Texas boy with CP improves through gymnastics, places 4th in national tournament

From The News-Herald in Kilgore, Texas:

Two years ago, 10-year-old Robert Flynn (pictured) could barely walk without a severe limp. Diagnosed with borderline cerebral palsy at age 2, his parents were surprised when he asked to join the Kilgore Acro-flyers gymnastics team.

But the countless hours of assisted stretching and coaching paid off for Robert when he and his sister, Brittnee Flynn, earned fourth place in a national gymnastics tournament in Orlando, Fla.

“When we first got Robert, he was very stiff,” said Ada Wells, coach for the Acro-flyers. “He couldn’t even do a cartwheel. He was very uncoordinated. But he is a child that works very hard. Sometimes, he has to put in two or three times the work of a normal child to get a skill.”

She said Robert got involved with the team after he watched his sister compete in her first meet.

Cynthia Flynn said she decided to let her son join the team in the stretching exercises because she knew it would help improve his range of motion.

“He had been doing therapy and stuff in school and we decided to put him in gymnastics,” she said. “From last year to this year, he has improved.”

Flynn said she is excited to see Robert’s progress.

“By age five, normal kids with cerebral palsy will start regressing,” She said. “He has not done that. He has progressed ever since.”

She also said the stretching and strength training also helped reset his hip, which had been moving out of socket in recent years.

“Last year he was 32 percent out of socket. But ever since we put him in gymnastics, it has stopped because the muscles along there have strengthened and is holding it in,” she said. “We go back to the doctor in nine months and if he continues to progress, they said they will begin seeing him on a need-basis.”

In addition to the improvements in his physical handicaps, the focus needed to perform in gymnastics also helped Robert improve his ability to learn new information in other areas.

“Since this, he has more self-esteem,” Flynn said. “He concentrates better than he was. His grades improved.”

Wells is impressed with the progress.

“I’ve seen Robert come from a child who could not do a cartwheel to a fourth-ranked national athlete in two years,” Wells said. “That’s not to say that it did not come without a lot of hard work and a lot of tears because of his own frustration.

“If you would have seen him from when I first got him to where he is now, it’s amazing to everybody that knows the beginning,” she continued. “Now he’s doing front handsprings. It’s an amazing feat to have watched him. I’m so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with him.”

Wells said Robert is advancing in his skills to be the top position in a men’s paired team, which requires more upper body strength and coordination than being in the bottom position.

Robert and five other youngsters from Kilgore recently competed in the USA Gymnastics Acrobatic National Tournament, where all three teams placed within the top six teams in the nation in their divisions.

Robert and Brittnee Flynn placed fourth in mixed pairs; Autumn Schara, Lily Baldazo and Kaidra Kidd placed fifth in women’s trio; and Autumn Schara and Brenna Foxworth placed sixth in women’s pairs.