Katherine Kiba September 2006

by J. Manning
Photos by R. Byrne

One of our local High school athletes is displaying a remarkable aptitude for gymnastic effort. The story of her most recent season of competition and the tournament that it ended with reads like the script for a movie

Have you ever wondered what attempting a Yurchenko must feel like? A Yurchenko is an extreme gymnastic skill that involves a round-off, and a series of handsprings, concluded by a flying tuck or a twist. It offers a number of opportunities for disaster.

Anyone who has attempted a dismount off the bars at a local playground or watched the Summer Olympics can grasp something of the extraordinary skill required to participate as a competitive gymnast. However, playground memories and observations made from our couch can’t show us the amount of crushing pressure that’s placed upon the shoulders of a competition gymnast as he or she stares down the edge of a balance beam, or sprints toward a vault.

For 13-year old Brentwood resident Katherine (“Kat”) Kiba, the pressure of performing gymnastics at this high level is offset by the pure enjoyment she derives from the sport.

Right Stuff Right From the Beginning
Kat, who just entered her freshman year at Heritage High School, has been participating in gymnastic events since she was a toddler. When she was only two years old Kat began tagging along to her older sister Kim’s gymnastic practices in Antioch. The gym had a five-year-old minimum age requirement, but Kat would not be deterred from participating so the coaches made an exception in her case, allowing the youngster to join the fun. Before long Kat was doing floor exercises and performing simple routines on uneven bars, the vault, and the balance beam while her peers were still trying to get the hang of walking.

When Kat was five years old she moved to the Black Diamond Gym in Brentwood and has trained and competed with the Black Diamond Team ever since. Now at the ripe age of 13, she’s a seasoned veteran of the team. Her competitive season consists of more than 20 hours a week of training and practice, together with at least ten competitions throughout the year.

Their schedule takes the Black Diamond Team to weekend competitions throughout the Bay Area and as far as Novato and Reno. Members of their devoted Black Diamond fan base accompany them to their events.

I interviewed Kat and her parents, Brenda and Grant, one Saturday afternoon at their Brentwood home. It was immediately evident that Kat had great strength and courage. Her competitive strength has earned her the affectionate nickname “The Hulk” from her teammates.

Success in competitive gymnastics requires athletes to trust their instincts, coupled with sufficient agility and strength to actually carry out the instructions that their mind is sending to their arms and legs.

I got an understanding of the strength that the young girl had, both physically and mentally, which was sufficient to permit her to glide three feet off the ground along a balance beam and then attempt a back tuck, which involves flipping backwards, and finally landing, hopefully with her feet back on the beam. This would be a difficult maneuver while standing on a mat. The necessity of performing the feat so that after the flip you land directly on the 4-inch-wide beam would fill any normal person with terror. A small error that would result in landing a few inches one way or another would end in a possibly debilitating fall against the unyielding beam. All the events are dangerous, but the beam is the scariest.

I’ve played team sports my entire life and, as a result, understand the demands of strength, timing, and agility. But I can’t imagine hurling my body through the air at full speed while twisting, turning, and flipping to then land on my feet. How does one gather the courage to learn that kind of gravity-defying activity? I asked Kat about that. Her response was priceless. She simply paused for a moment and then said, “Uh, I just go for it.” I think she’s come to the point where she can do these things as easily and naturally as walking.

I guess that’s been her motto since she first stepped foot in the gym. It turns out that she has the “go for it” attitude in other parts of her life, from homework to community service.

An Outstanding Season and a Great Tournament
As Kat’s skills have advanced, she has moved up in tournament levels, which are based on age group and skill. Kat’s 2006 season didn’t start out exactly as planned. She finished 40th at The Judges Cup, the first tournament of the season, but went on a roll in subsequent competitions. By the time she had put the third meet behind her, Kat had qualified for the first State Championship of her career. She was invited to compete in the Level 7 13A NorCal State Championship held this past March in San Mateo.

After qualifying for the State meet, Kat’s season continued progressing nicely, and she eventually was unofficially ranked as one of the top five gymnasts in her age group. Kat felt the pressure and tension mounting during the week before the big meet.

