University of Minnesota Athletics
Taking the Leap: Juniors Laura Johnson and Kelly Stout
11/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Part of the answer lies in the multitude of connections that the Minnesota coaches have in the Albuquerque area. Let's start with assistant coach Doug Day. Day spent his collegiate gymnastics career competing for the University of New Mexico under legendary coach Rusty Mitchell. Later on, Day served as an assistant coach for the men's gymnastics program at New Mexico, and worked with a club gymnastics program through the university. Eventually, he and a partner founded the Duke City Gymnastics Club in Albuquerque, where both he and his wife, Lynn Marie, coached. Roughly 17 years ago, one of the gymnasts Lynn Marie coached was Kelly Stout, who was just beginning her gymnastics career at the tender age of three.
Early on in Doug Day's coaching career, he also spent time on the staff at the Albuquerque School of Gymnastics, the club that Laura Johnson trained at previous to joining the Gophers. While Day's tenure there ended several years before Johnson attended the school, he is still in contact with the coaches there, and has known Johnson since she was five or six years old.
Co-head coach Jim Stephenson also made his way through Albuquerque as a gymnast and a coach. After completing his college career at Iowa State, Stephenson trained with Rusty Mitchell, the University of New Mexico coach. Like Doug Day, Stephenson spent time as an assistant coach for the New Mexico men's gymnastics program and coached at the Albuquerque School of Gymnastics.
While there are plenty of connections between Minnesota's coaching staff and the Albuquerque gymnastics community, those connections didn't necessarily seal the deal for Stout and Johnson when they were contacted about attending the University of Minnesota.
"When I was first looking at colleges, I went through a list of Division I schools with women's gymnastics programs," said Stout. Her mother was the one who initially suggested Minnesota as a consideration, but Stout's first response was, "No way, Mom, it's too cold there."
After looking at several other options, Stout still hadn't found a college that really interested her. She decided to take a chance and visit Minnesota, just to see what it was like. The result was a positive one for the Golden Gopher program, as she decided that Minnesota was the school for her.
Like Stout, Johnson wasn't convinced right away that the University of Minnesota should be her college of choice. In fact, she didn't even want to visit Minnesota, but after some pushing from her parents and club coaches, she decided to take the trip to the Land of 10,000 Lakes and see what the Gopher program had to offer.
"I finally decided to visit Minnesota, but I kept telling everyone that I would make the visit, but there was no way I was going to school there," Johnson recalled. "Then I got to campus, and I fell in love with the coaches and the team. After my visit, I knew that it was the right program for me."
So, now that both gymnasts are entering their third season at the University of Minnesota, what do they think of their college choice? Nothing but positive things, as neither of them regrets choosing a college so far away from home. Sure, there have been some adjustments, but rewards have been greater than the sacrifices.
Both women admit to missing their family and friends in Albuquerque, but they've adjusted well. "Both of us have parents who brought us up to be independent people," explained Johnson. "Sure, we miss our families, but we were prepared to make it without them right next to us."
"We usually get to go home at Christmas, and for a few weeks over the summer," said Stout. "The coaches have scheduled meets in locations that are easy for our parents to get to so they can see us compete."
I asked the two what they miss most about their home state, and as expected, the first response was climate-related. "When we were freshmen, we both had an 8 a.m. class, so we would walk to class together every day. Every morning, we would complain about how cold it was," Stout remembered.
"And it was only October!" Johnson exclaimed.
Sure, the winter weather in Minnesota isn't exactly the same as in New Mexico, but the pair has managed to survive. With the busy schedule that the gymnasts keep during the winter months, there isn't much time to spend outside. On a side note, at the time of this writing, it's actually three degrees warmer in Minneapolis (44 degrees) than it is in Albuquerque (41 degrees). To be fair, the temperatures in Minneapolis have been above average this week, but it goes to show that it's not always miserably cold in the North Star State.
Not only was the weather an adjustment when Stout and Johnson moved to Minnesota from New Mexico, but the entire landscape was different. "Minnesota is so green, there are so many trees here," Stout commented. "This sounds funny, but having so many trees was really strange at first. The trees make it so you can't see very far, it's not like in Albuquerque where you can see all the way to the mountains."
"I never know which direction I'm going when I'm here," added Johnson. "At home, you can see the mountains in the distance, and use them to help navigate where you're going. In Albuquerque, you can see all the way to the horizon."
