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| Amanda, Laura, and Evelyn |
Interview with Laura Huang
Triple Twist: You adopted Amanda when she was just a baby. Was adopting a child always something you wanted to do, and would you mind walking me through the process of that?
Laura: When Howard and I married, I was in my early 30's and after five years together we decided to try to have a baby. We both worked in Commercial Real Estate as Portfolio and Asset Managers so we were traveling a lot and working a lot of hours, so this decision was a big one since I had a busy career. So, after some time we decided to seek out an infertility specialist and we were just about to try a vitro fertilization when we learned that there were thousands of babies in China that were in orphanages. My husband is Chinese so it seemed fitting to adopt from China. We did the paperwork and waited one year, then we received notice that a little girl from Hunan Province had been identified for us. This little girl was just under a year old and had been in the Changde Orphanage since she was found in a park earlier in the year. It is common for the babies to be left in open public places so that they can be found and taken to an orphanage because the birth mothers cannot directly take the babies there, for fear of their identity being discovered. We flew to China to get Amanda on Christmas of 1997. Two years later we adopted a second girl from China, Evelyn (Evi), who is now 13 and a Level 9 gymnast at Northwind Gymnastics.
Triple Twist: When did you realize that Amanda had elite potential?
Laura: Our gym had never had an elite gymnast before and I really didn't know much about the program but Amanda had read about it and knew of gymnasts who were elite and she really wanted to try it. I guess it all started when Coach Steve Rybacki saw Amanda at her first Level 10 Nationals and told her coach, Elena Piskun, that Amanda should submit a video to Marta and try to get into a developmental camp. Amanda also tried an elite qualifier meet in Riverside, California. We went to that meet not knowing much about what the requirements were, but Elena went around to all the judges and inquired what we should do to upgrade routines. Amanda made Pre-Elite on her first try but waited until the end of her JO level 10 season to qualify compulsories. She was a National Bars Champion at 2011 JO Nationals in Los Angeles that year and fully qualified Junior Elite just afterwards.
Triple Twist: Do you get nervous when you watch her compete?
Laura: Oh my gosh do I get nervous when I watch Amanda compete! Even though I practice yoga and try to stay calm, anyone sitting next to me is target for me grabbing them or yelling too loud! I feel sorry for those sitting nearby. Needless to say my husband usually wonders off with the excuse of finding a good filming spot so that he's not sitting near me!
Triple Twist: What is Amanda like when she's not in the gym?
Laura: Amanda when she's not in the gym is very studious and most people would say quiet or shy. She is very gifted in math and is taking AP Calculus as a Sophomore in High School. She is also a gifted classical pianist and has won awards in local piano competitions. But she's also a young girl and likes to have fun and do normal things teenage girls do, such as go to the mall, hang out with friends, watch movies, listen to music and read books.
Triple Twist: As a mother, how do you make sure that Amanda lives a "normal" life? One that's not fully consumed by gymnastics.
Laura: Amanda does not go to public school, although at one time she did. She currently goes to a homeschool school called Rivers Academy in Alpharetta, Georgia. The school was founded about 4 years ago in an effort to help students who had a "passion" such as tennis, theatre, golf, or gymnastics; and needed more time to pursue their passion. Rivers meets three days a week and is for middle school or high school students. They offer after school activities such as art or chess and since class sizes average about 10 people, they accomplish a lot in a shorter time. A benefit of the Homeschool School is that students can hang out together versus the traditional homeschooling alone at home. They have great teachers that specialize in a subject and the students change classes to get the subjects they need.
Triple Twist: How exciting is it as a parent, to see your daughter accomplish so many great things?
Laura: We are very excited for her and as her mom I know that I probably sound biased but she really is such a hard worker and truly loves the sport of gymnastics. Her recent verbal commitment to Alabama is super exciting but her near term goal of competing as an elite gymnast is still before her. The cool thing is that as a result of the hard work and effort on Amanda's behalf and Coach Elena, other gymnasts are coming behind Amanda at Northwind on the trail that she blazed. Ragan Smith is an outstanding talent and I look forward to watching her grow as an elite gymnast.
Interview with Amanda Huang
Triple Twist: You started gymnastics at the age of 5. What about gymnastics was so intriguing to you?
Amanda: When mom took me to the playground as a kid I always loved the monkey bars. I loved swinging back and forth and I never got tired of it!
Triple Twist: When did you realize that you had potential to do big things in gymnastics?
Amanda: When I won my first State meet as a Level 9, after I had just turned 11! Being an elite gymnast was not always a goal for me because I didn't come from an elite gym. There were no elite gyms in the state of Georgia so I didn't know much about it. I didn't even think it was an option. Then my first year at level 10 Nationals, Coach Elena said that someone saw me there and they said I should try elite, and so we did!
Triple Twist: What was it like competing at the 2012 VISA Championships, alongside many other talented gymnasts? Was it hard adjusting to competing on a podium, in front of so many people (not to mention Marta Karolyi!) How did you deal with the pressure?
