Senior Madi Davis’s (‘26) 10-year competitive gymnastics career comes to an end with two state-level 1st place wins, a runner-up placing in regionals, and a lifetime of memories from coaching.
Davis’s gymnastics journey began early on, starting with Mommy and Me classes since she could walk, and then joining Pacific Flips’s competitive team at the age of seven. Over the years, her skills have advanced immensely.
“My favorite skill is Flyways, it’s a dismount off the bars where you swing into a backflip off the bar,” Davis said. “It’s my favorite because I have had such a hard history with it, including mental blocks. Now being able to complete [the skill] is a big deal [to me].”
Her skills are not just the result of natural talent, but of hard work and dedication to her sport and team.
“When I was younger, I would train four days a week, four hours a day,” Davis said.
Even with her busy schedule in high school, she tries to train five to seven hours a week, going in on her own time to train without coached instruction.
One of her coaches, Joslynn Allen, who is one of her biggest motivators and supporters in her gymnastics career, knew her to be very shy and timid at first, but throughout the years has watched her “blossom.”
Davis’s life became harder to balance as she got older, but her dedication to her gym, team, and coaches never wavered. She won first place all around at the California State level in 2021, the first year competition resumed after COVID. Then, in 2025, she reclaimed her first-place title with not just her team watching, but her students that she coached as well.
“I trained my whole life leading up to it, and I got to say ‘Oh look, I did it!’” Davis said. “It was also really exciting because all of the little kids I coach were excited for me. It was really fun to have them cheering me on.”
Davis has been “Coach Madi” for about three years now, teaching all levels, from the same Mommy and Me classes she started with, to helping 13-year-olds on competition teams. One of the most rewarding parts of becoming a coach at her gym is working with children with special needs.
“There’s one kid in my Mommy and Me class, he’s two years old, and he has low muscle tone,” Davis said. “It’s fun to watch his progress. He can walk on a beam now, and before he struggled to even walk on the floor.”
Davis’s passion for coaching bleeds into her future career plan as well. She has been accepted into San Diego State University so far, but wherever she attends, she will major in child development to eventually become a child psychologist. Her coaches and now coworkers are already saddened by losing her, but excited to see what her future holds.
“She is one of the most spirited athletes,” Allen said. “When I have to switch students to different coaches, whatever the reason might be, we always hear how much they miss having her as their coach, athletes and parents.”
Davis has not only given her all to the sport she loves, but learned a lot from it.
“There’s hard times in everything, and life isn’t easy, but you have to keep going no matter what,” Davis said. “Even if you have a hard day at school, you still have to show up to practice and put a smile on your face. You have to learn determination.”
Madi Davis has become a California State Champion in her level of gymnastics through unmatchable hard work and self-accountability. She not only inspires the athletes she coaches, but the people who once coached her and have now become her co-workers. Although many are sad to see her retire from her career in gymnastics, she has earned an unforgettable reputation in her community.
