Gymnastics Jitters

Sport Stories

by Jake Maddox, Katie Wood (Illustrator)

Dana and the rest of the Raiders gymnastics team must learn how to deal with their biggest rivals, the Superiors. When the Superiors don't play fair, the Raiders learn a valuable lesson in sportsmanship.

Genres: Childrens, Sports

65 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Who is Jake Maddox? Athlete, author, world-traveler–or all three? He has surfed in Hawaii, scuba-dived in Australia, and climbed the mountains of Peru and Alaska. His books range from the most popular team sports to outdoor activities to survival adventures and even to auto racing. His exploits have inspired numerous writers to walk in his footsteps–literally! Each of his stories is stamped with teamwork, fair play, and a strong sense of self-worth and discipline. Always a team-player, Maddox realizes it takes more than one man (or woman) to create a book good enough for a young reader. He hopes the lessons learned on the court, field, or arena and the champion sprinter pace of his books can motivate kids to become better athletes and lifelong readers.

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

A clash with a major rival is brewing for the River City Raiders gymnastics team as they move up the ranks of local competition, demonstrating dominance at each new level. The next meet will pit them against the Sumner Superiors, an elite gymnastics unit with no lack of confidence in their own talent. The Superiors strut around the gym like they're the best thing that's happened to the sport since Nadia Comăneci, but the Raiders have their own star lineup of gymnasts. Not only can co-captains Dana and Mallory be counted on to post exceptional scores in their respective specialty apparatuses (floor exercise and uneven parallel bars), but the rest of the team is just as reliable in their own best events. Connie (balance beam) and Paula (vault) round out as formidable a lineup as any local team, even Sumner, and Coach Jasmine makes sure the Raiders know they have the firepower to defeat the Superiors. It will come down to how they perform under pressure.

But Sumner became a top gymnastics squad by more than ability alone. They love engaging opponents in petty psychological games, from monopolizing the apparatuses in practice, to talking trash and demeaning their rivals. Dana is tempted to respond in kind, but Coach Jasmine draws a firm line and insists her girls not cross it. If the Superiors elect to be poor sports, that's their decision, but the Raiders won't be pulled into dirty politics. Then one day at practice, almost everything goes wrong for the Raiders on parts of their routines they know so well they normally hardly have to think about them. Dana repeatedly steps out of bounds while rehearsing her floor exercise routine, Mallory slips on the uneven bars for the first time in years, and Paula falls when she tries to stick her vault landing. They immediately suspect the Superiors somehow sabotaged them, but Coach Jasmine reads the situation perfectly and sends her athletes home for the day, recognizing that the Superiors have gotten inside their heads. A day off might be what they need to approach practice with fresh resolve tomorrow.

The Raiders' talent eventually overrides their nerves, and they sweep into the meet versus Sumner on a tidal wave of confidence. Coach Jasmine emphasizes that their depth will deliver the win if they maintain focus and don't fret about what the Superiors say or do. The crucial meet may yield a surprise or two, however; Coach Jasmine won't let her girls down, and as long as they stick to fair play, she'll make sure the opposition has to reciprocate. The Raiders are a team on the rise, ready for whatever challenge comes next. There's always another goal to pursue in gymnastics, and the Raiders are poised to continue improving.

Dana and Mallory do a lot as co-captains to steady their squad and prevent them from being psyched out by the Superiors, but the effect a wise instructor has on a team cannot be overestimated, and Coach Jasmine is one of the best in any Jake Maddox sports novel. She holds the girls to a high practice standard so there will be no room for regret if they lose a competition, keeps them zeroed in on their own game and refuses to let them be drawn into squabbles with other teams, and she's got their back in a big way if she senses an opponent is messing with them illicitly. Coach Jasmine is there to handle the perpetrators so her girls don't have to, they can just concentrate on performing to their potential. Playing by the rules is the only way for serious athletes to go, and Dana, Mallory, Connie, and Paula won't forget that after their surprising showdown with Sumner. I give Gymnastics Jitters two and a half stars, and I applaud Margaret Gurevich (writing as Jake Maddox) for one of the better books in the series. If you're an aspiring gymnast or simply love the sport, read Gymnastics Jitters. You'll learn quite a bit.

[Dominique · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that the book was really good and that the other team was really mean when they did all that stuff at the gym.

[adryon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love

I love to be in gymnastics i like hownthe girl is nice books are awesome thank you jake Maddox .

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing book

[Holly Letson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Together
Everyone
Achieves
More

[Eleanor Piglet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it but it Was not what I expected it’s about this girl named Dana who’s in gymnastics with her friend Mallory Connie and Paula and they’re trying to beat the superiors

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, because I love gymnastics!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because it show team effort and it shows don't cheat it is a awsome book to read

[Kaylee Blevins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was great! It had a very good lesson about playing fair. If children read this they will see it's clear not to cheat and always tell the truth. Such a cute book!