Seven-year-old Isabelle Brannon of Great falls recently won the state champion title at the USA Gymnastics state meet, but she also walked away from that competition with more confidence.
Isabelle said, “I thought that [it] was a sport that I would be good at.”
Not only is she good at it, but according to her dad, it has become quite the obsession while also providing some positive outcomes.
“I’ve watched Isabelle grow into an amazing seven-year-old,” said Jesse Brannon, Isabelle’s dad. “You know, three years ago when we came into this, she had some issues with confidence and she had some issues with, you know, fear and anxiety and stuff like that, and just watching her now be so proud of herself and [how] she'll be out there in front of a thousand people dancing, it just makes me happy.”
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Isabelle was able to walk into the state competition with her head held high due to the confidence and strength she has gained since starting gymnastics only three years ago.
“It was stressful, but it was fun,” Isabelle said. “I just think it's fun and there's a lot of levels, and how you can learn new skills and stuff.”
Isabelle plans on being an Olympic gymnast someday, but for now she brought home the state championship for her division and a new sense of pride.
“She did amazing and more than her winning she's had a really good season and last season was her first year competing and she did okay she got a couple of medals but not [anything] like this,” Brannon said. “To watch her kind of progress over the [last] year has been cool, but what I’ve been really proud of is watching her progress into the little leader she is, you know, the way she wins and the way she loses and the way she gets the motivation from her failing and things like that. It's just it's better than any medal will ever give you.”
