HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Strength and conditioning exercises on a grass strip outside the gym near US-31 isn't cutting it.
"This is my last chance to get recruited, and now I don't have any of my skills back," Genna Lebster said. "[Other athletes] have been in the gym for at least a month now."
The incoming senior at West Ottawa High School is one of around a dozen Champion Gymnastics athletes aiming for a scholarship. The facility on Van Ommen Drive in Holland Township closed in mid-March due to the novel coronavirus.
Most kids have never been out of the gym this long, Head Coach Tami Schaafsma said.
"Trying to maintain the strength and flexibility they need to come back without injury is very, very difficult," Schaafsma said. "So at this point, this has really put them at a disadvantage for college and recruiting and a safe return."
RELATED: Gyms in Michigan will remain closed
Schaafsma started busing the team to Elite Sports Academy in South Bend, Indiana for bi-weekly training. Athletes wear masks and are screened at the entrance.
"The gymnastics community is pretty small and tight-knit, so we've actually had gyms from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky offer their facilities," she said.
It's a long drive for something the team could do in Holland, Lebster said.
"It's easier to [train] on your own equipment because you're used to the stuff, and now we're going to different equipment an hour and 30 minutes away when this gym is only 15 minutes from my house," she said.
Champion recently purchased a fogging system to disinfect the gym daily. If allowed to reopen, the facility will screen every person upon entry and follow social distancing guidelines, Schaafsma said.
"We feel like we're being lumped in with other businesses that are different," she said. "We're just frustrated we're not able to do what we know we can do safely."
Owners of Champion Gymnastics have discussed reopening with State Rep. Bradley Slagh, R-Zeeland, who said Michigan is an outlier in this process.
"We need to move forward," Slagh said. "I believe there is a way to keep each individual gymnast healthy and not have to worry about that. We ought to be able to help these people do their work."
These athletes deserve to have someone look at their situation and return them to their sport safely, Schaafsma said.
"We just hope the governor will take a look at our industry specifically and see we are different from a lot of phase five businesses and hope we can get reopened and get our kids back in the gym training," she said.
13 ON YOUR SIDE emailed a spokesperson for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Monday, July 6, but did not receive a response.
"Every month, every day we're not in the gym, it's getting more real that the thing I've worked for my whole life is not gonna happen," Lebster said.
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