Hello Pioneer Fans!

We are very happy that all our fans are following us for another exceptional year of TWU gymnastics! My name is Abbi Thomas and I am a senior elementary education major. I transferred last year from Oregon State, and was on the gymnastics team there for two years, and after those two years I decided that it was not where God wanted me; He wanted me back in Texas!

Coming back to Texas and to TWU has already been the best year and a half of my life when it comes to gymnastics. I could never ask for a better coaching staff and teammates. I am already wondering where all three years went, and shocked that I am already in my senior year. As my senior teammate Amy Hulbert said before, it has been a bittersweet year so far, because on one hand our team looks awesome and we are ready for a fantastic year, but on the other hand at the end of the year I will be done with gymnastics. The team looks amazing this year and can’t wait to see what is in store for us.

We are definitely in preparation mode for the fast approaching season now, starting our major skills, and going into basic routines, and half routines, but I have to add we are all keeping up quite well. This week our coaches put individual goals for us on the walls that we have to achieve by a certain date. Some are very achievable, and some we will have to work a little harder at, but it is something that keeps us on top of our game. The coaches are definitely pushing us to a higher level of difficulty, which is always a good thing so we can be extra prepared when season rolls around.

It was a very exciting Friday for us this past week - picture day! It was so much fun; we took pictures everywhere so we could get different varieties of scenery. I can’t wait to see how they turned out; I hope we can at least find one where we are all smiling!

This past weekend our team did a community service event at Peterbilt (pictured). Our team helped the United Way of Denton County hand out tattoos and free stuff to the children of the Peterbilt employees. We also played a spin the wheel game with the kids. United Way is an organization that helps put the community back together; their motto this year is “Live United.” They helped out many of the victims of Hurricane Ike and Katrina. They help the community not just with natural disasters, but also with education, healthcare, and income for families in need. Since United Way gives back to our community, we thought we would give back to them by helping them run their booth at the Peterbilt event.

I am very proud of this team so far and can’t wait to show all our fans the tremendous talent we have in store for them this year!

“Through our eyes you see our hearts”

Abbi Thomas
Senior – Elementary Education Major