Christian and Kyle Carmona typically face two sets of judges on the day of gymnastics competitions.
There are the meet judges who give them their scores. Then there’s the judging afterward. In their living room, they watch videotapes recorded by their mother, Suzanne, a former Olympic trials gymnast and presently a gymnastics judge.
“It helps us pick up on certain things,” Christian Carmona said. “If you don’t see yourself from another person’s view, you think you’re doing it right.”
It seems to be working for the brothers, who last year led York to second in the state behind winner Palatine. Now, with the Carmonas and junior Caleb Strejc returning, the Dukes have their eyes on a championship. Christian will be the driving force if York is to make such a run.
Suzanne Carmona taught her sons gymnastics basics almost as soon as they could walk. Christian, a senior hoping to compete at Illinois-Chicago, developed into the state’s best. He owns all but two York records and won his first all-around title with a state-finals record 57.6 last spring. He also won individual titles in the vault and rings.
But one aspect of the state competition left him unsatisfied. He competed at a national club meet in Oklahoma City the day before the state finals started. Fatigued from the trip, he had two falls during team competition. The price of his and another York gymnast’s falls likely was a title for the Dukes, who had posted a sectional-high 161.75.
“I was really tired, and I wasn’t at my best,” Christian Carmona said.
The experience left him even more motivated for this season.
Meanwhile, Kyle Carmona’s abilities only recently started to rise. Energetic as a child, he often would be found in the corner, serving “timeouts” for disrupting club practices. But with the individual attention he gets from York’s coaches, the junior has begun to thrive.
“My freshman year I started trying a lot harder,” Kyle said. “My coaches, when I was in club, I was never their point of attention, so I would [mess around] a lot. But coach (York’s Rich Larsen) gives me a lot more attention. I feel a sense of home at York, and I never felt that at club.”
Larsen said he believes Kyle Carmona is capable of winning a state event if he stays focused and that he could improve by as many as three points on last season’s all-around score, a 20th-place 51.15.
Pommel horse is Kyle’s best event and one of Christian’s weaker events — and therefore the biggest point of competition between the brothers. They’ll eye each other while competing to see if they can “one-up” the other.
It’s not all sibling rivalry. With Kyle’s renewed efforts, Christian said the two exchange more words of advice.
“It’s a big change from before,” Christian Carmona said. “He would shake me off before and wouldn’t want my help. Now he understands that we can talk about it.”
