Athlete of the Week: 10 questions with Sydney Holder, New Trier gymnastics

Sydney Holder is a senior gymnast for New Trier. She also is an All-State diver who took third at the state finals in November and will dive for Boston University next year.

1. Do you have any premeet rituals or superstitions?

Before invites I always eat the same food and pack similar snacks. I always eat cereal and piece of toast with strawberry jam.

2. Why is Boston University a good fit for you?

I’m really excited with all the academic offerings and also I love cities. I will be so amazing to be in a city like Boston. And I really like the diving team too. 

3. What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?

I really like hanging out with my friends and family. I like going to new places and sometimes I like chilling out and watching TV too. 

4. What is your favorite TV show? 

“Grey’s Anatomy.” I don’t know. I like the drama and I like the characters. It never disappoints. 

5. How did you go from gymnastics to diving?

I always kind of wanted to do diving. It always looked so fun. When I started doing gymnastics freshman year at New Trier, I met a couple people who did both and said, ‘OK, i’m going to do this next year.’

6. What is the key to competing in both sports?

They do have some similarities. I feel like they are different sports and you have to treat them as different sports. Knowing how to do flips and twists helps with both, but they are different. Ultimately I’ve learned what I do in gymnastics does not necessarily translate to something I do in diving and vice versa. 

7. What is one thing you cannot live without?

I really like this food my dad makes. He makes this really good pasta, like this pesto gnocchi pasta and it’s my favorite. 

8. If you are in Walgreens with a couple bucks, what are you buying?

Chocolate caramel Ghirardelli squares. Those are my favorite. 

9. What is something people do not know about you? 

I’m a twin and have a brother, Wyatt. That’s a fun fact. I feel like people know most things about me, though.

10. What can this team accomplish this season?

I know we all want to finish on a high note and I think everybody looks to state as the ultimate meet. That’s the goal for a lot of us. But I know we’ll all be happy if we do our best work and are our best selves and work really hard and keep on improving, that’s ultimately the best thing anybody could ask us to do. 

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