Aggies’ Felley keeps floor routine inside gym
Utah Statesman: How long have you been a gymnast?
Nicki Fellie: I started gymnastics when I was 6, so 14 years.
US: What other sports did you compete in growing up in Texas?
NF: I’ve never done any sport other than gymnastics. It took up a lot of my time, so I never did anything else. I did cheerleading for fun, but it wasn’t serious. My parents put me in it when I was 6 because I had too much energy. I liked it and I had some talent and I stayed with it. I moved fast through the levels so it was exciting for me. Right when I first started, they put me into competing because I was able to pick the skills up quickly.
US: How exciting was it to win the first all-around of your career against Boise State?
NF: It was exciting because I knew that the hours I put in were starting to pay off. It is completely different when you’re on the competition floor from when you’re in practice. Everything fell together into place against Boise.
US: Out of the vault, bars, beam and floor, which is your favorite event to compete in?
NF: To compete would probably be bars because it’s the hardest for me. It makes my accomplishment that much better because I know how hard I had to work. For practice, probably floor because it comes easy for me. I enjoy tumbling and trying to get harder skills. It’s natural for me.
US: How is it possible that the University of Utah has beaten USU in gymnastics more than 80 times in a row?
NF: They are known for gymnastics. They have a well-established team, and they’ve been that good for years. They get the top recruits in the nation – they have Olympians and national champions on their team. USU is not as well-established right now. They’re ranked in the top five every year, and they go to nationals every year. Gymnastics is really political. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be winning, because they’re really good. Scoring gets really political sometimes. Sometimes the judges give them the benefit of the doubt.
US: Did you find the movie “Stick It” to be an accurate depiction of gymnastics culture?
NF: In a way it was, but it’s a movie, so it’s going to be what the people want to see. When they showed how hard the girls work and the conditioning, that was true. But the meets don’t really go the way they showed.
US: How long do you think you could stay on the bars for if they were above a lava pit?
NF: I would hope a long time. The bar routines last only like 30 to 45 seconds. If it was above a lava pit, I would hope I could stay up for five minutes. That’s kind of a weird question.
US: Do you ever do your floor routine at TSC dances?
NF: No. I think people would look at you like you were pretty crazy if you busted out a floor routine at a dance.
US: Tell a little bit about your conditioning and how you stay in shape.
NF: During the offseason we condition a lot harder. We have running and weight lifting every day after practice. During the season, we just maintain what we worked on in the offseason. Some girls go to the Fieldhouse and do cardio and stuff, but it’s not required. Offseason is pretty hard. We run in the (Stan) Laub (Indoor Training Facility) for about 40 to 45 minutes after practice doing drills.
US: Generally gymnasts are short people. Do tall people seem clumsy and uncoordinated to you?
NF: I wouldn’t necessarily say clumsy, but it’s harder if you’re taller to move your body the way you have to if you are doing gymnastics. You have to have good body control. It’s going to be harder to control your limbs. Gymnastics requires a different kind of strength. You have to know where your body parts are when you are in the air, and if you are taller, it’s going to be hard to control your body that way. I’m 5’6” and I’m one of the tallest girls on the team. Most of the girls are probably 5’2” to 5’3” average. -graham@cc.usu.edu