Amanda: Competing at Visas was exciting because I got to meet and train with gymnasts that I looked up to. It wasn't hard for me to adjust to competing on the podium because I had been on it before at the Metroplex Challenge and the Secret Classic. I really like competing on a podium! I deal with the pressure by always trying to think "believe in yourself!"
Triple Twist: You've trained at NorthWind Gymnastics your entire life under Elena Piskun. How has she contributed to your gymnastics and what advice does she give you?
Amanda: Elena always says to me- "I will support you in whatever you want to do!" Since Elena was a former Olympic champion she knows what it's like to compete at a high level. She's like me (or I'm like her!) since we both pay attention to details.
Triple Twist: Has she shared any interesting stories with you from her time as an elite gymnast?
Amanda: She has told me stories about how her gym in Belarus didn't have great equipment (like a runway for the vault). She also said that she didn't have a lot of leotards growing up, but she would get new ones when she competed in meets. That was something she liked a lot. One time she told me that her pre meet ritual was to eat dark chocolate!
Triple Twist: You recently committed to the University of Alabama. What lead you to decide on that school and what other schools did you consider?
Amanda: I really connected with the coaches at Alabama and how they encourage their gymnasts with a positive attitude. I also considered Georgia, Utah, Florida, Stanford, LSU and Auburn.
Triple Twist: What are your future plans/goals for the upcoming season?
Amanda: I am qualified as a senior elite from scoring over 53 at Visas. So I will compete at the American Classic and the Secret Classic to try to qualify to the 2013 Visa Championships.
Triple Twist: Do you have any upgrades that you'd be willing to share?
Amanda: I've been working on a gienger connected to a pak on bars- I already do a jaeger to bail. On beam I've added a few upgrades including an onodi connected to a back pike and a front tuck.
Triple Twist: Did you watch the 2012 Olympics? Is there a favorite moment/routine that sticks in your mind?
Amanda: I definitely watched the 2012 Olympics and my favorite routine was Aly's floor routine in the floor event finals. She nailed every tumbling pass and really drew the crowd in!
Triple Twist: What advice would you give to young girls who someday dream of reaching the level you're at?
Amanda: My advice to young girls is never give up on your dream and always work hard.
Watch Amanda on floor at the 2012 VISA Championships!
Triple Twist: You adopted Amanda when she was just a baby. Was adopting a child always something you wanted to do, and would you mind walking me through the process of that?
Laura: When Howard and I married, I was in my early 30's and after five years together we decided to try to have a baby. We both worked in Commercial Real Estate as Portfolio and Asset Managers so we were traveling a lot and working a lot of hours, so this decision was a big one since I had a busy career. So, after some time we decided to seek out an infertility specialist and we were just about to try a vitro fertilization when we learned that there were thousands of babies in China that were in orphanages. My husband is Chinese so it seemed fitting to adopt from China. We did the paperwork and waited one year, then we received notice that a little girl from Hunan Province had been identified for us. This little girl was just under a year old and had been in the Changde Orphanage since she was found in a park earlier in the year. It is common for the babies to be left in open public places so that they can be found and taken to an orphanage because the birth mothers cannot directly take the babies there, for fear of their identity being discovered. We flew to China to get Amanda on Christmas of 1997. Two years later we adopted a second girl from China, Evelyn (Evi), who is now 13 and a Level 9 gymnast at Northwind Gymnastics.
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| Amanda with her little sister Evelyn |
Triple Twist: When did you realize that Amanda had elite potential?
Laura: Our gym had never had an elite gymnast before and I really didn't know much about the program but Amanda had read about it and knew of gymnasts who were elite and she really wanted to try it. I guess it all started when Coach Steve Rybacki saw Amanda at her first Level 10 Nationals and told her coach, Elena Piskun, that Amanda should submit a video to Marta and try to get into a developmental camp. Amanda also tried an elite qualifier meet in Riverside, California. We went to that meet not knowing much about what the requirements were, but Elena went around to all the judges and inquired what we should do to upgrade routines. Amanda made Pre-Elite on her first try but waited until the end of her JO level 10 season to qualify compulsories. She was a National Bars Champion at 2011 JO Nationals in Los Angeles that year and fully qualified Junior Elite just afterwards.
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| Amanda at the 2010 JO Nationals |
Triple Twist: Do you get nervous when you watch her compete?
Laura: Oh my gosh do I get nervous when I watch Amanda compete! Even though I practice yoga and try to stay calm, anyone sitting next to me is target for me grabbing them or yelling too loud! I feel sorry for those sitting nearby. Needless to say my husband usually wonders off with the excuse of finding a good filming spot so that he's not sitting near me!
Triple Twist: What is Amanda like when she's not in the gym?
Laura: Amanda when she's not in the gym is very studious and most people would say quiet or shy. She is very gifted in math and is taking AP Calculus as a Sophomore in High School. She is also a gifted classical pianist and has won awards in local piano competitions. But she's also a young girl and likes to have fun and do normal things teenage girls do, such as go to the mall, hang out with friends, watch movies, listen to music and read books.
.jpg) |
| Amanda playing the piano! |
Triple Twist: As a mother, how do you make sure that Amanda lives a "normal" life? One that's not fully consumed by gymnastics.
