English major and student-athlete Abby Bruner aims for the highpoint on the gymnastics floor and in the classroom

Abby Bruner, a 21-year-old senior from Jacksonville, Florida, has been competing in gymnastics since she was 7. While balancing earning her dual degrees at Florida State University in English-Editing, Writing, and Media and Communication, she holds the title of co-captain and president for the FSU Club Gymnastics Team, which finished as national champions in April 2022 at the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs Nationals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The team finished first in the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Level 8 team competition.

English-Editing, Writing, and Media major Rachel Zak recently spoke with Bruner about her life as a student-athlete.

How long have you been doing gymnastics?

I started doing it when I was 4 years old, just recreationally. I joined a competitive team when I was 7, and I did that all the way through high school. I tried to get recruited to college for a little while, into some smaller schools, but it ended up not working out and that's why I decided to choose the club route.

What is your fondest memory of gymnastics?

Definitely winning nationals. Last year, we faced a lot of adversity leading up to nationals. We had our coach step down from her role. and it was my first year as president, so that came with a learning curve, and we had to put in a lot of hard work.

The executive board had to take the role of the coach the second half of the year—it made winning nationals pay off. I remember we didn't know any of the scores and we were all sitting around this table. Everyone started pulling out their phones to record because we knew that we were in the running, and I said, “Do not pull out your phones—if we lose—do not do that.”

Then I turned to the person next to me and said, “Make sure you record this.” We ended up winning, so it was great.

What kind of challenges have you found come with being co-captain and president?

I think challenges come with being a leader in any way. Being the person who must be the harsh one but also want to create a good team environment is difficult. Because we're a sport club at FSU, there are a lot of requirements that we must meet. For example, we have to do a certain amount of fundraising, a certain amount of community service, etc.

As president, I am the one who's making sure all that happens and getting my teammates to participate. So, I think the biggest challenge has been learning how to walk the fine line of being respected and having people listen to what I say but also being the one that they can come to with problems and being the one to motivate them at the same time.

What has changed for the team after winning the national championships?

We recruited a lot more people. We grew our team from 20 to 35 members. This is the biggest team we've ever had, and because we're recruiting more people, we can compete at different levels, so we've expanded in that way.

As far as mindset, I think we're just more confident. It's easier to have a plan of the steps we need to take. I think it's comforting to know that what we did last year worked, and now we have a basis to follow.

What’s the balance like being a student athlete? How do you manage your time?

I think I'm naturally very good at prioritizing and I always use a planner. A lot of times, we will have our executive meetings 30 minutes before practice, so it doesn't take up a lot of time during our week.

Everyone on the executive board is also very, very involved in other things. We all have jobs, we all are in other organizations, so it takes a lot to balance. But it's just about finding those set times where we know we can meet and making the best of our 30 minutes here and 30 minutes there. A lot of it is also delegation to the other members of the exec board. It helps me a lot to be able to give them a deadline and trust they’ll get it done.

What are you learning the most academically as you work toward two bachelor's degrees? 

Through studying both English and Communications, I think I am learning how to balance my creativity with technique. I’ve always been a creative person and I’ve always loved to write, but my classes are teaching me to refine that writing and use it in the most persuasive ways I can. I’ve also found that a lot of the concepts between the two majors are connected, and I can use something I learned in one class to help with another. 

I am currently in the process of applying to graduate schools to pursue a master’s degree in Sport Management. Being a proficient writer will help in any field, but I think my background in writing and editing is going to help me enter a career in sports media of some sort. I like that I can combine two of my lifelong passions, sports and writing, and make a career out of it. 

Do you see a future for yourself in gymnastics?

After college, there aren’t really any competition opportunities. For gymnasts, there's not a professional league or anything. We retire so early from the sport that honestly, being 21 and doing this is kind of late. I see myself staying in sports. I don't think I would stay in gymnastics, but I want to stay in sports in some sort.

What do you do with your free time?

I don't know if you consider this free time, but I also work for FSU sport clubs, so helping to make the program that all the clubs follow takes up a lot of my time. Honestly, I'm very passionate about it, so it feels like free time even though it's work.

Rachel Zak is an English major on the editing, writing, and media track, with a minor in humanities.

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