Mikayla Kis:  For Love of the Sport

She doesn’t seek out the spotlight or quest for notoriety.  She doesn’t glory in the awards or wait for recognition.  Instead, she very quietly and humbly focuses on the tasks at hand and on doing whatever needs to be done in order to get her skills and be her very best.  Therefore, you may not know her personally, and you might not even recognize her name yet.  However, if I mention her signature flexed-footed run, the collection of seemingly unending gym suits and the undisputable powerful physique, almost everyone knows to whom I am referring – Mikayla Kis.  

At 15 years of age, the grade 10 Abbey Park High School student is a very recognizable figure in the gym.  Although she trained elsewhere for a few years, Mikayla basically grew up at OGC.  She began her career here at the age of four after demonstrating her gymnastics aptitude at home by bouncing off furniture and flipping on beds.  She joined her mother’s Pre-Comp group (Coach Irene,) where she could practice these feats in a safe environment and from the very beginning, she absolutely loved it.  Even her mom’s constant and sometimes annoying reminders during dinner  to “be tight and point [her] toes,” didn’t curb her enthusiasm.  It just helped her develop into the powerful athlete she is today.

Irene admits that like most parent coaches, she was much harder on Mikayla than the other girls in the group and describes her as always having been “a hard-working, responsible, respectful and caring young girl. I couldn’t be more proud of Mik.  Skills don’t come easy for her due to her lack of flexibility but her passion and love of the sport has helped her to overcome any obstacles and challenges she faces.  She is such a hard worker and has come so far.”         

Her coaches from the 25 hour group echo those sentiments and Coach Sandra identifies her as “one of the most hard working girls we have on our team.”  She also adds, “The coaches never have to ask her to stay focussed because she is always on task.  She is a great role model for the younger athletes and an asset to have on our team.”  

Mikayla herself, is quietly confident when she describes herself in much the same way. “I am quiet and I like to work hard and follow the rules,” she says.  While this dedicated, focused and driven side of her personality is evident to anyone who has observed her during training, the warm, “ask me anything” smile she wears as we chat hints at a more relaxed, youthful, fun-loving side of the teen that hides just beneath her composed and reserved persona.  “I also like to have fun and joke around,” she admits.  “I am easy going.”  

I find myself silently agreeing with all of this as I listen to her speak openly about her career in her tiny voice filled with enthusiasm, and I am reminded of how she was so accurately described to me by teammate, Seren Jackson.  “She is the nicest person!  She’s so polite and gracious and gets along with everyone.  She always has a positive attitude.  She never gets upset if things don’t go her way; she just keeps going.  She’s so good, she never seems to have trouble with anything and she’s never afraid of anything… She just does it.”   

While Mikayla may go for it and push her limits, she disputes the “fearless” claim with a smile.  “Not fearless.  I just pretend I am not afraid, but I may be terrified”.  Perhaps the reason she seems so confident and is so accomplished, is because, even if there is an element of fear involved in what she is doing, she isn’t afraid of the process of attempting something and failing on the first, or even twentieth go.  Her favourite quote is,  “Mistakes are proof that you are trying”.  Mikayla never stops trying and with that kind of attitude, success is bound to come her way. 

While the season is just beginning for our WAG athletes, Mikayla already has the honour of being the reigning 2019 Level 10 Floor Champ at Easterns and has earned herself a place on the Ontario Tour Team after placing 6th at the Tour Selection meet in November with an AA score of 35.865.  She, along with her fellow teammates will be representing the Province at the California Grand Competition in Anaheim this January.  Not a bad start for an athlete who doesn’t really like to compete because of the nervous tension. 

“I feel good about this season thanks to my coaches,” she says.  “They provide a consistent training where we hit all four events every practice and they prepare us well for competitions through repetition and corrections.”  Mikayla is currently working on making her Yurchenko Full on vault consistent, so that it is ready for competition.  She is also focusing on a front pike on beam, more advanced tumbling lines on floor, and trying to figure out which release move on bars will be best suited for her flexibility.

Flexibility has always been one of her biggest challenges.  ” If I could go back I wish I could have focused on my flexibility more,” she confesses.  “If it’s not my legs, it’s my shoulders.  It affects what type of skills I can learn and sometimes my scores at a competition. With help from my coaches at Oakville, my flexibility has improved tremendously and they have helped me to find skills that complement my abilities.”

While flexibility might be a difficulty she confronts regularly, Mikayla’s greatest strength is her power which comes from her consistent hard work, her dedication and her absolute refusal to cheat on conditioning.  She credits her mother with inspiring her to push through when things get tough and to always strive to make the most of the opportunities she is given.  That means working hard.  ” My mom reminds me to always be positive and thankful for things that I am able to do.  That motivates me when I think of others that may not have the same opportunities that I have,” Mikayla says.  

