You never know when it's going to be your last time competing with the "block S" on your chest. Since the start of the year, we all had our hearts set on April 18 for the NCAA Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where we were expecting to have our peak performances. Everyone wants to go out at the right place and at the right time, but sometimes things come up that are out of our control, such as the situation we are all facing right now. My last time saluting my coach and performing a routine in front of my teammates was instead on Wednesday, March 11. Every Wednesday our team has an intrasquad to determine what the lineup is going to be for the competition that weekend. This particular Wednesday would have determined the lineup for our last competition before the post-season, as well as the last home competition for us seniors – our Senior Night. It was one of the best intrasquads that we had all year. We were knocking out hit routines left and right. It was truly amazing to see how far each of us have come to push our team to the fullest potential. We all left that day optimistic and ready to take on the weekend.
Thursday, March 12 was what I considered to be one of the longest days of my life. At this point, the rest of our winter quarter was already all online, but things continued to escalate by the hour. Inevitably, our Senior Night was canceled. All of us seniors were bummed. My mom had a flight booked to come watch me compete at Stanford for the first time in my collegiate career. It wasn't long after that when our MPSF Conference Championships and NCAA Championships were cancelled as well. The whole team was gathered at the gym when we heard the news. The best word that described the moment was shock. We didn't want to believe that it was over. We didn't want to believe that everything that we worked for since September was gone. Shock soon turned to disappointment and we cried tears of sorrow. Disappointment later turned to gratitude and we cried tears of joy for the brotherhood that we have. All there was left to do was celebrate all of the cherished memories we had as a team, for what little time that we had left.
The next week, my girlfriend and I took a road trip back home to Allentown, Pennsylvania. During the drive, I looked back at my season and college experience as a whole. Even though it didn't end the way I had hoped, I am greatly pleased and appreciative for everything that has happened to me over my four years. There were times of grief, comfort, thrill, peace, pain, defeat, and victory, but never once did I regret any of it. The best times were always spent in the gym with my teammates. No matter how hard the day of training was, I experienced it with my brothers. They made each day of college one to look forward to and there is no other team that I would rather have been a part of. If there is one piece of advice that I would give to them is to stay appreciative for the family that we have and for doing the sport that we love to do. Even though it is hard for people to train at this time, we can keep sharing and spreading our love for gymnastics with everyone around us because there is no person or virus that can take that away.
While the other seniors may be done with their gymnastics careers, I am not ready to be done just yet. I plan to continue training for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where I would represent the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, I will be pursuing medical school to further my education. I am so grateful for my career at Stanford, and excited to carry on everything that I have learned into my next chapter.
Lastly, in honor of our NCAA Championships, my heart goes out to all of the seniors around the country who would have competed for the last time that weekend. Although it is difficult to swallow, they have all left lasting impacts on their respective schools and the gymnastics community. The same goes to all the senior Stanford student-athletes: in my eyes, the contributions you have all made to the success of your programs is worth more than any accolade. Thank you to my coaches, the medical team, and the athletic staff for making my time at Stanford a fruitful one that I will remember forever. And to all of the non-seniors on the team: the future of Stanford Men's Gymnastics is in your hands, so let the legacy live on. #Era
-- David Jessen