University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA Gymnastics: Building Another Championship Season
April 27, 2011 | Gymnastics
April 27, 2011
By Lauren Seligman
Being prepared and keeping perspective are two essential pieces of Confidence. Positioned beside poise on the fourth tier of the pyramid, confidence comes from proper preparation and the peace of mind that comes with hard work. The ability to believe in oneself and have faith in ample preparation gives you strength to be at your best whenever your best is needed. John Wooden's famous quote, "Failing to prepare is preparation for Failure" goes hand and hand with confidence. When you don't have confidence on your side, it's far more challenging to achieve a desired result.
Bruin Super-Senior Brittani McCullough just ended her collegiate gymnastics career on a high note at NCAAs. I caught up with her to talk about NCAAs and about the new chapter she is about to start in her life.
Q: The last routine of your career was at NCAA Floor Event Finals. How does it feel to be retired from gymnastics, and what was going through your head during that routine?
A: Being done with gymnastics is kind of bittersweet because I really do enjoy the sport of gymnastics and loved competing. However, it is also very exciting to be moving on and going on to new and different things in life. As for my last routine during event finals, I really just wanted to go out there and enjoy every moment of it, and I did! It was so much fun to be out there on the floor one last time.
Q: What are your post-graduation plans? Where can we expect to see you next year?
A: I am currently applying for nursing positions at different hospitals in the area. By next year, I hope to be working as a nurse and doing patient care, which will be an exciting switch because I will be able to use everything I learned from the sport of gymnastics and apply it to the nursing profession.
Q: How has your involvement with collegiate gymnastics helped shape you as an individual? What's the biggest thing you will take away?
A: Collegiate gymnastics has taught me so many different things because I have been afforded a variety of experiences during my five years. I think the two biggest things I will take away from my collegiate experience are perspective and what it means to be a part of a team. Before coming to college, for the most part, I saw gymnastics as an individual sport. Upon coming to college, I really learned to integrate myself into a team environment and learned to find my role on a team in different situations. Perspective - it's all about the way you view your situation. It's important to put things in perspective and stay positive. The way you view your situation will definitely determine how you respond to it and what you will be able to take away from it.
Q: How does your confidence translate from training to competition? What made you most confident when you were preparing to compete?
A: On the pyramid of success Coach Wooden says that confidence is 'earned, not given.' In gymnastics, in order to be confident to compete, I needed to prepare well. We hit skills and routines in the gym and did so many conditioning sets that we had no choice but to be confident. Chris and Miss Val always reminded us of the numbers and building blocks we put in during practice in order to feel prepared when we went into competition.
Q: Do any memories of your college career seem to stand out from the rest?
A: The first thing that comes to mind is the first time I was able to compete floor again my third year. I remember crying before I even stepped on the floor. I just remember thanking God for giving me the opportunity to be back on the floor. Without His help and the support of my family, coaches, and teammates, my college career would have been very different.
Q: You've been on the team for 5 years now. How was this year different than all of the rest?
A: The biggest difference in this team and all the other teams I have been a part of is unity. I could really see the genuine unity and teamwork both in and out of the gym. We really were like a family and were there for one another. Genuine unity is key for any team.
Players Mentioned
