by Jane Pokou

“It’s not brave if you’re not scared.” says Jack. A quote shared by his previous coach Greg Jackson and one that Jack repeats as a source of motivation.  

Jack Gibbins began gymnastics at OGC in the Parent & Tot Program at the age of 2. At the age of 5, he moved into the competitive levels – Interclub Program &  Developmental Program – and is presently at the Provincial 1 Competitive Program coached by Martin Broadhurst. He is very excited to be competing at the provincial level this year and he is focused on doing his best. “I’ve got all the way to this level and I get to compete at provincials this year”. 

Jack lives for gymnastics and there is no other place that he would rather be. At the age of 10, he is actively doing 16 hours per week, however, if given the chance, you would be sure to find him at OGC every day of the week no doubt. In the past six years, he has never once turned down going to gymnastics. A student in Grade 5, he balances school with gymnastics, always working ahead of schedule, and he already has his heart set on being an Aerospace Engineer.

His one word to describe his favorite sport is “nice.” “It’s cool to be able to do so many skills and it’s a lot of fun”.  He loves working with his coaches and learning challenging new skills. “Gymnastics makes me happy!” And if for some reason he cannot make it to gymnastics, he really misses his coach and working on his skills. 

Although he won first place on floor last year, Jack’s favorite event is rings. To him, there are so many neat skills that can be performed on rings. 

His most memorable moment is overcoming his fears associated with the challenging skills that come with gymnastics. He is presently working on his ‘giants’ on high bar and he would love to do even ‘more giants’. He builds on each skill a bit at a time. He will get someone to spot him first, then take away the spotting, then add the next skill and continue to do so until the skill is completed. When asked the question about what skill he would be dreaming about tonight, Jack’s definite response was no other than ‘giants’. 

Jack considers himself lucky! He has had tremendous support from his coaches and his parents throughout his journey. His success is measured by achieving more difficult skills as well as advancement to higher levels. Gymnastics has taught him the value of hard work, discipline and the success that comes with it. These are life lessons that he has acquired through gymnastics.

During his down time, he watches TV and he is very interested in Harry Potter books. He loves fantasy books and likes Harry because he is always solving mysteries and Jack likes pretending to be a spy and solving mysteries too! 

Alongside gymnastics, this will be his second year doing ballet at The Oakville School of Classical Ballet. He was cast as a ‘Mouse’ and ‘Skater’ in The Nutcracker last year. He will also be performing in The Nutcracker again this year.

Jack’s idol is Team Canada’s Cory Patterson who also trained at OGC. Jack can relate to Cory because they both shared the same coach Greg Jackson.  He watched him compete at the Pan American Games on television and he was thrilled to meet him in person at Nationals in Waterloo. Cory asked Jack if he wanted to do the ‘big skills’ one day. Obviously, Jack replied yes and Cory told Jack he would have to work hard and listen to his coaches. Jack lives by Cory’s motto: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”!

His new coach Martin describes Jack as courteous, hard working and a pleasure to teach. He has seen a huge development in his gymnastics since he has been coaching Jack since July of this year. Alertness, precision, daringness, self-confidence and self-discipline are mental traits Jack has developed through his gymnastics producing very good work and progress on each of the men’s events. The Provincial stream will be a step up from the development group, however, he is sure Jack will embrace the challenge with great enthusiasm, commitment and determination.  

Jack is a very versatile and dedicated gymnast. So, if you have not had the opportunity to see him at OGC, you will definitely find him performing in The Nutcracker this year once again, or perhaps, catch a glimpse of him at Walt Disney World doing a handstand in the front of Epcot’s giant sphere as he loves to practise his gymnastics while he is traveling.  

If you think gymnastics is hard, well, “Life’s hard. Wear a helmet.” says Jack (aka Greg Jackson).