Catching up with former US National team member Morgan Smith

Morgan Smith is a former three time US national team member and one of the few elite gymnasts to come out of Brandy Johnson's Gymnastics in Florida where she was trained by Kelly Pitzen and 1988 Olympian Brandy Johnson. Morgan competed internationally at the Jesolo Trophy in 2008 and 2010 where she placed 1st with the team both times. Some of her other career highlights as an elite were placing 2nd on bars and 6th all around at the 2009 Visa Championships and 5th on beam at the Visa Championships in 2010. After the 2010 elite season, Morgan dropped down to level 10 to prepare for college gymnastics. At the 2012 JO National Championships she placed 1st on bars and 2nd on vault and in the all around. Morgan was a member of the gymnastics team at the University of Michigan in 2013 but did not compete. She decided to retire at the end of the season. We caught up with Morgan to talk about her gymnastics career, her decision to retire, and find out what she's been up to today!

Photo Credit: USA Gymnastics

Can you talk about how you got started in gymnastics?

I was born in Virginia and I didn't move to Florida until I was five. When I was three, I went to a birthday party at a local gym and just loved it. We went to do the little obstacles they set up for us and one of them was rope. It was my turn for the rope and the next thing they knew I had climbed all the way to the top. I had taken a few classes for fun after that, but I didn't actually enroll into a gymnastics program fully until I walked into Brandy’s after moving to Florida when I was five.

How did you decide on Brandy Johnson's?

We had just moved to Florida and Brandy’s was about ten minutes from my house. So we tried it out there and just never left. We followed them when they moved into their brand new facility (their current one now). Brandy was a great coach. I didn't have her as much as I wish I had, because she had a lot of wisdom to share. She’s one of those coaches that has the experience, as well as that key factor that makes you want to work as hard as possible while still having a blast doing it. She loves fine tuning the details and has always been a very understanding coach. This was very helpful for me during my career.

You were on the National Team all three years that you were an elite, what was that like?

Being a US team member was a huge honor as well as a big responsibility because you don’t just represent your club anymore, you are now putting on USA apparel and going out to represent your country. Being a part of the US team comes with a very high expectation. Because of this expectation, national team training camps were held once a month.  At every camp, they would bring a judge and we would have to compete our routines or parts of our routines on each and every event.  In addition to performing our routines, we were also tested on our physical abilities at the beginning of each camp. This included press handstands, handstand holds, cast handstands, leg-lifts from horizontal, and more. We were ranked on how well we completed the specific abilities at each camp. Aside from checking on our progress, it was also a time to get closer to the girls that you were representing the US with. Italy was such a fun experience. It was much better the second time around (in 2010) because I knew what more to expect because I wasn't a junior anymore and it wasn't my first international assignment. We traveled there for a week, trained a few days there prior to the competition, and went sightseeing and shopping after the competition before we flew back home. It’s definitely a different experience actually traveling with the girls because you go through the tough workouts as well as the success at the end of the trip. You get to share that achievement with those other few girls that have been there for you all week. We share the honor of representing USA together. It was a great feeling to put on a USA leo and going out to do what you love to do everyday.

Who were you closest with on the national team and what did you do during your free time at camps?

I was probably closest with Sophina Dejesus, Bridgette Caquatto, Briley Casanova, Sophia Lee, Ericha Fassbender, and Cassie Whitcomb.  I knew most of them from when I first started elite as a junior and just stayed the closest with them later on.  Cassie was probably one of my closest later on- like at world selection camp. At camp, we had a room with a big couch and TV and we would bring in our laptops for social media or homework and just watch movies and shows together. Usually in between practices, especially at night, we would hang out in that room. Other times, we would just hang out in other people's rooms a lot.

What was your favorite memory from your elite career?

My favorite memory from elite would actually be my 2010 Visa Championship beam routines. I was never really a beamer until later in my career and I was struggling from a recent ankle injury at the time. I made the choice to still compete beam to show how hard I had been working.  I had been one of those kids that couldn't stay on the beam very well at competitions and had a lot of "on and off" days at practice.  To show that I could go out there both days of Championships and hit some of the best routines I had ever competed in competition was one of the greatest accomplishments of my career. It was a very special moment for me and I can still remember how I felt and where my mind was during those beam routines.  It is an experience I will never forget.

What about some of the high and low points of your career?

