Teen From Bixby Makes Junior Team USA Gymnastics

A 16-year-old trampoline and tumbling athlete from Bixby recently made Junior Team USA Gymnastics.

She's now training for a chance to join the Senior National team, which is stacked with Olympians.

It's more than doing tricks on a trampoline.

"I do like double flips with lots of twists and I come down and do another one," said Kaitlyn Holsapple.

Every mistake costs you.

"There's lot of other scores that go into it. Horizontal displacement is how much you're staying in the middle. Bounce time is how high you are in the air and if you can stay up there. There's difficulty which is like the difficulty of the skills because each skill has like a certain amount of points to it.... and then there's execution," explained Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn has been a gymnast half her life but didn't think she would have a high enough score to make the 'Junior Team USA Gymnastics,' after a season of several injuries.

"Ankles, knees, wrists, back, kind of neck, hips, everything. Elbows," said Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn qualified for Nationals and in June competed as an elite junior.

"I was there supporting my friends. When they called my name, everything just came crashing down on me I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is actually happening,'" said Kaitlyn.

"I'm like why has my kid not come out yet. Where is she? Where'd she go? Is she coming out? Do you see her? And then a few moments later they're announcing the team and here she comes wearing red, white and blue," said Catherine Holsapple, Kaitlyn's mom.

"That's a dad moment right there. Very, very, very, very proud," said Brandon Holsapple, Kaitlyn's dad.

"I could just hear my mom just like sobbing. I could just hear her go 'oh my God,'" said Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn spends 15 plus hours a week at Oklahoma Extreme Tumbling in Bixby, and said the sport is just as much mental as it is physical.

"I love how much it pushes me," said Kaitlyn.

Now she's about to double her training.

"Team USA isn't necessarily like a gym or anything. It's just you compete for USA. So when there's international assignments like in other countries, they'll be like 'Okay where's all my team USA girls?'" said Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn is hoping for a spot on the Senior National Team next June.

"I'll be going against Olympians; Olympian alternates. It'll be crazy," said Kaitlyn.