First meet a success for Schutz Gymnastics

Lafayette -This past Sunday was the first Gymnastics meet of the year for Schutz Gymnastics team. The team consists of 14 gymnasts ranging from ages 8 to 15 years old. This meet was at their home on Millpond Road in Lafayette against Giant Gymnastics of Hackettstown. For 31 years Schutz Gymnastics has served Sussex County. “When we started our oldest daughter was 4 years old, and now, her daughter is competing here today,” said Pat Schutz, co-owner with her husband, Bob Schutz. When they started out there was no other gym in New Jersey for them to compete with. The Schutz’s and their team had to travel to Pennsylvania for meets at East Stroudsburg University. Now, of course, there are plenty of gyms to compete against in the area. The first of three home meets this year, this was an unusual one. Giant gym belongs to the USA Gymnastics league which is a compulsory league. All their routines were identical, fulfilling requirements for their level. The team at this meet was USAG Level 4, and the girls were 8 or 9 years old. Schutz however, compete using rules from the National Federation of High Schools. Bob Schutz explained, “Each routine Giant does their possible highest score is 10, but for our girls, it depends on the event and the routine. For example, our girls are all doing Handsprings off the vault, and the highest score they can get for that is an 8.6 - they work backwards from there.” The gymnasts are also divided into two age ranges, 8-11 and 12-14 years old. Using this system of scoring also allows them to be easily compared to gyms and school teams across the country who are using the same system. In the end, the difference in scoring isn’t an issue for Pat and Bob’s gymnasts. Their philosophy “centers around personal achievement and goal setting, recognizing that winning and losing are natural consequences of competition, but success of each child is viewed in comparison to each individual’s goals, and not the expectation of adults, parents or peers. Falling short of those goals is not viewed as failure, but as an opportunity to learn and grow.” Schutz has two more home meets - Feb. 4 and March 4. Both are open to the public to watch for a small fee, $2 for adults, students for free. For more information, call 973-579-9400. Meet results Giants Gymnastics Vault Bars Christine Mount 8.9 vault 8.8 bars Jordan Fitzell 8.8 vault 8.9 bars Teaghan Morgan 8.95 vault 8 bars Abigail Chaplin 8.7 vault 6.8 bars Kara Saucyn 8.6 vault 6.9 bars Shannon Moye 9 vault 7.8 bars Schutz Gymnastics Kelly Hurley 8 vault 6.5 bars Lauren Colacicco 7.75 vault 4.9 bars Heather Kilduff 7.7 vault 4.3 bars Bryn Sarner 7.6 vault 3.9 bars Rachelle Snook 6.8 vault 3.6 bars Paige Randazzo 7.8 vault 4.9 bars Kailyn Burkholder 7.45 vault 4 bars Anna Mortillaro 7.9 vault 6.8 bars Brittany Foulds 7.85 vault 6.3 bars Kayla Grunn 7.6 vault 5.1 bars Julianne Heate 7.5 vault 4.6 bars