Flying through the air swinging from bar to bar, elaborate flips, and ring routines all make boys gymnastics a thrill to watch. Starting the season with a match against Hinsdale Central on March 7, the close-knit team carries the same drive to reach the podium at the State Championship this year as they did the last. 

“We were at state last year,” team captain Sean McCabe ‘25 said. “We were fourth so we were just behind the podium.”

The boys gymnastics team practices six days a week from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays to master their specialties in the NC gymnastics gyms. Boys and girls gymnastics can be very different, though they both have floor routines and bar, boys gymnastics utilizes rings and the pommel horse. Girls gymnastics is also an official IHSA sport, while boys gymnastics is a club sport in the state.

“The cool thing about gymnastics is that it is an individual sport but it is also a team sport,” McCabe said. “It matters just as much how you do as the whole team, it has both aspects, which is something I like.” 

Athletes in boys’ gymnastics can shine individually and with their teammates at meets competing against different schools.

“Gymnastics is an unusual sport in that we warm up right next to our competitors and they all get to know each other,” varsity head coach Sam Zeman said. “Many develop lifelong friendships with gymnasts from other schools. Our ultimate goal is to see good safe gymnastics and, of course, finish on top.”

 Near the end of the regular gymnastics season, the conference meets and state championship games will begin. LT has finished strong in years prior, having placed in the top four teams in State every season from 2017-2024, including winning the State title in 2021. In these games, gymnasts compete against a variety of schools across Illinois. 

“All first time gymnasts are welcome,” Zeman said. “ I am very lucky to have Assistant coaches Tom Huml, Don Raymond, and Xavier Barry working with me to help anyone out who is interested in joining. If you look on YouTube you will see a lot of athletes are now using rings to help them get stronger in ways most guys don’t realize.  If your goal is to get strong this is a great place to start.”

Since gymnastics is a competitive sport with a rigorous training regime, some athletes can have difficulty managing stress. With school and other extracurricular activities, the gymnastics team plans to ensure athletes prioritize their education this season. 

“I think towards the last two months near sectionals and state it can get stressful with finals and stuff,” Ryan Renderman ‘26 varsity gymnast said. “I make sure to put school first always with my homework and stuff and then I just try not to let gymnastics affect me outside of school.” 

This season the team will train to grow and perfect new skills.

“It takes a long time to learn a new skill always,” Renderman said. “It will take around two or three weeks to learn something new and it will take even longer to perfect it.”

Mastering a new ability and perfecting it to the extent that it can be performed during a meet takes strength to polish. As a result, the boys’ gymnastics team is especially close due to the tight-knit environment for its members, Renderman said.  

“I think having a close team is the most important thing because you need other people to lift you up when you are having a bad day or something like that,” Renderman said. “And you just need people to get you through because of all the long seasons.” 

The team will compete next at the Palatine Invitational on March 22.