2 Needham Gymnasts Make Noise In National Competition

NEEDHAM, MA — The town that has brought Olympic greats like Aly Raisman may be on its way to producing its next great gymnastic stars. Needham-based gym Rhythmic Dreams had quite the showing at the national gymnastics championship earlier this month in Des Moines, Iowa, with Mya Tam, 14, and Gemma Gow, 11, taking huge strides toward their eventual goals of competing in the Olympics. Tam finished seventh in the Junior Elite competition, earning her a spot on the U.S. Junior National Team, while Gow claimed victory in the U.S. Hope National Championship.

For Coach Ionela Bobrischew and the girls, the victories have just began to sink in, especially since gymnastics is a sport with much more work than reward, according to Bobrischew. Tam, Gow, and the other girls at Rhythmic Dreams train six days a week and spend four to five hours each day in the gym, which Bobrischew said is necessary for her gymnast to compete at the international level.

"People in Europe train eight hours a day," Bobrischew said. "For us to be competitive, we have to invest in this type of time ... We are getting really close to them with four to five hours a day."

That hard work has paid off for Tam, who began participating in gymnastics at a young age after watching her older sister compete in the sport. It was something that she enjoyed right away, but after her first competition, Tam's dedication for the sport grew and it became much more serious for her.

"After my first competition, I saw older girls competing and realized I wanted to do routines just like them," Tam told Patch.

For the last four years, Tam has trained at Rhythmic Dreams and according to her coach, she's been all business. Bobrischew said Tam's attitude towards the sport is special because she genuinely loves to listen and be guided.

"This girl doesn’t even stop to chat, she’s just work, work, work," Bobrischew said.

Talking about her own work ethic, Tam said the seriousness is part of what makes it fun. After months of preparation, Tam said she's able to go to "my own zone" when performing. She's nervous at first, especially when the competitions have such high stakes like nationals, but that zone she's able to put herself in through preparation allows her to focus only on the moment.

"It's a long day of hard work, but also very rewarding and fun," Tam said.

Other gymnasts like Gow have been successful with a completely different personality. Bobrischew said both girls are extremely disciplined and go above and beyond to make sure they compete at the highest level they can.

But Gow's approach to the sport focuses around her creativity. Rather than focusing solely on technique execution and listening, Gow loves to be inventive and have a creative approach to gymnastics.

"In training, she (Gow) likes to make up new things and be creative ...," Bobrischew told Patch. "Gemma has a very fun and expressive routine and she’s a natural performer."

Bobrischew said she's seen Gow's ability as a natural performer, since the young age of 8, when Gow first started working with her. According to Bobrischew, Dow was so talented, she ended up skipping two levels.

Bobrischew said both gymnast have bright futures ahead, and both have taken strides on their difficult paths to achieve their Olympic dreams. Tam said this is a very big step towards that dream. Her mother, Lana Tran agrees and said she couldn't be any prouder of her daughter and her teammates.

"I feel very proud and happy, watching Mya grow both as person and a gymnast over the years," Tran said. "It’s also a great feeling knowing that she has such great support and love from her coach and teammates."

The next steps for Tam, Gow, and the rest of the girls at Rhythmic Dream is to get back to their intense training after two weeks off following the national competition. Tam will starting training with the Junior National Team and said she's excited to travel for international competitions.

"It’s a goal I’m very proud to have achieved," Tam said. "We will begin choreographing and working on new routines this summer. As a National Team member, I will have many more opportunities to travel around the globe for competitions."

Gow will continue her training at Rhythmic Dream, and will continue putting in the work in hopes of making the Junior team when she's old enough.