Aiken Gymnastics alum Taylor returns to old gym
By KENTON MAKIN
Staff writer
A famous Aiken Gymnastics alum graced the AIGY gym Saturday, and whomever said that "you can never go home again" never knew of Grace Taylor.
Taylor, a member of the NCAA gymnastics championship team and the 2008 NCAA balance beam champion, served as a judge for the AIGY May recital Saturday.
Taylor also presented awards to the competitive teams that won at the state and regional meets.
"I have so many memories, but it surprises me ... no matter how much time I've been gone, it's always the same," Taylor said. "Recital day is special because (I've been here) since I was four.
"It's definitely an evolution," she added. "When I was little, I was (one of) the kids with the trophies ... but now I'm being treated as this special guest ... but I love it."
The recital was also a chance for Taylor to reunite with coach and friend Draha Kriz, the reigning South Carolina Gymnastics Coach of the Year and an Olympian that competed in the 1976 games.
"I think Grace is like my second daughter," Kriz said. "I've had her from four years old, and we have a really good relationship.
"I'm really thankful that she comes (back to AIGY) ... you just don't take 14 years for granted."
Their bond carried them through Taylor's first meet as a six-year-old in 1994 and continued even after Grace left for the University of Georgia in 2005.
During her time at Aiken Gymnastics, Taylor scored many accolades and honors. She also became the first South Carolina gymnast to win a Junior National Olympic title on the beam in Eugene, Ore., in 2001.
"This has definitely been a journey that I've shared with the people that have been with me," Taylor said. "You remember the good things when you see their faces.
"In any sport, there are ups and downs ... and some really low lows," she added. "Gymnastics is so fun when I get to share it with other people."
Taylor was able to share the NCAA championship with Kriz April 25, where Taylor improved on a runner-up finish in 2007 as a freshman.
The team victory was Georgia's fourth in a row and ninth overall.
"She says 'I made the final, can you come?'," Kriz said. "It was very nice, and I'm proud of her because she (persevered).
"She has it very hard at Georgia with all the big winners and world champions."
Taylor enjoyed the presence of friends and family, who only had a 2-3 hour drive to Athens, Ga.
"I was so blessed to have the NCAA's be in Athens," she said. "One of the reason I chose Georgia was so my family and friends could come ... I wouldn't just disappear for four years."
Grace won the balance beam with a score of 9.95, yet gave the credit to her teammates and the program after Saturday's recital.
Her humility may have come from a trying sophomore season in which she suffered an ankle injury.
"It's nothing that I've really done," Taylor offered modestly. "Just blessing after blessing ... being on this great team.
"I really can't take credit ... work hard, that's all I can do," she added. "Being at Georgia these last few years has grown me through the good and the bad."
Taylor's learning experience is akin to the young gymnasts that participated in Saturday's recital.
The recital is for young gymnasts that aren't ready for competition - which didn't dampen the amount of applause or positive energy in the least.
"It's really nice to see the kids grab the basics (of gymnastics)," Kriz said. "It makes them feel better about themselves, with the conditioning ... the kids stay active for a long time, and they're like family ... they come back.
Just like Taylor, who takes pride in having been a part of AIGY.
"I think it's something for the community to be proud of," Taylor said. "To have a program that's lasted this long and changed so many little girls' lives ... it's incredible and an achievement.
"It's really given the little girls of Aiken a lot of confidence and a lot of discipline to go out and be successful at whatever else they do ... which is important, because sports end."
A sobering truth from someone who's enjoyed large success as a gymnast. Yet Taylor, a psychology major with a minor in Spanish, has her eyes set on post-graduate studies and life after gymnastics.
Well, not yet. Taylor has two more years to help add to the Georgia Gymdogs' dynasty.
"16 years, and I have two left," Taylor said. "I want to go out with a smile on my face and live up these last two years."
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