Utah’s gymnastics team is back in the gym after starting off the summer a bit differently. The Red Rocks traveled as a team to Ghana for a cultural exchange.
The trip came together thanks to several groups, including the Who Rocks the House Collective, Redmond Farms and the University of Utah’s Center for Business, Health and Prosperity, along with its partner Ensign Global University in Ghana.
“They’re so busy year-round, competing, being student-athletes that we wanted to give them time to be young adults away from the U., away from the pressures…and to enjoy Ghana, to experience Ghana, to have cross-cultural learning,” said Jon Murphy, director of student experiences and student programs for the U.’s enter who also works in Ghana with the partners.
Murphy and the partners were able to develop an exchange that provided a variety of experiences for the team, ranging from public health seminars, visits to ecotourism sites, service projects with local students, dance and art exchanges and travel to rural communities.
“It’s about creating these experiences to learn from the world outside of being a University of Utah student-athlete, and to have partners that can see the value in that is, I mean, it’s unmeasurable. It’s incredible” said Utah head coach Carly Dockendorf.
Dockendorf credited the university for its work in Ghana and for providing these types of opportunities, and for the NIL partners for supporting the goal to expand experiences.
“These are lifelong partners. I truly do believe that, and building these relationships with Redmond Farms and Who Rocks the House, you can see what it’s done for our program already,” Dockendorf said.
“Just the anticipation of being able to do this again and provide it with the next team, the next group, because these are life skills that we are going to take with us in our next year, in our next chapter.”
For gymnast Sage Curtis, who just completed her freshman season, the experience was one that helped her get out of her comfort zone, which typically includes a structured scheduled and focus on being a student-athlete.
She admitted that wasn’t easy at first, but it was something her and her teammates learned from.
“While we were there, it just felt like there was no obligations, there was no schedule,” she said. “There were no places where you had to be, and it was really nice to just kind of take a step back from life and just start living in the moment.”
Curtis believes having that time to truly engage was where so much of the learning happened for her.
“I think that was probably my favorite part, was really just interacting with the people and immersing ourselves into the culture there and being able to have them share their culture with us,” she said.
“Even though we couldn’t really understand them that well and they couldn’t really understand us that well, both of us understood dancing. That was a really fun way that we connected, and we came up with a group dance together.”
Dockendorf has emphasized a focus during her tenure as head coach to provide opportunities for her gymnasts to continue to grow both in the gym and outside of the gym.
Newcomer news
Lilly Tubbs joins Utah from Washington as a graduate transfer. The Pflugerville, Texas, native will add experience and depth to Utah’s lineups, as she was a regular for the Huskies on vault, bars and beam.
She’s already on campus training with the team.
The Red Rocks said goodbye to junior Olivia Kennedy, who transferred to Auburn. Kennedy never broke into a lineup during her time at the U.
Utah has four incoming gymnasts — Gabrielle Black, Ayla Miller, Leonie Gervais and Madison Denlinger — joining the team. Dockendorf just cheered on the five-star recruit Black, who help team Canada to a bronze medal at the Pan American games in Brazil.
“We’re really fortunate to be at a program where we can support our incoming gymnasts at the highest level and travel to places like Brazil to be there to cheer them on, to continue to build those relationships with them so when they get here, they already feel like they’re a part of this team,” Dockendorf said.
This and that
“There are some new changes that are coming down (with the Code of Points), that will impact our routines for next year,” Dockendorf said. “A lot of the girls that competed in the bars and beam lineup are having to change a skill or add a skill, and that’s what makes it fun and fresh is not just relying on the exact same routine.
“You actually have to try something different, and everyone’s in the same boat.”
The coach said she and floor coach Myia Hambrick are also “busy finding a needle in a haystack” when it comes to the perfect floor music, which is also an exciting part of summer as choreography, skills and the music come together.
Additionally, Steve Arkell is on campus with the team. Arkell, who brings 40 years of elite gymnastics coaching to the Red Rocks, joined the coaching staff as the new bars coach.
“Steve just got here, and our girls are absolutely loving working with him,” Dockendorf said. “He’s such a bars wizard and technically he’s just brilliant.
“I think they’re really enjoying listening to some different corrections and ways of thinking of stuff. He loves gymnastics, and you can feel it, so we’re really lucky to have him here.”