Laura: Amanda does not go to public school, although at one time she did. She currently goes to a homeschool school called Rivers Academy in Alpharetta, Georgia. The school was founded about 4 years ago in an effort to help students who had a "passion" such as tennis, theatre, golf, or gymnastics; and needed more time to pursue their passion. Rivers meets three days a week and is for middle school or high school students. They offer after school activities such as art or chess and since class sizes average about 10 people, they accomplish a lot in a shorter time. A benefit of the Homeschool School is that students can hang out together versus the traditional homeschooling alone at home. They have great teachers that specialize in a subject and the students change classes to get the subjects they need.
Triple Twist: How exciting is it as a parent, to see your daughter accomplish so many great things?
Laura: We are very excited for her and as her mom I know that I probably sound biased but she really is such a hard worker and truly loves the sport of gymnastics. Her recent verbal commitment to Alabama is super exciting but her near term goal of competing as an elite gymnast is still before her. The cool thing is that as a result of the hard work and effort on Amanda's behalf and Coach Elena, other gymnasts are coming behind Amanda at Northwind on the trail that she blazed. Ragan Smith is an outstanding talent and I look forward to watching her grow as an elite gymnast.
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| Ragan Smith, Martha Karolyi, and Amanda |
Interview with Amanda Huang
Triple Twist: You started gymnastics at the age of 5. What about gymnastics was so intriguing to you?
Amanda: When mom took me to the playground as a kid I always loved the monkey bars. I loved swinging back and forth and I never got tired of it!
Triple Twist: When did you realize that you had potential to do big things in gymnastics?
Amanda: When I won my first State meet as a Level 9, after I had just turned 11! Being an elite gymnast was not always a goal for me because I didn't come from an elite gym. There were no elite gyms in the state of Georgia so I didn't know much about it. I didn't even think it was an option. Then my first year at level 10 Nationals, Coach Elena said that someone saw me there and they said I should try elite, and so we did!
 |
| Amanda signing autographs after VISA's |
Triple Twist: What was it like competing at the 2012 VISA Championships, alongside many other talented gymnasts? Was it hard adjusting to competing on a podium, in front of so many people (not to mention Marta Karolyi!) How did you deal with the pressure?
Amanda: Competing at Visas was exciting because I got to meet and train with gymnasts that I looked up to. It wasn't hard for me to adjust to competing on the podium because I had been on it before at the Metroplex Challenge and the Secret Classic. I really like competing on a podium! I deal with the pressure by always trying to think "believe in yourself!"
 |
| Amanda with her VISA credentials |
Triple Twist: You've trained at NorthWind Gymnastics your entire life under Elena Piskun. How has she contributed to your gymnastics and what advice does she give you?
Amanda: Elena always says to me- "I will support you in whatever you want to do!" Since Elena was a former Olympic champion she knows what it's like to compete at a high level. She's like me (or I'm like her!) since we both pay attention to details.
Triple Twist: Has she shared any interesting stories with you from her time as an elite gymnast?
Amanda: She has told me stories about how her gym in Belarus didn't have great equipment (like a runway for the vault). She also said that she didn't have a lot of leotards growing up, but she would get new ones when she competed in meets. That was something she liked a lot. One time she told me that her pre meet ritual was to eat dark chocolate!
Triple Twist: You recently committed to the University of Alabama. What lead you to decide on that school and what other schools did you consider?
Amanda: I really connected with the coaches at Alabama and how they encourage their gymnasts with a positive attitude. I also considered Georgia, Utah, Florida, Stanford, LSU and Auburn.
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| Amanda is excited to join Alabama for the 2015-2016 season! |
Triple Twist: What are your future plans/goals for the upcoming season?
Amanda: I am qualified as a senior elite from scoring over 53 at Visas. So I will compete at the American Classic and the Secret Classic to try to qualify to the 2013 Visa Championships.
Triple Twist: Do you have any upgrades that you'd be willing to share?
Amanda: I've been working on a gienger connected to a pak on bars- I already do a jaeger to bail. On beam I've added a few upgrades including an onodi connected to a back pike and a front tuck.
 |
| Amanda on floor at the 2012 VISA Championships |
Triple Twist: Did you watch the 2012 Olympics? Is there a favorite moment/routine that sticks in your mind?
Amanda: I definitely watched the 2012 Olympics and my favorite routine was Aly's floor routine in the floor event finals. She nailed every tumbling pass and really drew the crowd in!
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| Amanda with Nastia Liukin, Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, and Kyla Ross |
Triple Twist: What advice would you give to young girls who someday dream of reaching the level you're at?
Amanda: My advice to young girls is never give up on your dream and always work hard.
Watch Amanda on floor at the 2012 VISA Championships!
Watch Amanda on vault at the 2012 Secret Classic!
Check out Amanda's website to learn more about Amanda! (Click here)
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| Photo Credit: Lloyd Smith |
Thank you so much to Laura and Amanda for taking the time to talk with us. We want to wish you the best of luck with the rest of your gymnastics career, Amanda!
*All photos belong to the Huang family unless otherwise noted
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