Champions' TriBUne Archive

By: Camryn Bryant
 
Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that will give you the student-athlete's perspective and tell their story in their voice. Camryn Bryant, a junior from Suwanee, Ga., was a Level 10 gymnast and three-time All-American in competitive cheer at Peachtree Ridge High School. Surviving two ruptured Achilles' injuries, Camryn competed in the toss portion as part of the 2018 national champion acrobatics & tumbling team. Baylor is hosting the NCATA National Championships Thursday-Saturday at the Ferrell Center:

Going into my senior year of high school, I was doing competitive cheerleading and was tumbling, and that was when I ruptured my right Achilles. I didn't know what it was at first, I thought I just rolled my ankle. I was doing a tumbling pass, I landed and it snapped. So, I went to the doctor and he told me it was a ruptured Achilles.
 
I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I had already signed up for the acrobatics & tumbling camp at Baylor. Since I was injured, I didn't really want to go, but my mom told me, "No, you should go. You never know, it will be a good opportunity for them to look at you." So, I was like, "Oh, OK, I'll go." Even though I couldn't really do anything, I absolutely fell in love with the sport. The coaches were amazing. They didn't shut me out, even though I was injured. And then some of the other athletes really motivated me to come back stronger so that this opportunity could be for me.
 
They were trying to keep my spirits up and actually incorporated me into the little end-of-the-camp routine. I couldn't really do anything since I had just gotten hurt, but I was on a little scooter and scooted my way across the carpet on the last tumbling pass, which was kind of a big deal. Coach Ucci told me that's when they knew, "She's got to be here!"
 
I was definitely encouraged by that. I was really nervous coming into the camp, because I was injured and couldn't do much. So, I didn't really think anybody would want to talk. But, I decided that I needed to include myself if I wanted to be seen or heard, because I really wanted this.
 
My junior year, I actually came here on a spring break trip with my mom and my grandma. I was invited to Spring Premiere to see the campus and take a look at my possible majors. We came to Texas a little early, and I toured Texas A&M and UT. And when I drove on those campuses, they just didn't feel like home to me. And then literally, when we got off the highway and pulled up to Baylor, I said, "This is where I want to be! This is it!"
 
When I finally got here that first fall, I was really nervous coming in, because I was coming in off a year of not tumbling at all. But, I trusted and believed my coaches. They told me that we would just start off with basics, and I was like, "Oh, perfect, this is great!" So, we start with the basics, everything is going great and we have this evaluation day. They give you a sheet of what they would like to see on the very first day, what you've been working on over the summer. And mine was just small skills because I was just coming back from the injury. As I'm warming up, I'm doing the same tumbling passes that I did the first time I got hurt and "SNAP!" There goes the other Achilles. The first one I got fixed, I have screws in that one. When the left one snapped, I knew right away because it was the exact same feeling. Immediately when it happened, as I crawled off the mat, I was like, "Oh, this cannot be happening right now."


 
I went to the doctor here in Waco after it happened, and he told me, "All right, I can get you in for surgery tomorrow." And I said, "Tomorrow? I don't have anybody here, how am I going to go into surgery?" I'm nervous, because I don't like surgeries at all. When I called my mom and told her everything, she was freaking out: "How am I going to get there?" But, she ended up being able to fly out the next day and be there for my surgery.
 
That was very frustrating. I went home and cried a lot. I felt depressed at times. I couldn't really do much at that point. It took a lot of praying and talking to my family. I was scooting around campus basically my whole freshman year, so that was hard on me. It was sometimes tough for me to come to practice and just sit, but I realized that I was here for a reason. The coaches see that I'm still here and I want to be here. They have all their trust in me, so I can't just sit aside and not care anymore. That really motivated me. My teammates wanted me to get back, so that motivated me even more to come back. I came here wanting to do this, so I'm not just going to give up now because of an injury. I would come in each and every practice trying to have a positive attitude about everything, because I wanted to get back.
 
By that spring semester, when the competition season started, I was starting to come back and I was doing a little bit more at practice. And I started thinking, "OK, I could have a shot." But, in the back of my mind, I had some doubts like, "No, it's too soon. You don't want to try to rush back and push yourself too hard and get hurt again." And at some points, I told myself, "I don't want to do this anymore, I'm ready to go home."
 
