Cottonwood 8-year-old Brennan Reilly journeyed thousands of miles on dozens of round trips to and from Phoenix with his father to achieve an all-around boys state gymnastics championship March 14.
Reilly, whose father Scott drives him to the Valley to train up to 12 hours over two to three days every week, scored the highest of more than 120 USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic competitors to take the Level 4 all-around gymnastics state title in Chandler as well as individual wins on the high bar, parallel bars and pommel horses.
“There are no opportunities for boys gymnastics in the Verde Valley,” Scott Reilly said. “Knowing Brennan’s passion, we wanted to make certain he was provided the opportunity to train seriously in the sport he loves so much.”
Enter Biltmore Gymnastics coach Robert Toy in September.
“Toward the end of summer, Brennan really wanted to start gymnastics again,” Reilly said. “So we looked for a gym and a coach that had experience training high-level gymnasts.”
“When I first heard from the parents that they were willing to drive two hours each way for their son to train, I was both surprised and impressed,” Toy added. “Most competitive athletes train as much as 12 to 18 hours per week, and the distance just didn’t make this possible.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, March 25, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Exta.
