Future Spartan Receives Full Gymnastics Scholarship

Head Over Heels gymnast Shyan Phillips receives a full scholarship to San Jose State University for 2019.

EMERYVILLE, Calif. (PRWEB) September 24, 2018

Getting into college on a gymnastics scholarship is harder than it might look. Surprisingly, fewer than 100 colleges and universities around the US offer competitive gymnastics programs. Of those schools, only Division I and II schools are allowed by NCAA rules to offer gymnastics scholarships. Head Over Heels' (HOH) Junior Olympic competitor Shyan Phillips has beaten the odds and been offered a full ride scholarship to one of those few Division I schools, San Jose State. Ms. Phillips has verbally committed to attending SJSU in the fall of 2019, and is excited to join the Spartan Nation. Shyan is relatively new to the Head Over Heels community, but has already received months of rigorous training within the HOH girls' team program.

Of working with Shyan, Coach Katreece Stone says, "She was a little shy and reserved when she came to us, but I think that her training here is really helping her to come out of her shell and see who she is and what she can do." Shyan has always been a standout within the gymnastics community from a young age. Her gymnastics style is powerful yet controlled, which enables her to make her skills look effortless. However, over the past few years, she has endured a major injury, coach changes, and a recent switch of gymnastics clubs. Those experiences, coupled with her hard work, have allowed her to gain a maturity that makes her wiser than her years. As she enters her final season as a Junior Olympic athlete, her goal is to qualify for the Junior Olympic National Championships in May 2019.

At San Jose State, Ms. Phillips is looking forward to doing gymnastics at the next level and meeting new people. She anticipates becoming more herself as she explores what SJSU and its gymnastics program have to offer. When asked what some of her favorite moves are, Shyan replies with dancing eyes, "I love vaulting and flipping as high as I can." Years ago, Shyan's family noticed something extraordinary about the energetic three-year-old when she started performing one-handed cartwheels at her auntie's house. "After that," Shyan says, "one day they passed out flyers at my school for a gymnastics program, and that's how I got started." And years later, Shyan's talent and dedication to her sport have paid off. We in the HOH community are thrilled for Shyan and wish her the best as she goes on to chase her dreams at the Division I level.

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