You can barely

see the building from the highway, but you need only see the parking lot

to see how much is going on at Gym South. The facility has dance and cheerleading

classes as well as gymnastic classes for boys and girls of all levels.

The gymnastic teams recently wrapped up a successful year and now are

preparing for the upcoming season, which begins in January.

The boys' program

has seven levels. The entry level is Class VII and the top level is Class

I. Class VI is when the students have committed to the sport and start

to learn the skills and a compulsory program. By Class I, the students

are doing a modified version of the events one sees on television. They

are performing sets like international competitiors. The ages in the boys

program range from six to 17 years old and many of the older boys have

been involved in the program from a very young age.

"It's

best to start young," said Kyle Sherritt, assistant coach of the

Men's team. "But we have several members that started later and they

have progressed as just as quickly as the others."

The team has

also seen one of their former students head to college on scholarship.

Mitchell Griffin is now a member of the University of Minnesota Golden

Gophers gymnastcics team.

The men's program

competes in six events floor exercises, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel

bars and high bars. The team practices 17 hours a week and does no other

exercises outside of the gym, meaning no weight training or other strength

conditioning. That is impressive when one sees the musculature of some

of the athletes.

The girls'

program has enjoyed a great amount of success as well. The Level IV team

recently placed seventh in the state and had many gymnasts earn high places

on an individual level. David Burke and Nikki Sherritt coach the Level

VIII girls. Though the girls division goes to Level X, the gym does not

have any athletes currently competing at that level. While boys compete

in six events, girls compete in four. Burke coaches the girls on the uneven

bars and the vault, while Sherrit coaches the girls on the beam and the

floor exercises.

"This

is my first year with the girls," explains Sherritt, who moved to

Georgia from Canada. "It takes some time to get used to each other,

but we just went to a practice meet, to get them out of the comfort zone

of the gym, and I was pleased with the results."

The girls on

the Level VIII team range in age from 12-14 years old. Their season will

begin in January and the team will also compete in a national tournament

at the Disney complex Jan. 26 and 27. To qualify for the state meet, the

girls must earn an all-around score of 31 in one of their seven meets

against other state teams.

Two gymnasts

to pay particular attention to this season are members of the top level

men's team. Josh and Sean Blackman have been members of the gymnastic

program since the ages of nine and seven years old, respectively. Josh,

now 18 and a senior at Fayette County High School, is being recruited

State University, Temple and James Madison.

"My goal

is to get a full scholarship to an NCAA school and compete on their gymnastics

team," explains Josh. This should not be a problem for him, as he

has already had a taste of the big time. After the Olympics, members of

the U.S. men's and women's olympic teams and the Russian men and women's

teams toured the country. At each stop, they asked some of the state's

top gymnansts to perform an exhibition. Josh did a set on the rings at

Philips Arena and got to meet some of his idols on both squads.

"It was

incredible," Josh said. "I got to hang out with Alexi Nehmov,

who is just the best and very cool, and Steve McCain of the U.S. team.

It sows what my perseverance in the sport may lead to."

Josh's brother,

Sean, who is almost 16, loves the sport as much as his brother.

"The thing

I like best is defying gravity," explained Sean. "There is always

something new to try and a new challenge to met." Josh agrees, but

likes the adrenaline of the sport and said," I enjoy controlling

something that is out of control." Sean's favorite event is either

the floor or the rings, while Josh's favorite is definitely the high bars.

Both young

men are completely dedicated to the sport and know that there will come

a time when they won't be able to compete anymore. "School comes

first," explains Josh. "We won't be doing gymnastics 30 years

from now."

It will always

be an exciting competition with the Blackmon brothers involved and they,

and the rest of the students at GymSouth, are looking forward to another

successful season.

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