Highland Village twins double their success in gymnastics

Born eight minutes apart 14 years ago, Audrey and Norah Collins first tried gymnastics at age 4 when their mom Michelle saw a Groupon ad for a summer toddlers course at WinKids in Flower Mound.

“It was just fun,” Audrey said. “We also were in dance (ballet) and had to decide on one or the other.”

By that fall, the sisters found they loved the sport so much they moved to a recreational class at Achievers in Denton.

“Right away one of their coaches said, ‘I think they could be on the pre-team,’” Michelle said.

They advanced to the USA Gymnastics Level 2 program at age 6 and have climbed the ladder ever since. Representing the Roanoke-based U.S. Gold Gymnastics, the Highland Village residents and eighth graders at Flower Mound’s Coram Deo Academy both won state titles.

Audrey secured the all-around gold medal April 1 in the Level 9 Junior B3 division. She was the 2022 Level 8 all-around regional winner. Plus, her top 7 in all events in this year’s’ regionals April 15 in Topeka, Kansas, earned her a spot in the USAG Western Championships in Boise, Idaho. At Westerns, which featured 452 gymnastics from west of the Mississippi River, Audrey won Junior 6 vault, floor, all-around and team, was second on beam and third on bars. She also placed second in Level 9 combined XYZ.

“I prayed a lot every spare moment of that meet,” said Audrey, whose first perfect 10 score came in the floor exercise during a Level 7-8 meet. “That helped me block everything out and do my best.”

Norah secured Level 8 state Senior B1 division gold medals in vault, uneven parallel bars, and all-around this year – her first-ever state titles. At the Region 3 Senior A2 meet April 22 in Oklahoma City, she placed fourth in bars, fifth in vault and all-around and eighth in floor.

Until this year they always competed against each other in the same USA Gymnastics division. While Audrey moved up to Level 9, Norah stayed in Level 8 for a second year.

“It’s been phenomenal. Not only does Norah have more experience in Level 8 this year, but she also had the opportunity to shine for herself,” Michelle said. “We’re so proud of her.”

Both girls have traveled all over Texas and to 10 states overall because of gymnastics. They take part in about seven meets per season and qualify for state and regionals based on points and rankings.

“I just really like the feeling of learning new stuff and figuring it out,” Audrey said. “I like visiting with all my friends and the coaches. I like seeing how I can push myself.”

“I really love being with my friends,” Norah said. “We laugh a lot and hang out with them and do things with them.”

They learned about U.S. Gold Gymnastics from one of their friends – Whitney Forsythe. It didn’t hurt that U.S. Gold has two gym dogs.

“In the gymnastics world you keep crossing paths and it’s been fun crossing paths with friends from the past. You meet up with them at different competitions, say hi and take a picture,” Michelle said.

When not competing the girls can be found practicing up to 17½ hours per week. They will take a week to go to a dude ranch in Arkansas and spend a week volunteering at Beloved and Beyond camp in Rosebud, TX aiding kids with special needs this summer.

“We like to say anything can change at a moment’s notice in gymnastics,” Michelle said. “They train all week year round for this one meet and it comes down to two vaults, it comes down to a 40-second bar routine, a 1 minute, 30 second floor routine and a minute and a half on the beam and anything can change.

“These girls keep their focus. They trust their training. They trust their coaches and they go out and do their best. We always say your mark of success is going out there and giving your all, not necessarily placing or winning.”

Even with their demanding gymnastics schedules, both girls have maintained straight A’s. During their little free time, Audrey loves to read and Norah enjoys taking photographs, especially of the family pets.

“They have good, happy hearts. I don’t think I’ve ever heard them complain about gymnastics,” Michelle said. “Frustrations happen sometimes but they have a strong attitude and they really have fun.”