In my opinion, a few highlights of my career was my 2nd place finish on bars at Visa Championships, my first year being added to the US national team- which included being selected to compete in Italy, and qualifying to the 2010 World Selection Camp. The summer of 2008, including classics and championships, was probably my low point.  I wasn't doing well in practices and it showed in my competitions.  I didn't have a very difficult beam routine, compared to other years, and I didn't do them well.  Floor wasn't going very well at that time either.  It was just an off time for me and I came back stronger in 2009.

Who was your idol or inspiration in gymnastics? 

I know Shawn Johnson wasn't much older than me, but she was peaking in the juniors when I was starting to enter the elite atmosphere. I was inspired by her because she was the powerhouse. Grace and elegance were not involved in my vocabulary when it came to my gymnastics. Power was my strength and that made me compare more to her style. I was in a group by myself for awhile as I started competing elite, so my coaches were my main supporters on those off days or during the struggles. They could usually tell if something was wrong before I ever actually communicated it, which was a good thing because I just wasn't a huge communicator to begin with.  They knew when to push and when I just needed some support and understanding. Between my family and my coaches, I never would have gotten as far as I did in my career.

You dropped down to level 10 after the 2010 elite season was over. What was the transition from elite back down to level 10 like?

My training time stayed exactly the same as when I trained elite. The biggest difference was being at school more often considering I wasn’t traveling to training camp every month. The camps were five days, so I would miss almost a week of school every month. Aside from the traveling, it had been awhile since I had to compete at several competitions in a short time, including back to back weekends. Being an elite, you compete at Classics and then Championships. Unless you go on several international assignments, those are basically your only competitions aside from mini competitions at the training camps. So because of the lack of travel my senior year, I had some time to do more school related activities that I hadn't done since I had started leaving school early in 5th grade.

You retired from gymnastics after your freshman year at the University of Michigan. Can you talk about your decision to retire?

The summer before my senior year, I had ankle surgery. As I was coming back from that, we felt that I needed to get some kind of routines back to compete my senior year because it wasn't a good idea to not compete my last year before heading into my college career. So our focus was to get a routine on each event rather than taking the time to fully come back mentally and physically. As I started training in college, it was a bit of a difference in how many hours we spent in the gym.  In the beginning of December, we opted to take some time and get back mentally and physically on where I needed to be. Then during the summer, I was still struggling on where I needed to be, and wanted to be for that matter. So I decided to take a year off away from school and deal with some personal issues as well as decide on where I was going and what I wanted to do. A couple of months later, I decided that it wasn't something I wanted to pursue anymore. I love the sport and I always will, but I felt both physically and mentally that it was time for me to move on to my next chapter in life.

Was that an easy decision to make?

I think with how I was struggling mentally at the end of my career, it was a very important thought that kept coming back. When I decided to leave for the year, I thought really hard on whether I want to be done because I felt it was my time or if it was just where I was at in my gymnastics. But in the end, I knew that I was probably where I was because I didn't have that fire in me like I did before.  I was physically, emotionally, and mentally done with gymnastics. I knew it was right because as hard as it was to end my career, I felt good about my decision and I have no regrets since.

For the time that you were on the team, what was it like? Do you still keep in touch with everyone today? 

Time with the team was definitely a big change for me. In high school, I had always left early and I was the only elite in my gym during my career.  I competed by myself and traveled with my coach. Having a group of girls there for you every day, being like a new family, was a very memorable experience. The coaches at Michigan are amazing. They always have your best interests at heart and care for you like you’re their own. I actually haven’t kept in touch with them as much as I should have, but I know they are still supporters of mine and I am always welcome to come visit them. They were very understanding throughout my year at Michigan as well as my decision later on.  As for the girls, I am still very close with a couple of them. They were the ones that I was closest to while I was there. We have such a strong friendship that we may not talk to each other daily, but when we do talk it’s like no time has passed.

What are you up to today? What is life after gymnastics like?

Life after gymnastics is definitely different. It’s been a pretty fun experience so far. I moved to Nashville to live with my mom and have been living here since the end of August 2013. I did stick with my decision on taking a year off of school, so I will probably start classes again somewhere here in Tennessee in the fall.  I recently got the chance to learn a new skill and work in an office. My mom is a CPA and the compliance manager of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. She had me take their course from her office starting in September and I did tax returns this tax season (January through April 15). It was quite the experience, however I am positive it won’t be my chosen career. I've also been coaching gymnastics since the beginning of December. I teach different level of recreational classes everyday. I am one of the preteam coaches and one of the level 4/5 coaches. It is very rewarding to help little girls overcome the same obstacles I had gone through as a gymnast myself, as well as see the joy they have when they become successful in new skills. I love coaching and it helps me stay involved in the world that I have been in for fourteen years now.