On the Beam: A scholar gymnast on balance, resolve & bouncing back
Hallie Mossett competes at the 2010 U.S. Nationals. Photos by Heather Maynez When the lunch bell rings at noon at Vistamar School in El Segundo, Hallie Mossett packs up and leaves immediately for her gym, West Coast Elite Gymnastics in Arcadia. During the hour-long commute, Mossett eats lunch and takes a quick nap in the car. At the gym, she changes, warms up and begins a grueling eight-hour training session, which is interrupted once by a brief 20-minute break. She returns home around 10 p.m., and after a quick shower, tackles her homework until she gets tired. On some days, she wakes at 4 a.m. to finish her assignments. “It’s hard sometimes. It’s really hard actually,” said Mossett, who lives in Redondo Beach. “But I know that both gym and school are very important to me.” Mossett, a 17-year-old senior at Vistamar, is a two-time member of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team and an international elite gymnast, the highest rank in the sport. This fall, she will be joining the six-time NCAA National Champion UCLA women’s gymnastics team on a full scholarship. As regimented as her daily schedule is now, her tumble into the world of competitive gymnastics was all happenstance. When…
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