I wasn't doing well academically, either, because I was shutting down. I was on pain meds, and it was just too much. I didn't have any family here, it was hard to find someone to really talk to, so I really did consider just leaving. It took a lot of prayer and talking to my mom and my family. They knew how much I wanted this and how hard I had worked to get this far. They told me that I couldn't give up.
 
That summer, I worked really hard trying to get my stamina and cardio and my muscular-wise back. I knew I couldn't hold back. You can't be afraid to get hurt anymore because the worst has already happened. You can only go up from here. I tried to focus on the good instead of "What if something happens?"
 
I ended up making the travel team my sophomore year, and that really boosted my confidence. And I was still working on the side, trying to get new skills. So, it was a good season for me. Even though I wasn't involved in the tumbling and I was just counting for the acro, toss and tumbling events, my teammates told me, "Cam, you were a part of this since you got here."
 
Winning the national championship last year was amazing. That was the best feeling I've ever had. It was just cool to be a part of something bigger than myself. In a team, everyone has a role. And my role may not have been to be out there for the team event. My role was to be the "hype man" of the group or get the crowd pumped and get the team ready.


 
Even though I said I wasn't going to, I felt like I held myself back a little bit last year. I was still timid in certain areas, especially tumbling, since that's where I got injured. I've had talks with Coach Ucci, and she was like, "You've got to trust yourself and go for it. The doctors said you're fine, you've just got to get it out of your head and believe you can do this." This year, I feel like I've gotten it out of my head, I've gained some new skills and I'm loving it! I've been able to compete in things, tumbling-wise, that I never thought I'd be in. I just want to thank my coaches and my family for always believing in me and pushing me to limits that I didn't think I could reach. I'm just very blessed and very happy with where I am today.
 
This year, I'm so much stronger. Never in my million dreams would I ever have thought I could do a Lib (holding a teammate up with one hand, like the Statue of Liberty). At the beginning, it was nerve-wracking. But now that I've done it so many times, it's like muscle memory. As long as I do my job, and she does her job, it's easy.
 
Last year, I didn't really have to focus on what I was in, but this year I notice myself really focusing on the small details and making sure I execute up to the Baylor standard. If we have a little bobble or a drop, that's not the Baylor standard. We're national champions, and we cannot allow that to be acceptable.
 
When I came to Baylor, I was thinking I wanted to do exercise physiology and become an athletic trainer. But, being in this sport for so long and watching the coaches coach and the way they do things, now I'm thinking, "That looks like something I want to do. It looks like fun." After being in gymnastics for so long, being individualized, I love being part of a team way more. That's why I feel like I would be more comfortable doing the coaching route or maybe personal training more than athletic training.
 
Other than school and my sport. I love going to every home football game. I've loved football since I was little. On Sunday nights, I'd be in between my parents in their room watching Sunday Night Football, and they would be asleep. I'd still be up, sitting there watching the game, and I didn't even notice. My mom would wake up and be like, "Why? Go to bed." I haven't missed one home football game since I've been here, and I try to make it at least once to every Baylor event that's happening.
 
It's just so beautiful here, and everybody is so loving and kind. This is literally home now. It's hard for me to even go home now because I've found so many amazing friends here. I just love this place and everything about it.
 
When I graduate next May, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I have so many different options. This is random, but I want to move to Australia or Hawaii with my best friend and maybe do personal training or real estate. My experiences at Baylor have prepared me for anything, and my parents are so supportive. Anything I put my mind to doing, they're like, "If you're going to do it, you've got to do it at 110 percent." I'm just making sure that I look into everything, so whatever I end up doing is the right decision for me personally and my family.



Previous Champions' TriBUne Features
Equestrian - Shannon Hogue (April 16, 2019)
Women's Tennis - Angelina Shakhraichuk (April 9, 2019) 
Women's Basketball - Lauren Cox (March 22, 2019)
Track & Field - Wil London (March 7, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Jake Lindsey (March 4, 2019)
Softball - Nicky Dawson (Feb. 21, 2019)
Baseball - Josh Bissonette (Feb. 14, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Will Little (Jan. 31, 2019)
Men's Basketball - King McClure (Jan. 17, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Chloe Jackson (Jan. 3, 2019)
Football - Blake Blackmar (Dec. 13, 2018)
Volleyball - Braya Hunt (Nov. 29, 2018)
Soccer - Jackie Crowther (Nov. 16, 2018)
Cross Country - Alison Andrews-Paul (Nov. 8, 2018)
Football- Ira Lewis (Nov. 6, 2018)