Her desire not to squander the chances she has been given has resulted in the development of an incredibly strong work ethic.  This in turn has given her the ability to execute an extensive list of Level 10 skills with ease and grace on each of the four apparatus.  When it comes to floor, her favourite event, one marvels at the complexity of her tumbling lines and the display of sheer power.  And for audience enjoyment, she even mixes in a little bit of sass that is reminiscent of her days as a competitive dancer.  

In the past, Mikayla also had the opportunity to attend Holly Crest for the sports academic program.  She found this to be a great opportunity because it removed the stress of always leaving class early and missing assignments, lessons and tests.  At Holly Crest, she never missed anything.  She didn’t mind that she didn’t have exposure to traditional extra-curricular activities associated with the regular school program either, because as she says, “I enjoy being in the gym more”.  

Time however, can still be tight, even with a condensed schedule.  One thing Mikayla has gained from her rigorous training schedule over the years though, is the ability to be super organized.  She knows she has limited time, so she just gets things done.  Procrastination is not an option:  7am – Get up, eat, go to school, eat lunch walking across the parking lot to the gym, train, shower, eat, homework, homework, homework, sleep.  Repeat.  There’s not much time for anything else, but she doesn’t seem to mind.  When asked if she ever regrets not being able to pursue other interests, she answers immediately with a definitive, “No”.  If there is spare time to be found though, she is likely to fill it by just relaxing, watching tv or indulging her creative side.  Favourite pass times include drawing, painting, baking, making perogies and spending time with her cousin.  And,  “I like my sleep,” she says.  So she calls it a night by 10pm so she can happily start all over again the next day.

In order to train at the level she does and to give so much of herself to the sport, she must really love what she does.  “I am not a natural gymnast but my hard work and efforts and love for the sport have gotten me where I am today,” she confirms. Where will it take her in the future, I wonder?  

Mikayla has Youtube videos demonstrating high level skills.  She has started the ground work for NCAA scholarships and she attended the Southern Utah training camp last summer with teammate Soraya Shahani where she worked skills with the university coaches.  All of these things seemed to be leading to a particular eventuality, a path she planned to take.  However, when I asked about the future, she surprised me.  “I enjoy art and I am creative so I have been looking into Graphic Design.  If I am fortunate enough to receive a scholarship, then I may choose that route,” she says, but she has no real plans yet for post-secondary school or careers.  Her long-term goals at this point are simply to “continue to do gym, and do well at school,” while keeping her options open.  I had to ask, why, with no particular scholarship goals, no real Olympic aspirations, no love of competing and no specific gymnastics related career ambitions, why she worked so hard, endured all of the body aches and sacrificed so much?  Her answer was simple, and that of a true champion; For love of the sport.  

Gymnastics is something Mikayla does for herself; so she can explore the extent of her capabilities and push the boundaries.  “My favourite thing about gymnastics,” she says, “is learning new skills and even better, is getting the new skill”.  Right now, her favourite skill is a double layout off bars because it’s a newly acquired trick.  As previously stated, for Mikayla, it’s all about personal bests and not the awards that are cached in her bedroom.  That’s why her goals for this season, are simply to enjoy the season and not stress about comps. 

How does she plan to do that?  To help with the stress of competing, Mikayla distracts herself by keeping busy until comp time.  Then she pretends it’s just another training session.  She also makes sure she puts in the work ahead of time.  It’s a lot easier to relax when you know you are prepared.  To help with that, she eats well.  She doesn’t like fruit, but she eats plenty of veggies, eggs, pasta, and poutine as a go-to treat.  She keeps her body tuned up by alternating chiropractic and deep tissue massage appointments every two weeks.  That helps to deal with the constant aches and pains that she generally finds to be the most difficult part about high-level gymnastics. She also follows her own advice to anyone who wants to succeed in gymnastics: “Always work hard and don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do”. 

Sidebar:  For all of you who may be wondering, I did ask.  

Me:  “How many suits do you actually have?”

Mikayla:  “I have a lot!  Probably close to 50…”.  

I think she was probably being conservative.  And believe it or not, although she did do a photoshoot  for the Jagwear website once, she isn’t an official gym suit model. – Just a walking advertisement!

If you want to know a little bit more about Mikayla Kis, see the Fast Facts below:

Favourite Colour	Purple
Favourite Travel Destination	Anywhere warm with a beach!
Favourite Food	Poutine
Favourite Show	Outdaughtered
Instagram or Snapchat?	Snapchat
Favourite Pass Time	Drawing
Starbucks or Tim’s?	Tim’s
Chocolate or Chips?	Chips
Pets	Dog named Lulu