Sara Robertson
Kylah Bachman, a senior in communication disorders, practices her beam routine in Carmichael Gymnasium. She has been doing gymnastics for about 16 years and says beam is her favorite event.
For some people, things may not come easy for them early on. For senior Kylah Bachman, gymnastics did not come to her early, either.
“When I was little, I wasn’t the most talented at gymnastics, so I went to waste energy and have fun,” Bachman said. “I don’t know. I was just in it for the sport, and I had a lot of fun. I was never that girl that got the skill right away. I had to stick it out and keep trying.”
Several prep and club achievements and three All-EAGL first-team selections later, Bachman has worked for a long time to get to the top of her game.
She remembers how in the beginning her parents used gymnastics as a way to help Bachman use her energy in a positive way.
“I was actually kind of a hyper kid,” Bachman said. “I guess they wanted me to waste my energy some way, and so as a birthday present, they gave [the chance to go to gymnastics] to me. Who knew that I would spend years on gymnastics? I stuck with it ever since.”
Bachman continued to work on her skills every day in hopes of becoming better. She wasn’t heavily recruited by many colleges, but coach Mark Stevenson saw something in Bachman.
“I saw Kylah her junior year at level 10 nationals in Oregon, and she had a really sharp looking beam, had nice style in her dance and good skills on balance beam,” Stevenson said. “She had a tremendous amount of potential, and she had some unique skills. Overall, she didn’t have very good form then, but I thought that she could help us.”
Bachman worked even harder every day in order to get her form better. When Stevenson saw the improvement, he gave Bachman a scholarship.
But the transition to N.C. State was not easy. Coming from York, Pa., a city with a population of almost 41,000, she said the move to Raleigh was hard at first, but her coaches and teammates made it easier.
“It was a big-time transition,” Bachman said. “I’m a very homely girl from small-town Pennsylvania, and it was a big change being away from my family.”
Bachman also remembers being one of the few freshmen on the team and how the seniors gave her the help she needed to succeed.
“I remember the first days coming in, and being one of the only freshmen was very intimidating,” Bachman said. “It definitely put a lot more pressure on me. They led by example, and I had some awesome seniors to help show me the ropes.”
Bachman would initially start on balance beam her freshman year, placing first in her second-ever meet with a score of 9.875 and scoring at least a 9.825 on beam in five-straight meets. She would later compete in three different events.
Coach Stevenson said her work ethic was the main reason.
“She was willing to learn, and she had the talent to learn,” Stevenson said. “She wasn’t afraid to work hard. She was the first one in the gym, and the last one to leave. Anytime you have that type of drive, you’re going to be good if you have any type of talent.”
That drive would push her to many high marks, including career-best scores of 9.975 on balance beam and 9.9 on the floor exercise on three separate occasions and the uneven bars.
Coach Stevenson said her leadership influences many of the other gymnasts.
“Look at Kylah and Leigha [Hancock] right now,” Stevenson said. “Kylah and Leigha coming into the door were similar people. Last year, Leigha’s work ethic wasn’t the same as Kylah’s, but now it is. In the scheme of that, Leigha has stepped up and made a huge difference in being successful.”
Seriousness aside, Bachman said she enjoys having fun.
“I love having fun with these girls,” Bachman said. “We like fooling around sometimes, but when stuff needs to get done, you get your workout done. But at times we can still have fun.”
Bachman not only takes pride in her accomplishments in gymnastics, but she takes a lot of pride in being on the EAGL All-Academic team.
“It’s always an awesome honor,” Bachman said. “It’s kind of nice when your hard work pays off. I’m very blessed and very appreciative. That is something about Mark. He puts the emphasis on college first.”
Bachman said that the coaches help the team not only in gymnastics, but in life.
“Over the years, you realize that Mark’s a phenomenal man and just the fact that he’s been through a lot this year and still has been looking out for the best of us,” Bachman said. “All of the coaches have taught me a lot, and made me find out a lot of who I am.”
Assistant coach Todd Henry said Bachman has had a positive effect on him as well.
“I am a pretty aggressive person,” Henry said. “I have learned from her to temper my coaching to meet her style more.”
Bachman missed the NCAA Championships last year by only 0.025 of a point. This season, with the NCAA Regionals this weekend, Bachman said she knows she wants everyone to do well, but she wants the team as a unit to get to nationals.
“I know our team wants to go there and do well,” Bachman said. “The last three times, we went in there with pretty high expectations, and we ended up not doing as well. This year, it would be awesome for the team to go to nationals.”
Despite it being her last season, Bachman said she is ready for life after college and that gymnastics have been a strong staple to her.
“I thought about it to myself, and I thought that these may be the last practices of my life,” Bachman said. “I’m ready for my new part of life. Gymnastics have been in my life since I was five, but I’m ready to move on to new things and to graduate. I don’t know what’s next, but I’m ready for the new challenge. I think all of this has prepared me.”