Interview | Kamerin Moore

Many gymnastics fans may remember Kamerin Moore as the tiny, adorable, blonde gymnast who competed with glasses and tumbled and danced to the beat of 'Itty Bitty Pretty One,' at least that's how I always remember her. But now, she's matured into an intelligent young women who's moved on from the sport she loves and is ready to open up about the trials and triumphs of her career in the new book that she is writing, as well as through her YouTube channel. Kamerin was a member of the 2008-2009 US junior national team and trained alongside 2012 Olympic champion Jordyn Wieber throughout her career. After competing for the University of Nebraska on a full ride scholarship during her freshman year, Kamerin was forced to retire due to nagging injuries. We recently caught up with Kamerin to talk about some of her favorite gymnastics memories, her sudden retirement from the sport, and what the future holds.

How did you get started in gymnastics? 

I started gymnastics when I was one. My mom took me to a “mom-and-tot” class and the rest is history!

What are some of your earliest gymnastics memories? 

I remember my first day at Twistars when I was six. The first thing that happened when I got there was John Geddert had me do a series of “tests.” The tests involved doing kips and aerials, etc. After that, he brought me over to the group of girls that I was going to be training with. He introduced me to them while they did oversplits on a panel-mat and told Jordyn Wieber that she was in charge of showing me how things worked around there.  

Speaking of Jordyn, you two basically grew up in the gym together. Considering you were the only elites in the gym, did you ever feel any competitiveness between you two? 

I don’t remember ever feeling like we were competing against each other. If we were competing at a club meet then we were competing for Twistars, and if we were competing at an international meet then we were competing for the USA. We were just a team competing against other teams. People liked to talk and compare us, but in the gym we were never against each other.

As a member of the junior national team you got to travel around the world and represent the USA, what was that experience like? Do you have any funny stories to share? 

Making the junior national team was a huge blessing for me. Traveling internationally for competitions was interesting to say the least. Being able to visit different countries and experience the culture is something most 12/13 year olds don’t usually get to do, so I’m extremely grateful to have those amazing memories. A funny memory I have from when Jordyn and I were in Belgium was on our last day there. Belgium is famous for their waffles so our coach got Jo and I a chocolate covered waffle to share. John is very strict about food, as most coaches are, and Jo thought it was a trick so she was scared to eat it. She took one small bite out of the corner and I ate the rest because I wasn’t about to decline a chocolate covered Belgian waffle no matter what the circumstances were! 

In 2008 you and Jordyn had the opportunity to perform at the post Olympic tour and sign autographs afterwards, what was that experience like? 

The tour came to Michigan for two shows so Jo and I got to be involved for those shows. I don't know how exactly it came about, but I imagine someone contacted our coach, John Geddert. It was so much fun! We got to meet Jordan Pruitt and create a fun floor routine that had a "MSU vs. U of M" theme. I got to "represent" MSU since that's where my mom went to college. It was a great experience. 

You've dealt with injuries throughout your entire career, can you talk about some of the ups and downs you've faced? 

 I had a serious injury every year from 11 to 17 years old. It seemed like it was never ending and my injuries ultimately ended up being the reason I had to give up elite gymnastics and then collegiate gymnastics as well. I had surgery on both of my shoulders, my right hip, and my left foot. Both my shoulder surgeries took 6 months in recovery and my hip took 8 months. I can’t even remember a time I wasn’t doing physical therapy since my first surgery took place to the end of my gymnastics career. If there was one positive from that experience though, it was learning how to deal with life when it doesn’t go the way you planned.

Was there ever a time where you just wanted to give up? What kept you motivated to keep pushing through? 

 I felt like giving up a lot and a few times I did. I must’ve “quit gymnastics” two or three times for various reasons, but I was always back in the gym within a week. My mom always motivated me to stick with it. She knew how much I had sacrificed for gymnastics and giving up on anything isn’t in her nature, so she always helped me push through the hard times.

Your hard work and determination paid off after receiving a full ride scholarship to Nebraska. Why did you pick Nebraska and is it true that you didn't go on any other visits? 

I chose UNL because it had a small town feel and I was very close with one of the assistant coaches. I had known Dan Miller basically my whole life so I was comfortable around him. I didn’t go on any other official visits, but that’s only because I had verbally committed to UNL my sophomore year of high school. I visited a few other colleges before deciding on Nebraska. 

After competing a few times during your freshman year, you medically retired during your sophomore year. Can you talk about how hard it was to make that decision? 

That decision was really hard and what made it even more difficult was that I only had a short time to make it. There are no words to describe how it feels to give up the one thing that made you feel special throughout your life. Gymnastics was my whole world for as long as I can remember, but in the end I had to do what I thought was right. Putting my body through any more just didn’t seem like the right thing to do.

Are you still involved with the team in any way? 

I would have liked to stay involved with the team and I tried to, but in the end it didn’t work out. 

Looking back now, what would you consider to be the highlight of your career? 

I think the highlight of my career was when my team won the US vs Japan competition. The girls I competed with made that trip so much fun, and that was the competition I remember feeling the most accomplished after.

How has life after gymnastics been? Was the transition any easier than you expected? 

 Life after gymnastics was really hard at first. I felt like I didn’t know who I was if I wasn’t a gymnast and I spent a lot of time crying and not knowing why. Things eventually got better though and now I’ve realized that this is just an opportunity for me to explore all the things I never had the time to do before.

What does the future hold for you? Do you plan to continue making YouTube videos?  

I’m not sure what the future holds for me, but I know I’m heading in the right direction! I’m graduating college in a year and a half and I just started writing a book about my life. So if anyone has any questions for me I’d love to hear them so I can answer them in the book! I do plan to continue making Youtube videos as well. I’ve actually put up at least one new video every day since I put the first one up. I didn’t expect to enjoy it so much, but I’m glad I did because it’s become a fun hobby of mine now! (You can subscribe to Kamerin on YouTube by clicking here.)  

Any questions or comments regarding Kamerin's book, please email them to her at kamischannel@gmail.com. She would love to hear from you!