How a Junior Olympic Standout Wound Up at Michigan a Year Early
11/18/2019 12:35:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics, Features
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Last week was originally supposed to be National Signing Day for University of Michigan women's gymnast Sierra Brooks, but an opportunity to graduate high school a year early accelerated the start to her collegiate career.
Following the Nastia Liukin Cup in March, Brooks started talking with U-M associate head coach Scott Sherman about graduating early. She had the credits to do it, so the conversation turned from floating around an idea to a real possibility. It was late in the application process at Michigan, so once the decision was made, she needed to get her paperwork in fast.
"I only had three days to decide, and it came down to where I thought I would be the happiest," said Brooks. "I felt like I had accomplished everything I wanted to do in my J.O. (Junior Olympics) career and was looking forward to coming to Michigan. Leaving home and my club gym family were heavy factors that weighed on my decision, but the pros and cons led me here. I am glad it did."
Brooks with her mother at her first gymnastics meet
The native of Plainfield, Illinois, had accomplished a lot. She placed fourth in the all-around at the 2019 Nastia Liukin Cup, and earlier in her club season she scored a perfect 10.0 on balance beam at the UGA Invitational on Jan. 25. That was a score not seen much in Level 10.
"I had been doing well on beam and went up there and had the best routine of my life," said Brooks. "I stuck the dismount and knew it was really good, but a 10.0 never crossed my mind. I wasn't even looking at the scoreboard until my team started screaming."
Over the summer she capped off her J.O. career with wins on vault, beam, floor exercise and the all-around at J.O. Nationals. It was the perfect way to finish her club career.
"Nationals was awesome," said Brooks. "After I made the decision to graduate early, I had the 'last one, best one' mentality for state, regionals and nationals. My age group was extremely close, and we all went out and stuck our dismounts. There were a lot of emotions; I cried. We were proud of everything we had done."
Next came the adjustment to the University of Michigan. Brooks had known the gymnasts in the 2019 signing class for a long time and had developed close relationships. Now she was no longer a member of that recruiting class and instead a member of the freshman class.
It helped that she was Region 5 teammates with Gabby Wilson and Abbie Gaies. Her familiarity with those two helped make the transition easier. She had also become very familiar with her other U-M teammates from Michigan summer camps and attending meets as a recruit.
Michigan's high rankings in gymnastics and in academics initially put the school among the top choices for Brooks. She was heavily focused on the Wolverines in the recruiting process, and the interest was mirrored by the U-M coaching staff.
The signs always pointed to Michigan being her collegiate destination. For her first-ever competition, her mother, Shannon, was wearing a Michigan T-shirt.
"We always look back at that picture and think about how cool that is," said Sierra. "She didn't have any ties to Michigan and just put on a college shirt she had. It is cool to think that she was wearing a Michigan shirt for my first meet and will for my last meet, too."
