Little Girls in Pretty Boxes - Joan Ryan

Joan Ryan is the Cruella De Vil of gymnastics. She takes the stories of girls’ lives, twists them to her own slant, and then flaunts them in public to line her own pockets. She is to sport what Osama Bin Laden is to world peace. Or so I thought. Gymnastics has been part of my life for almost thirty years. I trained, competed, choreographed, coached and have been a fan for decades. All my daughters have done gymnastics; my middle daughter has been training for nine years and is only eleven. I named two of my children after famous gymnasts. Despite my body being too old, fat and unfit to do the sport now, gymnastics remains in my heart and is one of ...

At age 4 I started gymnastics training that would last over a decade, to be given up only when I, ahem, grew too fat and school work became of paramount importance. Before we were old enough to compete, and thus qualify for the quality club t-shirts, we still wanted to look, hmm, professional? As good as the older girls? I don’t know, but somewhere deep inside my 5 year old body I *needed* a t-shirt. Being the pestering little thing that I was, I made my feelings known, and after not too long I was ferreting in my coach’s big bag looking for my size. The t-shirts were navy blue with orange gymnasts on, and had the words “No Pain, No ...