By ROB WEILER and BROGAN JACOBSEN
A crash course in the art of finding, dating, and winning the heart of a BYU gymnast:
The women's gymnastics team is composed of 20 women from across North America. Of those 20, only three are married. Three others are attached, but all in all, brethren, the field is ripe for harvesting.
Start searching for your handspring princess in the Smith Fieldhouse. This is the best place to have a shot at meeting her. Not only do the girls practice and eat there, but half of the team are fitness and wellness management majors with classes down the hall in the Fieldhouse and across the way in the Richards Building.
A dead give away that you've found your Mary Lou Retton is the cantaloupe slice in her hand and the banana poking out of her backpack. BYU gymnasts and fruit go together like Michael Jordan and Wheaties.
If your search is coming up empty, hope is still alive and tumbling. Bring the gymnast to you and fill out an application to become a student athlete tutor. Nothing is worth more brownie points than helping others with homework, and student athletes tend to date friends of other student athletes. This is a great way to put yourself directly in the mix.
These ladies are just like any other girl you've taken out. They like eating good food, playing sports, watching movies, and being with a guy who will be himself, open his mouth and attempt to learn about her. This means showing some interest in gymnastics. The more you try to understand what she has been doing for most of her life, the more you prove your interest in being a part of her life. If you can figure out the difference between a geinger and a Jeager, you'll score at least a 9.925 in her eyes.
Gymnasts put in just as much training and practice time as every other student athlete, which requires a patient boyfriend who doesn't need endless attention. The girls practice five days a week for four hours a day year round. Add road trips, team retreats and recruiting responsibilities, and your time together is stretched as thin as a balance beam. A good cell phone plan will go a long way to stay in touch.
A good boyfriend shouldn't plan on missing too many meets at home. Tradition will tell you it's standard to have something for her after the meet, and just being there doesn't qualify as a gift. Flowers work wonders, especially blue roses. Show some effort and see what you can do.
As the supportive and comforting man that you are, ease your sweetheart's aches and pains with a neck and shoulder massage after practice. Gymnasts get very tight in the arms and the neck after a long day of swinging on the uneven bars and springing every which way.
And just in case you were wondering: Yes, the team outfits at competition are BYU-approved. These ladies are as limber as Nadia Comaneci and as righteous as Sister Samuelson.