By Lauren Shin, Staff Writer
Samuel Lacy, a Junior here at River Hill, has been an acrobatic gymnast ever since his parents enrolled him in a class at the young age of 3. He has competed at national and international levels, even placing first at the 2018 USA Gymnastics Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Acrobatic gymnastics is a competitive sport where gymnasts work together in pairs or groups of up to 4 to perform figures consisting of dance and acrobatic moves. Sam competes in a men’s group with 3 other teammates.
He shares that, “While I have done a little bit of a couple other sports over the years, this is the one I’ve really stuck with, through everything. Acrobatic Gymnastics is a pretty unique sport, as it sees people competing in small groups of 2-4 people, and doing routines which are then scored and matched against other groups in the same category. Due to this, practice has meant spending hours every day with the same 4 people. And it’s really helped keep me going that I legitimately enjoy spending time with these guys, inside or outside of the gym. I’ve also really appreciated the sport letting me work in a team, giving me an outlet, and being a way to stay fit and get stronger. It’s also come with unique challenges that have definitely helped me grow as a person.”
On top of the busy school schedule, Sam has been working hard preparing for competitions. His most recent competition was the Maia International Acro Cup (MIAC) from May 10 to May 15 in Porto, Portugal. His group medaled, getting 3rd place in finals.
Thankfully, Sam has had very understanding supporters. “I don’t think I would’ve been able to hold it together this year if all my teachers hadn’t been as incredibly supportive as they were. I really appreciate all they did to help me get everything made up after I missed school for competitions,” he said.
Unfortunately, due to the relatively small number of people in this field, not many schools support acrobatic gymnastics: “It’s not very likely I would be continuing through college. However, after having gone to Worlds three times, and one of which being at the highest level in the sport, I feel okay with retiring. My current main goal is getting to college, but at this point I’m still figuring things out along the way.”
Sam shares that he is “excited for the future, but also a little scared, and very unsure of what’s going to happen.”
In addition, Sam shows his great sportsmanship and gratitude as he says, “I would like to congratulate everyone at our school who competed at MIAC; including Isabel Chang and her trio for making finals as senior elite, Cate Lacy and her trio for securing a silver medal, and Ethan Chang, who is in my group, for helping us get third. I also couldn’t have made it without the support of my family, girlfriend, and all my amazing friends at River Hill. I would say that from my experience in this sport, I’ve learned that when it comes to succeeding at something, the most important things a person can have are a good support network, hard work, consistency, and above all, passion.”