Balancing Act

Balance is an important part of any gymnast's life, but for Kristin Aloi, it means a little bit more.

Aloi, a senior at Mount Tabor High School, is a good enough gymnast to earn a full athletic scholarship to UNC Chapel Hill. But she balances her athletic talents with academics — she is currently tied with another student to be valedictorian of her senior class.

In May, Aloi competed in the Junior Olympics in Seattle. Back at school, her academic coursework this year consists of six advanced-placement courses — statistics, computer science, biology, English, psychology and human geography.

"I'm always pushing myself," Aloi said. "If I'm ever not at the best I can be, I just feel inadequate almost."

Her counselor at Mount Tabor, Corey Daniel, said Aloi does not allow excuses.
"She's one of those people who has a lot of goals and a lot of ambitions and she made plans on how to succeed," Daniel said.

In addition to UNC, Aloi got full athletic scholarship offers from Rutgers and N.C. State universities. She chose UNC because her brother, Joey, is a sophomore there, and also because she liked the team atmosphere.

But it's not certain that Aloi will go to UNC on the athletic scholarship. She found out Saturday that she is a semi-finalist for the university's prestigious Morehead-Cain scholarship. If she earns that, her athletic scholarship could go to another student the next year.

It hasn't always come down to school and gymnastics. Kristin has been involved in other activities including ballet, piano and theater — in 5th grade she played the title role of Annie in a production by the West Side Civic Theatre in Lewisville.

"I love getting in front of an audience," she said. "It's probably the attention — everybody looking at you, everybody clapping for you, it's just a great feeling."

In fact, Aloi says the biggest obstacle to her athletic career was tamping down those various other interests.

"There was always something else I wanted to do," she said.
It wasn't until last year that Aloi decided to put those other interests — except for academics — on the back burner and concentrate on gymnastics, to see just how far her talents and dedication could take her.

It turned out those skills could take her very far. In May, Aloi was named a USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Nationals qualifier, placing fourth on balance beam and 17th in the All-Around at the Junior Olympic Level 10 National Championships in Seattle.
She also earned a spot in an all-expenses-paid gymnastics camp in Cancun, where she trained with other elite gymnasts from the Southeast.

"She's the type of person that whenever she puts her stamp on it, she's got to do it well. There's something in her, in her heart, that she's got to do it excellent," said Buddy Thornburn, one of her coaches at High Point Gymnastics Academy. "Now she's reaping the benefits of that attitude."

Aloi said that the challenge — not the competition — is what drives her.

"My favorite part of gymnastics is learning new skills," she said.

Math teacher Doyle Nicholson taught Aloi for the first three years of high school, and he has watched her grow from a quiet freshman to a personable, outgoing senior.

He said she has always been a very gifted student, but he didn't know that she was also a talented athlete until late last year. It's not something she brags about, Nicholson said.

"She's very humble about what she does," he said. "I didn't know she was competing at such a high level."

Aloi started with gymnastics when she was 9 years old, starting at Salem Gymnastics on Country Club Road before changing to High Point Gymnastics Academy a few years ago. She now trains four hours a day at least six times a week, sometimes seven.

Aloi said she learned how to balance academics with other parts of her life when she took her first advanced-placement class in 9th grade, finding time to study in the gaps in her schedule.

She usually studies now during the two hours of travel time she's allotted to get to and from the career center. She goes to school early if her homework is not done, she said.

Aloi said she's not on track to go to the Olympics — that's for girls who started younger and focused more on gymnastics than she did.

Instead, she said she will focus her college career in much the same way she did high school, helping the team as much as possible and being the best student she can be.