My Story- Savannah Scherling

It's been a long rode to recovery for 15 year old Savannah Scherling; a level 9 gymnast who lives in South Carolina. Between gym changes, injuries, and just being a teenager, Savannah's gymnastics career has been anything but easy. But she's not ready to give up just yet. Check out her story below!

As a young girl, Savannah loved to do anything athletic, so her parents signed her up for soccer when she was 5 years old. However, at home, Savannah resorted to walking on her hands and doing cartwheels around the house. Her mom suggested gymnastics, but Savannah thought it was too girly. It wasn't until she was 7 years old and went to a gymnastics camp for a week that she realized her love for the sport. "I instantly fell in love! I wanted to keep going back." she said. Shortly after that, Savannah signed up for an intermediate gymnastics class and was training once a week for 2 hours. When she was 9 years old, she began competing level 4. At the end of the season she broke her foot during training and knew it was time to switch gyms. "I knew I would become a much better gymnast if I switched gyms." she told us. At her new gym, Savannah moved up to level 5, but was quickly progressing and ended up moving to level 6 in the same season. At the time, her gym was just starting to build their gymnastics team, so Savannah was apart of their very first level 5, 6, 7, and 8 teams!

In 2011, Savannah's first season as a level 8, she broke both of her middle fingers training a piked tsukahara.  Little did she know, that itself would keep her out of gymnastics for 6 months. In August, Savannah's personal coach announced that she was opening her own gym- one with better equipment and in ground foam pits! And with that, the owner told them they weren't allowed to come back. Basically the entire team was kicked out of the gym. The only problem was that the new gym was not done yet, and with the competition season quickly approaching the girls couldn't afford to waste any time by not training. 

"We started working out in a warehouse that one of my teammates families owned. It was mainly for conditioning. We had a floor beam, preschool bar, and panel mats. We even started practicing on the beach too." Savannah said. With almost 40 people training in one warehouse, they broke into 2 groups and took turns using the equipment. Luckily after a few weeks, another gym allowed them to train in their facility. This gym was an hour and a half away, but that didn't stop the girls from doing what they needed to do. "We started driving to that gym everyday after school. We would arrive around 5:30pm and workout until 8:00pm. It was around 10:00pm by the time we got home every night. It was a crazy experience, but definitely brought our team closer together!" 

One practice in September while doing back handsprings on the beam, Savannah landed on the side of her ankle. "I had broken my foot before, so I knew the pain." she said. Savannah tried to push through the pain and didn't tell her coach because she didn't want to complain. She even walked on it at school for a few days until the pain became unbearable and it was getting very swollen. With a trip to the orthopedic surgeon, she knew she had a tarsal coalition. "Basically, there were 2 bones in my ankle that were connected when they weren't suppose to be. When I broke my ankle, I broke 2 bones apart. It was not really a "clean" fracture. There were bone fragments and the bones needed to be smoothed out, so I wouldn't be in pain if they rubbed together."  

This meant surgery for Savannah. At the same time, the new gym was finally ready! "The facility is incredible. I couldn't ask for anything more. When I stepped into the new gym for the first practice, it was much harder emotionally that I had anticipated. We had this new state-of-the-art gym and I couldn't practice. I watched my teammates as they vaulted and tumbled into the pit and used the trench bar on bars. I couldn't help but break down." she said. "I decided that I wasn't making it any easier on myself if I just sat and watched practice. I started working out and did what I could. I eventually started doing giants on the pit bar with my boot on!

Savannah had her surgery in December. The operation took about 2 hours and she was able to go home and rest. "My mom woke me up about an hour later and some of the girls from my team were standing in front of me with balloons and presents! It made me feel so much better and I can't even begin to tell them how much their support has meant to me." she said. Savannah was in a cast and on crutches for a while. She eventually eased off the crutches and made it through 2 days at school without them. But then, one day as she stepped over a backpack, her leg gave out. After other trip to the doctor, Savannah learned that she didn't break anything this time, but she would have to go back on crutches for several weeks. "I was really disappointed because it slowed my recovery down even more." she told us. "I was pretty beat up emotionally." 

A message from another parent that Savannah reads when she's feeling down.

After this incredibly long journey full of injuries, Savannah refuses to give up! "I'm not the most talented gymnast out there, but my passion and heart for the sport have gotten me this far, so I'm not ready to hang up my leotard yet." Although she will most likely not compete this season, Savannah is currently doing physical therapy and slowing easing back into gymnastics. "For now, my coaches and I have decided to take a step back and get my body healthy before rushing into gymnastics." she says. Savannah told us she lives by the quote "Hard work given time will defeat talent." and in her case, there is not a better set of words! At her gym's banquet, Savannah was given the "Alicia Sacramone MVP Team Spirit Award" which meant the world to her. "This honor means more than what words can explain." she said. "I tried to be the best teammate I could by going to all the meets and practices."

Savannah is currently going into her sophomore year of high school and would like to do something with health science in the future. "I would love to be an athletic trainer or physical therapist." she said. Savannah also gives many thanks to god, her family, friends, teammates, and her best friend Jillian. "I wouldn't be where I am today without any of them!" Savannah would also love to do college gymnastics in the future "It's always been my dream to do collegiate gymnastics! I hope my body is able to hold up though! Right now I'm rehabbing a minor shoulder injury so I have not been allowed to do bars for about 6 weeks, but physical therapy is helping. I really want to do college gymnastics, we'll see how the next couple of years go though"

We want to wish Savannah the best of luck, and hope she can continue doing the sport she loves- injury free!

Follow Savannah on Twitter

Written by: Ashlee