By Sean Savage
@SeanSav13
For more than 100 years, the annual Gymnastics “HomeShow” exhibition has been a highly anticipated Homecoming event for the Springfield College community. But not this year.
When the word initially broke loose – and as it slowly crept across campus – students were hit with melancholy and confusion. Yet, the reason for not having Home Show stands for a greater good: there’s an explanation many people aren’t aware of.
“It [not hosting Home Show] represents a good thing,” sophomore men’s gymnast Peyton Cramer said. “We are upgrading our facility for the first time in 30 years. While I think it’s disappointing not to have Home Show, it definitely represents something that’s moving the program forward. This puts us at the level of other NCAA Division I programs.”
The renovation of the team’s training grounds in Kresge Gymnasium has been a long time coming for men’s gymnastics head coach Matthew Davis and his squad. For the past eight years, Davis has been chipping away at a change for the program. And in April, all the hours poured into meetings and planning came to fruition.
“The first phase that was over the summer is when they dug up the pits and got rid of the platform,” Cramer said. “So now we have in-ground pits with trampolines under them, which means they fluff a little better, so it’s a safer setup.”
The changes made thus far allow the teams to diversify their training while addressing safety issues. Beforehand, the pits weren’t deep enough and the vaults were too narrow.
“As a coach, I’m excited for the safety of the athletes; we are able to train some of the higher and harder skills now,” Davis said. “It’s great for recruiting, too. I’ve already had some recruits reach out that are borderline looking at us but now are really looking at us due to the facility. It [the training facility] rivals Division I teams on the men’s side, and for the women’s Division III side, it’s definitely one of the nicer ones.”
Davis explained that trying to plan a show, get alums involved and sell tickets became too much when the program learned renovations were underway. In addition, the first phase is still not 100 percent complete.
“We couldn’t get a definitive timeframe of when that could be completed,” Davis said. “About three and a half weeks ago this gym was a complete dirt pile.”
However, once the first phase is completed, the program is seeking to expand to a second phase – with additional phases hopefully following suit. One idea includes turning the racquetball courts into a locker room, which is an entity that each of the men’s and women’s teams hasn’t had.
“Men’s gymnastics is a dying sport, programs get cut left and right,” Cramer said. “The fact that we are getting a new gym, not just a new gym, but a very nice state-of-the-art Division I level gym means that this school supports and values our programs.”
As Cramer mentioned, a significant aspect of the renovation is so the men’s gymnastics team can keep up with its fellow Division I competitors. Because there are only 16 Division III gymnastics teams, they all compete at the Division I level.
The facilities upgrades couldn’t come at a better time for the Pride. The men’s gymnastics program is fresh off a historic season led by Cramer, as his unforgettable first year on Alden Street ended with ECAC Rookie of the Year and ECAC Specialist of the Year honors. Moreover, the phenom took home NCAA All-America honors following a fifth-place finish on the pommel horse with a score of 14.400. It marked the first time that a Springfield College student-athlete earned the national honor since Ryan Ponce took third on the rings in 2014, and the first Springfield men’s gymnastic individual finalist of the NCAA Division I Championship since in Jeff Coehlo achieved the feat in 1984 when he took second on the rings to finish as the national runner up.
Cramer was also joined by then-first-year Evan Reichert and sophomore Owen Carney for another first – sending three athletes to the Saturday session of the NCAA National Collegiate Championships; the only time Springfield has ever accomplished that as a Division III program.
The women’s side is also coming off a strong season, as it sent five athletes to the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Championships, including returners Junior Julia Reer and Senior Ayako Maeda.
“This puts us at another level of competitiveness; it’s hard to see when you’re not in the program, [I’ve heard] ‘Oh, no Home Show, ah man,” Cramer said. “If you come in there, it looks like a professional gym. Within the program, this is huge.”
While there won’t be high-flying entertainment with a sold-out crowd this year, the program has an alternative for Home Show en route.
“In replace of it, we knew we wanted to showcase some of our gymnasts and give them the experience of Home Show while doing something a little bit different,” Davis said. “We are looking to possibly do an intrasquad with our men’s and women’s program on November 10. That is going to help us continue on with some of our Home Show traditions while showing off the new first-years and having a good sendoff for the seniors.”
While many students, alums and other supporters were saddened by the news of no Home Show, the other side of the story quite possibly outshines that.
“It obviously is a little bit of a bummer, but looking back, I had three amazing experiences for Home Show,” senior captain Carter Cochardo said. “As much as it is not the best outcome, I’ll take a new, renovated gym over a senior year Home Show – not only just for this season but for the teams to come. I think that’s what they deserve. Looking at it from a different perspective, yeah it kind of stinks but it’s worth it.”
With the future looking bright for both gymnastics programs, the Pride are confident in the outlook of the sport on Alden Street.
“This program isn’t going anywhere,” Cramer said.
Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics