March 3, 2016
By Miranda Kulp, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Chris Sands has always been involved in gymnastics growing up, and the Penn State freshman can thank his father for getting him involved in the sport at a young age.
"My dad has a big role of why I chose gymnastics growing up, he was a gymnast as well for his high school and he knew all the benefits there was of putting his son through the same sport," said Sands.
Although Sand's father never made it to the collegiate level, he always motivated him to constantly strive for improvement.
"My entire family is pretty involved in sports," said Sands. "Besides my dad, my mom did track and field and my brother swam, so we always put an importance on athletics and staying in shape while growing up."
This season Sands has competed on still rings with a 14.700 and on vault with a 13.650 for the Nittany Lions. Despite still being new to the program, the coaching staff see a bright future for the underclassman.
"The two biggest factors for Chris are his physical strength and his ambition to always get stronger," said head coach Randy Jepson. "It's funny, he's always ready to learn new routines and we sometimes have to slow him down to keep him healthy."
"As a coach, Chris is an ideal gymnast," coach Jepson continued. "He's a great team player yet constantly wants to improve himself and his abilities."
Known as being one of the most energetic guys on the team, Sands credits his teammates for making his first year in college a much easier transition.
"Being a Division I student-athlete can be tough sometimes due to the time demands, it's worth it to have such great teammates like these guys," said Sands. "They're always willing to help me out, which is a huge help when adjusting to college."
"That's something I ultimately want to do one day is be as good as a role model to the future freshman as these guys are for me," Sands continued.
Before Penn State, Sands was prepped at Lancaster High School and trained at Prestige Gymnastics, where he competed in the 2015 Junior Olympic Nationals Championships and earned a third-place finish in still rings and ninth-place in floor exercises.
Although Sands is still early in his collegiate career, he has big goals for his career and is staying determined.
"One of my biggest things is I always want to be better than the day before," he said. "Gymnastics is unlike any other sport, it's both an individual and team process and that's why I love it so much. I not only want to improve for myself but to help Penn State."
Up next for the Blue and White is an away meet at Arizona State University on Friday, March 2 at 9:00 p.m. EST.