Gymnastics used to be Nicole Harris' life. Now, it's just what she does for enjoyment.
And the newcomer to ASU's program has loved nearly every minute of her first season in Tempe.
Though her background -- which includes three years competing for USA Gymnastics and narrowly missing a spot in the 2004 Olympic roster -- reflects the individual mentality often associated with gymnastics, Harris' personality seems much more fitting of a college atmosphere.
When she talks, anyone nearby will hear loud and clear. Her confidence is unmistakable. And her tendency to use words like "freakin'" to describe things she likes, evokes images of a girl having fun with her friends more so than a gymnast with her pedigree.
"I used to feel I was just doing gymnastics because I was good at it, but now, having it be a team effort in college, I just love the sport," Harris said. "I could have really gone to any school that had a gymnastics scholarship program, but it just came down to, 'Oh my God, I love ASU.' Our chemistry is freakin' awesome right now."
Team veterans and coach John Spini have said the presence Harris and six other freshmen have brought to ASU this year has been key in turning the Sun Devils into national championship contenders.
But while most of the newcomers have bided their time learning the ropes this season, Harris has competed in the all-around in all but one meet for the Sun Devils and is currently ranked 26th nationally in the category, including 20th on the balance beam.
"Nicole can be an all-American this year," Spini said. "I think she can challenge for a national title in beam or bars. She's one of those kids you rev up and get out of her way. She doesn't need someone holding her hand every step of the way."
Growing up fast
Harris began gymnastics when she was 2 years old because she would "bounce all over my house" and her parents wanted her to take up a sport. Growing up near Long Island, N.Y., Harris quickly rose through the gymnastics youth ranks, which go up to level 10 for the most advanced of gymnasts. After level 10, a select few can reach an Elite level.
"I did level 8, won every meet I went to, did level 9, won every meet I went to, did level 10, won every meet I went to, and then I was like, 'Okay, now I want to go to the Olympics, and I want to do Elite," she said.
To reach her goal, Harris left New York at age 12 to train at the renowned Parkettes Gymnastics Club in Allentown, Pa., about 250 miles from her hometown. Because her father is a lieutenant with the New York Fire Department -- he happened to be surfing in the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 11 but lost more than half of his closest friends in the terrorist attacks -- Harris' family couldn't be uprooted.
So for 11 months, Harris lived with the family of a fellow gymnast in Pennsylvania, away from anyone else she knew, spending only weekends with her family.
"It was rough because it was all of a sudden, boom, your life is gymnastics, and you're home-schooled," Harris said. "It was a hard time, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I grew as a person from that."
It wasn't until almost a year later Harris' mother and her two younger sisters were able to join her in Pennsylvania as Harris' father remained in New York.
Olympic tryouts
Harris blossomed with the intense training at Parkettes and was invited to compete in the International Elite level for USA Gymnastics, traveling to compete in meets in Paris, the Netherlands and Ukraine.
In the spring of 2004, USA Gymnastics began preparing to name a squad for the Olympics in Athens, Greece. First up in the process was a USA Championships competition in which the top 14 gymnasts would move onto Olympic trials. Harris finished 10th.
"I didn't even feel I had a good meet and I finished 10th," she said. "So I was like, 'Olympic trials, here I come.'"
But Harris would never make the trials in Anaheim, Calif. As fate would have it, she fractured her ankle a week before the event and couldn't participate. The top eight gymnasts from the trials would then move onto an Olympic training camp at legendary coach Bella Karolyi's ranch in Texas.
Though she missed the trials, Harris was petitioned by USA Gymnastics to participate in the camp because doctors were optimistic about her ankle. Harris accepted the invitation, but the day before she was scheduled to board a plane for Texas, she decided not to go because her ankle wasn't healed and would not hold up.
"It wasn't like if I went to the camp, I would have made the Olympics," she said. "You have to train and prove yourself over and over again and those numbers didn't seem reasonable if I still had the fracture."
On to college
After missing out on Athens, Harris took a year completely away from gymnastics, a decision she said motivated and refreshed her for college. Harris' rejuvenation was evident early on, as she won the all-around competition in two of ASU's initial four meets.
She then ran into some growing pains during a home meet against Stanford -- the first competition her parents commuted from the East Coast to see -- and suffered multiple falls before Spini cut short her floor routine.
"It was like 'Thank goodness because that was hell,'" Harris recalls, "But I guess it was necessary to grow. If I had stayed consistent all season I may have felt like, 'okay, so when am I going to break?' But I've learned from it, and it's one of those things where you don't make the same mistake twice."
And she hasn't. Harris has risen in the ranks consistently the second half of the season, and hasn't looked back. While Harris' impact on ASU's postseason fortunes is expected to be big, the impact of landing a recruit with her resume is something that could pay dividends for years to come.
"Nicole Harris was one of the biggest recruits we've had in a long time," Spini said. "We owe a lot to her. I think we're going to get more big recruits, especially [having] names like Nicole Harris."
Reach the reporter at drex1_phx@hotmail.com.
