Story by Sam Steinberg, The Benton County Daily Register
ROGERS (July 22, 2008)- Amanda Schoenbaum keeps her eyes on 6-year-old Dei Simpson as the growing girl attempts a cartwheel high up on a balance beam.
Dei shows no signs of fear. Instead Dei is full of enthusiasm. If Dei seems oblivious to the possibility of disaster, it is because Schoenbaum is standing beside her acting as a spotter and a coach.
Schoenbaum is a 2007 graduate of Bentonville High School and a rising sophomore on Southeast Missouri State's gymnastics team. She is spending the summer working at Gym Worx in Rogers coaching gymnastics. "It is awesome to do it yourself but when you get to share it with someone else is pretty cool," Schoenbaum said. "I make sure the kids stay safe and I try to teach them as much as I can. "The young athletes learn many gymnastics from her including backflips, handstands and advance beam dismounts. "I get nervous but you have to let them go," said Schoenbaum, 19. "When they get older, they know their limits. "This is Schoenbaum's second summer coaching at the facility and many are glad she returned.
"I loved it when they said she coaching this summer," said Jennifer Nigemann of Bella Vista. Nigemann said she has seen her 6-year-old daughter, Taylor, improve when coached by Schoenbaum. "One thing I like about Amanda is that she fixes the small things," Nigemann said. There are many positives in this summer job for Schoenbaum, including being a few miles away from her family home. In this time of high gas prices, Schoenbaum uses her fitness level to stretch every cent she earns. Instead of driving a gas-guzzling automobile, she bikes 9 miles from her house to work in Rogers. Her bike path includes sidewalks and crossing over I-540. "It's a little dangerous but they are making this area more bike-friendly," she said. Schoenbaum's commute is a trek in the summer heat and it has many benefits. Besides saving money, Schoenbaum said biking keeps up her endurance level in offseason without damaging the knees. For Schoenbaum, the summer is not just a time to make money as well but the keep up her gymnastics skills. She trains at the Williams Center in Fayetteville. "We are supposed to heal during the summer and focus on being healthy, so when we come back to school we can train really hard to be ready for competition," she said.
As a freshman, she helped her team to a second-place finish in the Midwest Independent Conference Championship and an appearance in the NCAA South Central Regional hosted by the University of Oklahoma. Despite finishing fifth at the regional to miss out on a chance to get to the championship round, she has fond memories of the postseason.
"It was so cool to see bigtime gymnastics," she said.
When she made transition to college gymnastics, she had to adjust to a different format. In college gymnastics is a team sport as opposed to an individual competition. When she is not competing, Schoenbaum becomes a cheerleader with the rest of the Redhawks.
"In college the focus is taken off the individual," Schoenbaum said. "You are competing for your school and for your team."
Gymnastic talent and the Southeast Missouri connections run in Schoenbaum family. Schoenbaum's aunt, Laurie Schoenbaum-Chaney, was an All-American gymnast for the Redhawks in the 1980's.
Away from the gym, Schoenbaum and the team excelled in the classroom. She made the Dean's List both semesters and the Redhawks finished this past school year with a 3.81 GPA.
Schoenbaum is uncertain about her future and said is considering coaching gymnastics along with other options.
"I never thought that I would really like coaching but now that I have been doing it for so many years I really enjoy it," Schoenbaum said.
