Most people would shy away from being thrown into an unfamiliar situation, let alone being forced to assume the leadership role in that situation. However, Hoffman Estates High School Senior Alyssa Bellows doesn’t fit this description.

Before high school, Bellows had never participated in gymnastics before. Despite that, she chose to explore a new direction in life and joined the gymnastics team. As a junior varsity athlete, she competed against athletes who had been playing this sport for their entire lives; yet, she continued to push on, always trying to better herself.

“After my first two to three years of competing in gymnastics and just earning average scores, I decided to push myself,” said Bellows. “I hated how I had so much potential, but I wasn’t doing anything about it. That’s when I decided to start taking gymnastics seriously and put forth the greatest possible effort towards it.”

While many people say this but never seem to fulfill their goals, Bellows did hold herself to her goal. Starting her junior year, she came in every morning during the school week to train both while in season and out of season, making sure that she was in optimal shape for the season, as well as making sure her skills were razor sharp. She even spent a large chunk of her summer at the gymnastics camp “Gymkhana” trying to tweak her skills as much as possible.

“Junior year was when I switched from being a three month gymnast to a full time gymnast and started taking everything I did seriously,” said Bellows.

Her improved work ethic and skills did not go unnoticed by the coaching staff at HEHS.

“She became a role model for all the other gymnasts,” said Natalie Tindle, varsity girls gymnastics coach. “She is an inspiration for everyone else. She went from never playing before to competing with other athletes who have been in this sport far longer than she has been.”

Bellows now not only tries to improve herself, but she constantly is pushing her teammates forward, never letting them give in and making them realize just how great they truly can be.

While there are no captains for girls varsity gymnastics, Bellows has taken it upon herself to lead the team.

“Each day I always tell my teammates that they need to practice as you compete, that anything you could want to happen can happen if you work hard for it,” said Bellows.

Bellows constantly urged her teammates to work hard in practice, which helped the team experience a turnaround midway through the season. Bellows led the charge to pull her team together by the end of the season to almost lead them to sectionals. She was even able to achieve her best score of the season during her last match on the uneven bars; she came within only a few points of sectionals this season.

“She was not only a great player for us this year, but she was also a great teammate and leader for our team,” said Tindle. “She was simply fantastic.”