Sammamish Patch Athlete of the Week: Amy Bearman

Name: Amy Bearman

School:

Class: Junior

Age: 16

Sport: Gymnastics

Event: All-Around

Letters: 3 in gymnastics

Family: Amy lives on the Sammamish Plateau with her parents, Rob and Sharon Bearman and her younger brother Jacob, who is 11.

Bearman on her dedication in the classroom:

The Skyline junior is currently in the International Baccalaureate Program, which requires a great deal of desire in addition to ability.

"I’m currently pursuing the IB Diploma program, meaning that I take 6 rigorous IB classes per year and pass a series of IB tests at the end of the year," Bearman said.

In addition, Bearman is also a member of the National Honor Society, which requires a 3.65 GPA and at least 25 hours of community service per semester.

With IB weighting taken into account, Bearman's current grade point average is 4.5.

Honing her craft

Bearman, who hopes to make it to the state gymnastics competition before her Skyline career is finished, talked about the final home meet of the year this season for Skyline as one of the most memorable of her career.

"It was the first meet during which I connected my double back handspring series on beam and swung giants on bars without falling, which was an incredible feeling," Bearman said.

"This meet was also the first time we beat our season goal of a 140 team score," she added.

The junior cited a 24-point improvement over the course of the season and also praised her teammates.

"If I don’t make it [to state] this year, I plan to train year-round during the off season to learn a few more key skills, like my layout full twist on floor, and really hone my routines," Bearman said.

Finding time to give back

When she finds time away from her demanding scholastic requirements and her gymnastics career, Bearman uses it to give back to the community in a variety of ways.

Bearman is a member of the Skyline Key Club, which is an organization that links high school students with the Sammamish community through outreach groups such as the YMCA and the Issaquah Schools Foundation.

She also serves on the Sammamish Youth Board, a student advisory board to the .

A musical mindset

Bearman, who has played piano competitively since she was 7-years-old, currently studies music at the Chopin Academy of Music in Issaquah.

The Skyline junior received honorable mention at the Chopin Festival two years ago and the Helen Snelling Crow Competition, where she has earned both second and first place finishes.

Influences in the gym and in life:

One of the gymnasts who Bearman looks to for inspiration is Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin.

"She is a beautiful, inspiring gymnast with a great work ethic who is also very kind and humble to her fans," said Bearman, who received an autograph from the international superstar.

Bearman mentioned that both she and Luikin are considered relatively tall for gymnasts, but that she admires the way Liukin uses her height to an advantage, especially on the bars and beam.

While Bearman admires Liukin from afar, another prominent woman in her life has a much more hands-on role for the Skyline junior.

Amy cited her mother, Sharon, as the most influential person in her life.

"This season, she came to every one of my meets and helped me set up and break down the gym before and after," said Bearman.

"She is creative, hard-working, kind, and extremely selfless. My mother is my role model. She never ceases to inspire me."

A bright future

With a wide range of skills, abilities and impressive accomplishments, there is no doubt Amy Bearman is on the path to an incredibly bright future.

"I plan to go into Pre-Law and major in Economics and/or International Relations," Bearman said.

"I am interested in public policy, law, politics, and foreign languages, and I would love to do a year abroad."

Bearman also talked about an internship she had during the summer that piqued her interest in politics.

"I interned in the California State Senate in the pro Tempore’s District Office (Senator Steinberg), during which I got to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger!" she said.

"The internship really got me interested in politics and legislation."

Bearman currently considers Stanford, University of California, Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Whitman College and the University of Washington among her most likely destinations.

Coach Amy Bearman?

At the moment, Bearman is remaining focused on her upcoming All-Around performance at the KingCo tournament.

But recent experiences have her keeping the possibility of coaching open for the future.

"Last summer, our team hosted a gymnastics camp for kindergarten- to 5th grade-age children to raise money to purchase a new floor," she remembered.

"I really enjoyed coaching the kids and seeing them improve—it was a really rewarding experience."

Bearman added that if she remains in the area for college, she could see herself continuing to coach while in college and possibly even returning as an assistant at Skyline.