Centennial gymnast conquers balance beam

Centennial gymnastics coach Megan Nelson pays junior Kaylin Peterson the compliment of being coachable and fearless, though the latter quality took a little time to develop.

Peterson struggled to incorporate new skills onto the balance beam as a freshman making her varsity debut. Occasional falls took the edge off her confidence. But she persevered with style, qualifying for the Class 2A meet on the beam as a sophomore last season.

She spoke with Star Tribune reporter David La Vaque about the mental and physical keys to her success and why she's pumped about her final two seasons of varsity gymnastics.

Q Was going to state as a sophomore a surprise, or had you been working steadily up to that level?

A At the beginning of the season my ninth-grade year, beam was a little rough. There was some wobbling and falling off and not many sticks at meets. But last year, it started out pretty well and went pretty well all season.

Q What went wrong that first year?

A I'm not really sure. Beam was always one of my strong points because it's just fun for me. It's one of my favorite events. I guess that first year I wasn't going for my skills all the way because it's a little scary, the beam. But then I realized I have to go for my skills all the way every time and it's been working really well.

A It's one of those events that you never know how you're going do, because it can go really well in practice and then when you're at a meet and you're really nervous, it just doesn't go the same. If you're shaky, then sometimes the beam doesn't work out, because it's very skinny and there's not much area to land on.

Q Coach Nelson calls you fearless, but it sounds like it took some time to get there.

A Yeah, I think in ninth grade, I was starting out with more new skills like a round-off on beam. As the years have gone by, it's getting easier, because I've done it for awhile and I'm getting more solid. So I think repetition helps. And getting tips from my teammates really helped. It was physical things like where to put your hands and your feet.

Q That fits in with Coach Nelson saying you are coachable. Have you always been a good student of the sport?

A Yeah. I like to listen to other people's input because I think that helps a ton. They can give you little things that can decide if you're going to get a skill or not.

A It was actually a pretty good year. I think I stuck all but two beam routines throughout the season. I knew that beam was one of my strong points, and if there was an event I could do at state, it would be beam.

Q Where along the line did you hit your best score?

A I got a 9.0 early in the season and then in the section meet I got a 9.3, so that was my high score.

Q Do you feel that you've arrived and that it only gets better from here?

A Yeah, I think so. I think it's going to be a good final two years.