LT boys’ varsity gymnasts left it all on the floor last year at the state meet, where they fought hard after winning in Sectionals. The Lions ended up placing second in state at Hinsdale Central, just 0.2 points behind Glenbard West, making 2017 the closest state meet in the 67 year history of IHSA boys’ gymnastics. This year, they’re back for redemption.

“We have unfinished business,” Varsity Head Coach Sam Zeman said. “We have a strong, disciplined team that believe in themselves and are hungry to improve on last years’ finish.”

The start of the new season brought about a lot of changes for the gymnastic team, he said. They lost two strong competitors in Matthew Hurd ‘17 and Alex Janicki ‘17. There have also been some major changes in the coaching staff.  The new freshman coach is John Brandt ‘12, a former LT gymnast, and Don Raymond is the new JV coach. The two returning coaches are Zeman and Assistant Varsity Coach Tom Huml.

“We lost a large part of our team from last year,” Sam Dillon ‘18 said. “The returning members of our team are just as ready as I am to take the season by storm, and that determination has everyone super hyped up for our competition season.”

One of the main goals going into this season is to fine tune technique in their varsity members, a key example being the improvement of difficulty levels of the dismounts, Zeman said. The higher the difficulty level of the dismount, the more points a gymnast will score on the routine.

“Gymnastics is such a difficult sport,” Zeman said. “Every day I ask them to scare themselves, face their fears, accept some pain and keep going- and they do it. You have to respect that. It’s an honor to work with these athletes as they maintain a strong discipline and a hardcore work ethic. That’s why we ranked so high last year.”

Many of the gymnasts have been training during the off season, Reno Sarussi ‘18 said. They go to a gym to maintain the strength they need to perform their routines. During the season they practice Monday through Friday 3:35 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to noon.

“I like being able to see the improvements [I] make [by] going in and working out, and seeing every day that you are getting closer to perfecting a skill or your routine. It’s motivating and a cool experience,” Sarussi said.

The team kicks off their season with the Sophomore and Varsity Hinsdale Central Invitational on March 2.