Arena’s special 11-year-old win all-around title
By: Bob Nuse
It didn’t take long for Valdi Kolasa to realize that Alina Weinstein was something special as a gymnast.
"She’s been here from the very beginning," recalled Kolasa, one of Weinstein’s coaches at Arena Gymnastics. "I remember when she was 5 years old and her mother brought her in for the pre-school class. We told her mother right away that we could recognize that she had talent. She was only in the pre-school class for a few weeks and we moved her to the pre-team, which prepares them more for the competition."
Over the next six years Weinstein continued to get better and better. That improvement culminated with a first-place finish at the Eastern National Championships, which were held last weekend in Kissimmee, Fla. Weinstein won the all-around title for the Junior A Division of Level 9, which is for girls up to 11 years old.
"It was easy to recognize her talent right away," Kolasa said. "She has always been so close in all the competitions at the state and region level, she was just never lucky enough to win.
"The competition is all in one day and she had a real good day, that’s what it came down to. There were a lot of talented kids there, so we knew it would be a tough competition. You need to have talent and a little bit of luck."
There are eight regions in the United States, four on each side of the Mississippi. The top 12 in each of the four regions east of the Mississippi competed at the championship meet in Florida. Weinstein finished with a 37.0 all around to win the title. She was second on floor with a 9.45, fifth on bars with a 9.2, seventh on beam with a 9.225 and 11th on vault with a 9.125.
"I wasn’t really paying attention to the scores," said Weinstein, a Plainsboro resident who attends the West Windsor-Plainsboro Upper Elementary School. "I was just going through everything and taking my time. I just wanted to do well and have some fun."
Weinstein became the second winner from at the event from Arena Gymnastics. Three years ago, Jessica Guilbaut, was a champion. Now, Arena has its second national champion.
"This is the biggest and sweetest accomplishment we’ve had as coaches," said Magda Kolasa, who also works with Weinstein at Arena. "Nothing else ever tasted so sweet. We’ve been getting calls from coaches all over the country congratulating us. We had a big meet here last weekend and the coaches were all excited for Alina. It’s a great accomplishment."
But not one that is totally surprising. With the progress she has made over the last six years, her coaches could tell she had the potential to perform well in a meet like this one.
"She’s been doing very well this year," Valdi Kolasa said. "The competition is so tough that it doesn’t take much to make a difference. At regionals it only took a couple of minor mistakes on the beam and she finished fourth all around. I knew she was capable of scoring big and placing high.
"She’s a very unique girl with a good personality. So she’s easy to work with and she shows what you can do with some hard work."
Weinstein has been working at her gymnastics since those early days of the pre-school classes. And she expects to continue as long as she continues to enjoy herself.
"I want to keep doing it," said Weinstein, who will compete at Level 10 beginning in the fall. "I like doing the tricks and being part of the team with my teammates. We have a lot of fun. I’m not thinking about anything way in the future. I want to pace myself.
"My season is over for now, unless the coaches decide to go to some sort of big meet like we did last year in Puerto Rico. Now I have to start working on getting ready for Level 10.
At Level 10, they have Junior Olympic Nationals that include competitors from the entire country. So next year, the folks on the other side of the Mississippi will get a chance to see just how far Alina Weinstein has progressed since that first day she walked into the Arena gym with her mother.
"She’s such a determined person," said Elena Weinstein, Alina’s mother. "I remember bringing her to the summer camp and after a week they talked to me and said I should consider moving her up to the team. I’m so proud of what she has done and I’m grateful for what the coaches have done for her.
"They try to teach her as much as they can. They’ve done a great job working with Alina."
And she’s obviously been a great student as well.