RIDGEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL has added a gymnastics team to its winter offerings. The Spudders will be coached by Richard Samuels, pictured here (on left) with his team members.
In addition to its annual sports of boys and girls basketball and wrestling, Ridgefield High School has officially added gymnastics to its winter offerings.
Previously, student athletes in gymnastics performed through a district cooperative with another school, but this year, Ridgefield High School has brought the team in-house. In order to make gymnastics an official Ridgefield School District sport, Torri Tjensvold and other parents approached the Ridgefield School District Board of Directors to present the high level of interest in the sport.
Richard Samuels, coach of the RHS Gymnastics Team, has coached the team for seven years as part of the cooperative.
“I feel very good that we’re now an official Ridgefield High School team,” said Samuels. “These young ladies put in the effort and deserve to have an equal standing to the other sports in the Ridgefield roster.”
Samuels discovered his love for gymnastics at a young age when asthma prevented him from participating in track, but he found that he could participate in gymnastics.
“The sustained energy in gymnastics is different,” Samuels said.
After participating for years, he developed a love for teaching and enjoyed helping others learn, which motivated him to pursue coaching.
The gymnastics team has set its sights high on making the inaugural season for the team an excellent one.
“We are really appreciative of the support of the high school and superintendent for our program,” said Samuels. “We hope to see our Ridgefield fans watch our Spudders perform and compete at the Naydenov and Northpointe Gymnastics Centers.”
Throughout the gymnastic program’s participation in the cooperative over the years, Ridgefield student athletes have enjoyed success in the sport. Just last year, Kylee Tjensvold, daughter of Torri, went to the state competition and was the district bar champion.
“Having the sport officially recognized is a huge deal for the girls,” said Torri Tjensvold. “Kylee has always wanted to be able to wear a Ridgefield letter shirt.”
Torri Tjensvold expressed her gratitude for all the support she and the other parents received in making gymnastics an official team.
“We want to thank the Board, Debbie Bentler, and Dr. McCann for all the time and effort they put into this for us,” she said. “The girls really appreciate it and so do the parents.”
“Our student athletes are outstanding examples of what it means to be both an excellent student and to excel as an athlete through hard work, too,” said Dr. Nathan McCann, superintendent of the Ridgefield School District. “Ridgefield School District looks forward to an exciting winter sports season following up our outstanding fall program’s performance.”
WIAA academic recognition
In addition to their success as athletes, Ridgefield’s student athletes have also demonstrated their ability to be excellent students. The following teams received WIAA recognition for their academic performance:
Girls Cross Country - 3.79 GPA
Girls Soccer - 3.49 GPA
Boys Golf - 3.33 GPA
Boys Cross Country - 3.24 GPA
Volleyball - 3.16 GPA
“The entire fall season went incredibly smoothly,’’ said Ridgefield Athletic Director Debbie Bentler. “Four of our five programs qualified for post-season competition. The Spudders hold two league championships in volleyball and soccer. We were one runner away from champions in cross country. Football finished with a winning season and truly improved over the course of the season.’’