In addition to the geographical differences that Stout and Johnson dealt with in their move to Minnesota, there were cultural differences. Albuquerque is known as one of the most culturally diverse cities in the United States. The Mexican population is very large in Albuquerque, Johnson estimated that half of the city's residents are native Spanish speakers. Even those who aren't Mexican have adopted some of the customs and cultural celebrations of their Mexican neighbors, a trend that is particularly evident during the Christmas holiday season. The Native American culture and traditions have also been a strong influence on the city of Albuquerque as the city is close to several reservations and pueblos.
In the eyes of the gymnasts from New Mexico, Minnesota looks rather bland. Many of the early settlers in Minnesota were Scandinavian, and though the state has gradually become more diverse, the mark of the Swedes and Norwegians are evident. "I had never seen so many blondes with blue eyes before," said Stout, a blonde with blue eyes herself. "When I came here, I wasn't a minority anymore."
The culture is certainly different, as are the climate and landscape, but these athletes from Albuquerque have not only survived in a new place with unfamiliar surroundings, they've excelled. Both have improved as gymnasts, and both have performed well in their classes. Johnson and Stout earned Academic All-Big Ten acclaim last season, and Stout was honored by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches for Women as an Academic All-American. Johnson was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2004, and was a second-team All-Big Ten award winner in 2003.
As two of only four upper-classmen on the Gopher squad this year, Kelly Stout and Laura Johnson have been called on to be leaders of their team. It's another added responsibility in the life of an already-busy college student-athlete, but these women are more than prepared to take on the leadership role. They have been in the program for two full seasons already, and they not only know what to expect, they know how to handle the pressures that their teammates will face. As juniors this year, they are among the wise and experienced members of their team who are called upon to give advice to their younger teammates.
So what did it take to get these two outstanding student-athletes to come to the University of Minnesota? According to assistant coach Doug Day, the answer is simple, show genuine interest in them. While Johnson and Stout weren't initially thrilled with the idea of attending college in Minnesota, they gave the program a chance, and they found out that the gymnastics program at Minnesota was everything they were looking for. After two seasons as Gopher gymnasts, they know they made the right choice, and they look forward to two more seasons competing for the Maroon and Gold.
Story by Sara Berhow, Athletic Communications contact for women's gymnastics There's a trend in the Minnesota women's gymnastics program, one that seems fairly unlikely to the average person. The team has two gymnasts from Albuquerque, N.M., juniors Kelly Stout and Laura Johnson, with a third on the way for the 2005-06 season. Stout and Johnson didn't even know each other before joining the Gophers, other than seeing each other at club competitions occasionally. One might wonder, why would these athletes choose to take the leap and leave a state that borders Mexico to attend a university in a state that borders Canada?
Part of the answer lies in the multitude of connections that the Minnesota coaches have in the Albuquerque area. Let's start with assistant coach Doug Day. Day spent his collegiate gymnastics career competing for the University of New Mexico under legendary coach Rusty Mitchell. Later on, Day served as an assistant coach for the men's gymnastics program at New Mexico, and worked with a club gymnastics program through the university. Eventually, he and a partner founded the Duke City Gymnastics Club in Albuquerque, where both he and his wife, Lynn Marie, coached. Roughly 17 years ago, one of the gymnasts Lynn Marie coached was Kelly Stout, who was just beginning her gymnastics career at the tender age of three.
Early on in Doug Day's coaching career, he also spent time on the staff at the Albuquerque School of Gymnastics, the club that Laura Johnson trained at previous to joining the Gophers. While Day's tenure there ended several years before Johnson attended the school, he is still in contact with the coaches there, and has known Johnson since she was five or six years old.
Co-head coach Jim Stephenson also made his way through Albuquerque as a gymnast and a coach. After completing his college career at Iowa State, Stephenson trained with Rusty Mitchell, the University of New Mexico coach. Like Doug Day, Stephenson spent time as an assistant coach for the New Mexico men's gymnastics program and coached at the Albuquerque School of Gymnastics.
While there are plenty of connections between Minnesota's coaching staff and the Albuquerque gymnastics community, those connections didn't necessarily seal the deal for Stout and Johnson when they were contacted about attending the University of Minnesota.
"When I was first looking at colleges, I went through a list of Division I schools with women's gymnastics programs," said Stout. Her mother was the one who initially suggested Minnesota as a consideration, but Stout's first response was, "No way, Mom, it's too cold there."
After looking at several other options, Stout still hadn't found a college that really interested her. She decided to take a chance and visit Minnesota, just to see what it was like. The result was a positive one for the Golden Gopher program, as she decided that Minnesota was the school for her.
