Photo courtesy of Nathaniel Rogers
Beyond the courts, fields, and rinks of Choate’s campus, some athletes find ways to succeed in sports that the School does not offer. One such athlete is Nathaniel Rogers ’23, a highly accomplished gymnast and nationals qualifier.
“Like a lot of other kids, my parents signed me up for a lot of [sports] classes at a local gym,” Rogers explained. He picked up gymnastics at the age of three and has not stopped since. “I was always interested in learning new things, and so I just got into it and never really got out of it.” Rogers, a day student, picked up the sport at the Connecticut Gymnastics Academy in Wallingford. He then started his official training at American Gymnastics for six years and now trains at New Era Gymnastics, where he is a level 9 gymnast, the second highest level in the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympics Program.
For Rogers, being a gymnast is about more than just prowess on the parallel bars or agility while in the air: “It is a good way to manage my mental and emotional health and give me people to talk to.” He mentioned that the club he trains with allows him to develop relationships with people outside of the Choate community whom he can trust and communicate with.
Logistically, this intense year-round training required Rogers to make some special arrangements with the Choate administration. “I use gymnastics to satisfy my [sports] requirement all three terms of the year,” he explained. “Every weekday evening, I go to Hamden [to] practice and train for a few hours.” Rogers estimates that training alone takes up approximately 18 hours of his week. “With all that practice though, you get a lot of tangible improvements.” On the weekends, Rogers likes to use Choate’s fitness center to do gymnastics-related strength and conditioning.
Like many athletes, part of Rogers’ gymnastics career was derailed due to Covid-19. Luckily, during that time, he was able to participate in virtual meets where gymnasts set up cameras to record their movements on film. He noted that now the season is essentially back to normal.
Beyond high school, Rogers hopes to compete in gymnastics at the collegiate level. However, he noted the challenges of recruiting: “Especially on the men’s side, opportunities for collegiate gymnastics are limited. There are only about a dozen NCAA mens’ gymnastics programs in the country, which are [all] hugely selective.” Yet, there is also another conference for mens’ gymnastics called GYMACT, which some colleges are part of.
Throughout his career, Rogers has been awarded multiple Connecticut State Championship titles and has qualified for the National Championship. Only time will tell how much he will achieve as he positions himself to dive headfirst into his next competition.
