December, 2003 – Colby had a great time attending Bart Conner Gymnastic Academy in Norman, Oklahoma while on Christmas break. Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy is the home of two-time Olympic Champions Bart Conner, as well as the most famous gymnast ever-Nadia Comaneci. Meeting these two great gymnist along with the other Olympic athletes that served as instructors will be a weekend Colby will never forget. During the weekend there was a lot of hard work on the part of the participants. Colby, who has had very little opportunity to work on the bars worked on these until his hands literally wore blisters, but this did not stop Colby’s determination to learn everything he could.

In pursuit of that dream Colby attended Bart Conner Gymnastic Academy during Christmas break 2003 and met his idols Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci. His hard work at this camp is definitely paying off in his 2004 season. Colby’s goal was to win first at every USTA event he competed in in the 2003 -2004 season. When he first told us this in October, 2003, it sounded like a pretty steep challenge. Colby finished the 2003-2004 USTA season undefeated by topping the Iowa USTA State Championships winning three state championships. On May 1st he competed at the Iowa AAU meet winning three more state championships and the right to compete at the Junior Olympics July 29th-30th in Des Moines, Iowa. At the National USTA competition June 16 – 20 in Madison, Wisconsin, Colby did an excellent job of representing the state of Iowa coming home with a national championship in double mini, a reserve national championship in trampoline and a third place finish in tumbling. On July 24th Colby attended another gymnastics camp with Bart Conner giving him a chance to prepare for the Junior Olympics. Colby worked hard at the camp and stayed focused throughout the Junior Olympics earning himself the following titles: 2004 AAU Junior Olympics National Champion Intermediate Double Mini; 2004 AAU Junior Olympics National Champion Intermediate Trampoline; and 2004 AAU Junior Olympics Reserve National Champion Intermediate Tumbling. Colby not only made his goal but finished the season with six state championships and four national championships!

2004 Results