Like Stout, Johnson wasn't convinced right away that the University of Minnesota should be her college of choice. In fact, she didn't even want to visit Minnesota, but after some pushing from her parents and club coaches, she decided to take the trip to the Land of 10,000 Lakes and see what the Gopher program had to offer.
"I finally decided to visit Minnesota, but I kept telling everyone that I would make the visit, but there was no way I was going to school there," Johnson recalled. "Then I got to campus, and I fell in love with the coaches and the team. After my visit, I knew that it was the right program for me."
So, now that both gymnasts are entering their third season at the University of Minnesota, what do they think of their college choice? Nothing but positive things, as neither of them regrets choosing a college so far away from home. Sure, there have been some adjustments, but rewards have been greater than the sacrifices.
Both women admit to missing their family and friends in Albuquerque, but they've adjusted well. "Both of us have parents who brought us up to be independent people," explained Johnson. "Sure, we miss our families, but we were prepared to make it without them right next to us."
"We usually get to go home at Christmas, and for a few weeks over the summer," said Stout. "The coaches have scheduled meets in locations that are easy for our parents to get to so they can see us compete."
I asked the two what they miss most about their home state, and as expected, the first response was climate-related. "When we were freshmen, we both had an 8 a.m. class, so we would walk to class together every day. Every morning, we would complain about how cold it was," Stout remembered.
"And it was only October!" Johnson exclaimed.
Sure, the winter weather in Minnesota isn't exactly the same as in New Mexico, but the pair has managed to survive. With the busy schedule that the gymnasts keep during the winter months, there isn't much time to spend outside. On a side note, at the time of this writing, it's actually three degrees warmer in Minneapolis (44 degrees) than it is in Albuquerque (41 degrees). To be fair, the temperatures in Minneapolis have been above average this week, but it goes to show that it's not always miserably cold in the North Star State.
Not only was the weather an adjustment when Stout and Johnson moved to Minnesota from New Mexico, but the entire landscape was different. "Minnesota is so green, there are so many trees here," Stout commented. "This sounds funny, but having so many trees was really strange at first. The trees make it so you can't see very far, it's not like in Albuquerque where you can see all the way to the mountains."
"I never know which direction I'm going when I'm here," added Johnson. "At home, you can see the mountains in the distance, and use them to help navigate where you're going. In Albuquerque, you can see all the way to the horizon."
In addition to the geographical differences that Stout and Johnson dealt with in their move to Minnesota, there were cultural differences. Albuquerque is known as one of the most culturally diverse cities in the United States. The Mexican population is very large in Albuquerque, Johnson estimated that half of the city's residents are native Spanish speakers. Even those who aren't Mexican have adopted some of the customs and cultural celebrations of their Mexican neighbors, a trend that is particularly evident during the Christmas holiday season. The Native American culture and traditions have also been a strong influence on the city of Albuquerque as the city is close to several reservations and pueblos.
In the eyes of the gymnasts from New Mexico, Minnesota looks rather bland. Many of the early settlers in Minnesota were Scandinavian, and though the state has gradually become more diverse, the mark of the Swedes and Norwegians are evident. "I had never seen so many blondes with blue eyes before," said Stout, a blonde with blue eyes herself. "When I came here, I wasn't a minority anymore."
The culture is certainly different, as are the climate and landscape, but these athletes from Albuquerque have not only survived in a new place with unfamiliar surroundings, they've excelled. Both have improved as gymnasts, and both have performed well in their classes. Johnson and Stout earned Academic All-Big Ten acclaim last season, and Stout was honored by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches for Women as an Academic All-American. Johnson was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2004, and was a second-team All-Big Ten award winner in 2003.
As two of only four upper-classmen on the Gopher squad this year, Kelly Stout and Laura Johnson have been called on to be leaders of their team. It's another added responsibility in the life of an already-busy college student-athlete, but these women are more than prepared to take on the leadership role. They have been in the program for two full seasons already, and they not only know what to expect, they know how to handle the pressures that their teammates will face. As juniors this year, they are among the wise and experienced members of their team who are called upon to give advice to their younger teammates.
So what did it take to get these two outstanding student-athletes to come to the University of Minnesota? According to assistant coach Doug Day, the answer is simple, show genuine interest in them. While Johnson and Stout weren't initially thrilled with the idea of attending college in Minnesota, they gave the program a chance, and they found out that the gymnastics program at Minnesota was everything they were looking for. After two seasons as Gopher gymnasts, they know they made the right choice, and they look forward to two more seasons competing for the Maroon and Gold.
Story by Sara Berhow, Athletic Communications contact for women's gymnastics
