but all that is going through her head is, “I’ve got this.”
Since she was 2 years old, Northern has been participating in gymnastics at All American Gymnastics in St. Louis, the same gymnastic program her mother attended when she was her age.
“She brought me there, and I loved gymnastics,” Northern said. “When I was little, I’d roll around and do forward rolls. I was just always moving.”
Gymnastics gave Northern an output for her extra energy and allowed her to be active.
“I can’t just stand around or sit for very long. I get bored very easily,” Northern said. “In gymnastics you do different stuff. You run in one event, swing in another on bars, in beam you have to balance and be very focused, and floor you have to have fun, be energetic and go all out.”
As Northern grew, gymnastics became her passion, and at age 6, she started competing in meets. These meets, starting in January this year for Northern, normally last four hours.
“Competitions. They’re really nerve-racking, and really scary,” Northern said. “When the judges are ready, you go up and you salute. Then you do your routine that you have been practicing, and then you salute at the end and then go to the next event.”
Northern’s mother, Kim Fuher, said her daughter handles the stress well, focuses, and is in tune with her coaches during these big competitions.
Because she has been doing well in her meets, she has worked her way up to a level 10 gymnast, the highest level achievable. Both Lindenwood University and the University of Nebraska are already looking at Northern to compete on their teams, though she is only a freshman.
According to her coach, Sue Renshaw, much of Northern’s success comes from her personality and work ethic.
“She’s very confident because she works so hard during practice,” Renshaw said. “It’s hard when you spend 20-plus hours in the gym [a week]. But she motivates teammates, she motivates herself. She knows what she needs to do, and she gets it done.”
To prepare for gymnastic meets, Northern practices five days a week for four hours each day. She practices all the events: vault, bars, beam and floor. According to Northern, practice starts with five to ten minutes of running followed by splits, bridges and other stretches to finish warming up. After that, practice progresses to beam. Some days they do acro, which is flips and rolls, while other times practice might include dance, which involves leaps and turns.
Because gymnastics keep Northern so busy, it is hard for her to find time for other activities.
“I wanted to do other sports for Kirkwood, and I can’t hang out with friends as much because [practice] is five days [a week],” Northern said.
Northern praises the opportunities gymnastics have given her. She has traveled to the cities of San Diego, Phoenix, Orlando, Indianapolis, Chicago, Kansas City and Dallas for competitions. Some of those competitions occurred in front of college scouts. This year, she will travel to New Orleans for the first time to compete.
Along with New Orleans, she will compete in state, regionals and westerns (west side of the United States) events this year. As all level 10 gymnasts do, Northern will travel to Florida this year for Nationals. Those who get top 10 in Nationals go to elite, which is a qualifier for the Olympics.
Northern works hard to have a healthy body and mind for gymnastics.
“We’re supposed to eat healthier, but we don’t have a diet plan or anything.” Northern said. “You have to be focused. You have to be ready to do something. You can’t be scared or afraid of heights. You have to be ready to ‘do it’.”
Fuher talks about how much her daughter loves the sport, and how she is touched by it. When she spoke about this on the phone watching her daughter practice, Northern landed a great tumble and delight overcame Fuher’s voice. You could tell how proud she was.
“Her love of gymnastics is one of none other,” Fuher said. “She thinks about it morning, noon and night. It’s the one thing she couldn’t live without. She could crash and burn on a tumble, but she’ll get up and crack up.”
In her gymnastic future, Northern only has one goal in mind.
“I hope to go to Florida [for college],” Northern said. “And since I go there for camp, I know the coaches, I know the campus, and my aunt and uncles and cousins live there.”
Both Renshaw and Fuher recognize Northern’s goal and believe she can get into University of Florida.
“Miki is the top level gymnast we have, even though she’s not the oldest. A lot of young girls look up to her. She’s wonderful with younger and lower gymnasts because she’s a great role model,” Renshaw said. “Barring any injuries she should have a great future in gymnastics and get into a top Division I college.”
