Geaux time: Bridget Dean goes from alternate to starter at LSU

Every time Bridget Dean walks onto the gym floor, she can feel the butterflies in her stomach.

It doesn’t matter that she is now in her third year with the Louisiana State University gymnastics team — or that she has been in the sport since she was a child.

It never changes.

At LSU, there are high expectations of its gymnastics program — which currently sits at No. 2 in the country — so the need to perform with perfection is expected. Dean knows this, and she embraces the nerves that come with her sport.

“I remember asking my mom about being nervous, and she was like, ‘If you’re not nervous, then you don’t love it,’” said Dean, a 2018 graduate of Olympia High. “It’s something I’m very passionate about and that’s what I love — it’s so much adrenaline, and I love that. Even though I’m a junior — and when I’m a senior — I know I’ll still get that feeling.

“As you get older you’re able to control it more, but you’re still going to have that,” she said. “And in front of 13,000 fans? That’s something you don’t have in (Junior Olympics).”

Those nerves never appear to manifest outside of Dean’s stomach based on what she has done so far this season on bars, beam and floor for the Tigers.

In the Tigers’ most recent meet against Auburn University Friday, Jan. 17, Dean stuck her landings in both beam and bars, earning her the honor of wearing the team’s “stick crown.” That crown has gotten a lot of use; LSU is off to a 3-0 start in the 2020 season.

Being able to make a difference on a nationally renowned team is a dream come true for Dean, who has worked tirelessly to get to where she is today.

That’s why it’s hard to believe she almost called it quits a few years ago.

THE GREATEST OBSTACLE

Dean’s gymnastics career began at 5 years old. She was an energetic child who swung from tree branches and learned how to do flips in the backyard with her mother, Kim, also a gymnast. 

By the time Dean was 10 years old, she and her mother moved to the Ocoee area from Fort Myers to train at Orlando Metro Gymnastics.

Dean became a Level 10 gymnast by the time she was a junior at Olympia. She competed in the 2013 P&G Championships, the 2013 Nastia Liukin Cup and the 2015 J.O. National Championship.

Everything was going perfectly for Dean at the time — she had become a top gymnast who already had the offer to compete at LSU. But during her senior year at Olympia, she suffered a lower-back injury.

“I don’t know what I did, but it was a nagging thing that I could not heal,” Dean said. “So I took off an entire year of gymnastics, because I didn’t even know if I could do gym again. I mentally almost quit from gymnastics, and I didn’t think I would be able to go to LSU.”

Luckily for Dean, the coaching staff at LSU still wanted her on the team, so after graduating she made her way to Baton Rouge in the fall of 2018. Although her back still needs warming up and some attention to this day, Dean finally was able to return to high-level competition during her first year at LSU.

“Nothing seemed to help until I got up here, and we started working on my flexibility and my upper back, and that completed changed the game for my back,” Dean said. “It was my upper back that was pulling on my lower back.”

FROM ALTERNATE TO STARTER

Taking a year off from a sport is tough for any athlete, and it set Dean back when she arrived at LSU. Although she had spent the summer training, she still was out of shape. 

Dean had the chance during the preseason to work on her strength, but she landed a team alternate spot for beam and bars — although she didn’t get a chance to compete.

“I was honestly shocked that I made the alternate for bars and beam, because I was so far behind,” Dean said. “And I wanted to be in the lineup, but at the same time, I want to do whatever is best for LSU.”

It was frustrating for Dean, but her patience paid off in the long run. She exploded onto the scene during her sophomore year. She scored career highs in bars, beam and floor, including clutch showings on bars and beam during the NCAA Second Round and Regional Final. She also scored a 9.8625 on beam during the NCAA team championships — where LSU finished runner-up.

The year was full of highlights for Dean,  but that’s all behind her as she hopes to push her team further this season.

“My heart and head are just set on doing whatever I can do to help my team win a national championship, because this group of girls deserves it,” Dean said. “We are so hungry for this national championship.”