BYRON, Minn. (AP) - Coach and daughter - with so much together time - have had their share of squabbles.
But Charro and Hannah Coleman will take it, the Post-Bulletin (https://bit.ly/2k3IkGI ) reported. It’s been a mighty run for them.
“Our (relationship) can be tested at times,” said Charro, who coaches the Byron gymnastics and girls track and field teams, with daughter Hannah being a star in both.
“Hannah and I are both pretty driven individuals. I have high expectations for her and so does she, as far as goals. There have been times - usually on the balance beam - where we’ve had to walk away from each other.”
There was none of that walking away on Jan. 26 in a gymnastics meet at Byron. Instead, just hugs and smiles. That was the night that Hannah was at her spectacular best on that mood-testing balance beam.
Hannah has never been better in the event than she was that Thursday night. She scored a 9.6, a personal best and a Byron school record.
Her previous top score had been 9.3. The Byron record was 9.5, held by Megan Lawson.
“Everything was clean,” said Hannah, also a standout pole vaulter and sprinter on the track and field team. “There were no wobbles. I stuck all my jumps. When you stick them, it feels really good. I always thought about my senior year and how I wanted that record by then. I wanted it, but didn’t expect it.”
There’s a great chance that Hannah wouldn’t be nearly the athletic performer she is without her dad, Charro.
He’s invested in her, and she in him.
“There have been times when I might not want to have listened to him,” Hannah said. “But in general, it’s been really good. I know that he is there being supportive of me, and it is so nice just in the aspect of having him there. Technically, he knows what he’s talking about. That’s especially true in track in field.”
In gymnastics, Charro knew nothing about the sport when he signed Hannah up for it at KAATS Gymnastics in Pine Island. Hannah was 3 years old then and Charro was simply looking to give her an active outlet.
“I wanted her to be involved in something, and I thought gymnastics would be good for someone who’s young,” Charro said. “She could work on all the basics, and get some strength and flexibility from it.”
Hannah gleaned all those things. And in the process, Charro got his own benefit. He did it just by hanging around those practices, studying them and asking KAATS owner and instructor Kathy Nelson questions. Before long, Charro was helping out at practices, and continually learning the sport’s finer points.
“Hannah fell in love with gymnastics from the get-go,” Charro said. “She’s never stopped going to practices (since she was 3), other than the three months when we have track season.”
Charro also became smitten for the sport. The last six years, he’s been coaching Hannah and the rest of the Byron gymnasts on their high school team. He’s been the head man the last three seasons.
“This isn’t necessarily one of the sports I saw myself coaching,” said Charro, a football, track and field and basketball athlete in high school. “I have my strengths, but the floor (exercise) is my weakness. It’s a good thing I have three outstanding assistants.”
Charro’s coaching - along with the coaching of those assistants - has been good enough to produce a number of strong Byron gymnasts. That includes Hannah, who reached the Class A state meet on the beam and in floor exercise as a sophomore.
Hannah’s goal is to get back there again. She also hopes - and figures - to get back to the state track and field meet this spring. Hannah has reached state in the pole vault three straight years, including finishing fifth as a sophomore with a 10-foot-6 clearance.
But as her high school gymnastics career winds to a close, this honor student - who will attend college at Viterbo in La Crosse, Wis. - does it with a mix of bitter and sweet. Viterbo does not offer gymnastics, meaning Hannah is fast approaching the end of her time in her favorite sport.
With all the relationships she’s built through gymnastics, especially with her dad and her Byron teammates, saying goodbye won’t be easy.
“It’ll be an emotional meet, that last one,” said Hannah, who plans to pole vault at Viterbo. “I’m going to miss our gymnastics team. I’m going to miss the whole aspect of it. It’s sad just to think about it.”
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Information from: Post-Bulletin, https://www.postbulletin.com
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