At each competition every gymnast performs in four events: uneven bars, the vault, floor exercise, and the balance beam. Participants are divided into four groups, with one group starting at each event, and then rotating throughout the day.

Kat was having difficulty staying on the balance beam during her practice runs. The closer she got to the event, the more difficult it became for her to focus. “I’ve never seen that much stress before a competition,” her dad said.

“ I was really excited,” Kat said, “but very nervous.”

After a week of struggling to stay on the beam in practice, Kat and her Black Diamond teammates arrived in San Mateo on the day of the State Championships, only to find out that the group Kat would be rotating with during the day was scheduled to perform on the balance beam as the first event. Kat knew that she would need to perform well on the beam to have any chance of winning the overall title. She believes that there’s nothing like tackling a challenge head-on and so, with her parents and other Black Diamond fans cheering her on, Kat set out to conquer the beam.

Kat’s routine on the balance beam reads like some kind of insane obstacle course: two back walkovers, followed by a back spring, full turn, split jump, tuck jump, cartwheel, concluding with a back tuck dismount. Using the strength and courage she had gained during years of training, Kat rose to meet the pressure of the moment and gracefully kept her footing on the beam throughout the entire routine.

Following a roar of applause from the Black Diamond fans with her mom especially at top voice, the judges awarded Kat a 9.20 score out of a possible 10, putting her in excellent position to finish the Championship in the Top Five.

With the weight of the dreaded beam off her shoulders, Kat was on a roll. She nailed her next event, which was the vault, scoring a 9.375. She performed the floor exercise to the strains of “Splish Splash” blaring out of the speakers, chalking up a score of 9.450. Her mom, Brenda, had been keeping an eye on the scores of the other gymnasts as they were posted throughout the day. She realized that Kat was close to wrapping up the remarkable achievement of an All-Around title in her very first championship competition. With three stations down, only the uneven bars, which is one of Kat’s strongest events, stood between her and the All-Around Championship.

As she does with everything in her life, Kat enthusiastically met the final challenge. After a dazzling routine and dismount on the uneven bars, Kat posted a 9.750 score, and captured the Level 7 NorCal State Championship title together with individual gold medals in the uneven bars and floor exercise.

A Generous Heart
As she left the State Championship with her three gold medals in hand, the excited 13-year-old expressed to her parents her appreciation for those who have helped her along the way, like Black Diamond coaches Mike and Natalie Guzman, as well as her sister Kim, whom Kat calls her idol.

Kat is an extremely humble champion, with no inclination to boast about her successes. Her dad had to search for her medals. They weren’t hung up in her room or displayed above the television but were lying in a duffle bag inside her bedroom closet.

When Kat brought me the bag I told her, “You should put those on display somewhere.” I’m sure that when I left she put the medals right back into the bag and returned it to her closet.

As I was leaving, Grant made a final comment about his young daughter.

“Kat has a great understanding of humility,” he said. “And winning the State Championship didn’t affect her very much. She would have been as happy to just be there as one of the competitors as she was in winning.”

I glanced over at Kat as her dad spoke and could tell his words had rung very true in her. Gymnastics is still fun for her. The amazing young girl is able to get through the training and pressures and still enjoy the sport she loves. She says that she appreciates the friends she has made competing with various teams around the state, and enjoys the fun times she has between events at tournaments, socializing with the other competitors.

Even though Kat is training aggressively for the Level 8 competitions in 2007, she looks forward to other more normal teenager experiences such as starting high school, hanging out with friends, and swimming in the family’s backyard pool.

During the interview I could tell how much joy and delight the Kibas derive from seeing their daughter enjoying the sport she has worked so hard on during the past 11 years. She’s still only 13 years old! They were amazed at how the years had flown by so fast.

Whatever Katherine Kiba ends up doing in the future, whether representing her country in the Olympics or graduating with honors, you can be sure she’s going to “just go for it.”

That’s the way she lives; it’s who she is.