Kate Ennis ‘21 has loved gymnastics since the moment she stepped into the Extreme Gymnastics gym, when she was just nine years old.  

Ennis said her first gymnastics memory was joining the team and meeting her best friend.

“My first day of practice, I had no friends, until we had to do a partner drill and this one really nice girl asked me to be her partner,” Ennis said. “We became super close right away right away and she was my best friend in gymnastics for a while.”

The South gymnastics team is combined with North. The team is called the Grosse Pointe United Gymnastics Team.

“The schools combined a long time ago before I came there, so it’s always been like that for me,” Ennis said. “I like it because it helps our team do better because a lot of the really good girls go to North and also you meet new people from different schools.”

Doing gymnastics has helped Ennis  make new friends from both North and South.

“Being with a group of people, the same people, everyday almost for hours at a time, you get to know them pretty well,” Ennis said. “You go through the same things with them, so you can According to Ennis, there are many positives about being combined with North. Although the team practices at North, the drive is not a hassle for her.

“It’s not too bad because I have somebody who drives me. It would be easier to go to South, but it’s not terrible,” Ennis said. “We have a nice facility at North.”

Ennis said her favorite part about being on the team is making new friends, and feeling good about herself when she does well at a meet.

“My least favorite thing are the nerves that I feel before I compete,” Ennis said.

According to Ennis, her favorite gymnastics event is the beam.

“I like beam because it’s fun, and it’s always a challenge,” Ennis said. “It’s my best event, so I kind of like it for that reason too.”

Ennis said being on the gymnastics team doesn’t have a big impact on her schoolwork.

“It’s nice because the practices are shorter, but when we have meets those last pretty long,” Ennis said. “On a school night is when I have less time (to do homework), and then I’ll get a little stressed, but during the practice days, it’s really nice because they’re only two hours.”

Ennis said she used to do club gymnastics before she was on the South team, but had quit to focus on the school team.

“School gymnastics is a lot more laid back, Ennis said. “The meets are more often, but they’re just dual meets.” “They’re after school, so it’s more just a chill atmosphere versus club where it’s very competitive.”

According to Ennis, her old club practices lasted for four hours a day, which is half the time of her practices now.

“We practice two hours a day: Monday through Thursday,” Ennis said.

Ennis said when she did club, it required her to travel more, but high school gymnastics does not.

“(For) Highschool, you don’t travel out of the state at all, Ennis said. “Our farthest meets are like a hour and a half away.” There’s like one in Grand Rapids coming up, which will be our furthest.”

According to Ennis, her biggest supporters are her parents.  Her mom has never missed one of her meets. Ennis also said she gets a lot of support from her coaches.

“I like my coaches a lot,” Ennis said. “They’re very supportive and we have a fun time together.”

Ennis said she will continue to do gymnastics for the rest of her time in high school.

“I’m really glad I joined the team, my GPUG experience has been really great,” Ennis said. “I hope to continue to make more fun memories with my teammates in my last two seasons.”