Someone who recently finished their time as a gymnast may say that the best thing the sport did for them made them love working out, or give them a good work ethic, or keep them out of trouble (mostly, anyway). But after a few years of being away from the sport, I can say with confidence that the best thing gymnastics ever gave me was the relationships I formed with coaches, teammates, and anyone involved in the sport.

In high school, all my school friends told me they felt like their teammates were their family just like I did and that they had the same close bond with their coaches as gymnasts do.

I felt like they were wrong, but who was I to say?

Maybe their sports teams were as connected as I felt to mine.

As I visit home today and look around me, I see that I was right in high school. Most of my friends have one or two close friends from sports still and don’t talk to the rest of their teammates, much less their coaches, very often.

Gymnastics is different.

I don’t know what it is about the sport that bonds people so closely. Maybe it’s the fact that the sport is year round. Maybe it’s how many hours are spent in the gym. Maybe it’s how tough it is, so going through that experience with others makes you feel connected in a way you don’t feel connected to other people.

Whatever it is, it’s real.

No matter how much time passes, going back to my gym always feels like home, and the people in it will always feel like family. It’s crazy how interconnected everyone gets, not just the coaches and gymnasts.

When I visit the gym I get a hug from the coaches of other levels, not just my previous coaches--adults I've never had to connect with, just because of how much of a family your gym becomes.

Some of the closest relationships I have in my life are my teammate's parents, which become just like extra sets of parents, and you're basically adopted into their family. Many of my teammate's siblings are basically my siblings as well, and we tease each other and hang out as if we were related.

Here's a picture from this past 4th of July, which I spent with my gymnastics family. It's my coach Andy and teammate Sam, who is four years younger than me but will always be one of my best friends because teammate love has no boundaries. A bunch of my teammates were there that day, and so were old coaches, parents of gymnasts, and really anyone in the gymnastics world who wanted to stay close. Other people will never understand the weird bond this sport makes, but it's there.

Here is a teammate and part of her family, who I went with (and joined another teammate and her family for) to country thunder this past summer.

Last but not least, here's my mom with me on the left and another teammate, who is basically in my family at this point, on the right.

So although gymnastics has brought me many life lessons, a love for fitness, and many other things, the most important thing I’ve taken away is the people it has given me--people I know will be stuck with me forever.

Three years out from the sport or thirty years from now, I'll always be thankful for the group of people this amazing sport has given me.