Athlete Spotlight: Kendall Knaps
Photo by Kendall Knaps
Kendall Knaps started her Gymnastics career young at only 8 years old. “I was a dancer, and I told my mom that it was just too slow for me, so she put me in Gymnastics. I did rec gym, but the coaches said I was too advanced, so I started the competition team, and the rest has been history.”
Being the only girl grandchild of a large family meant that her family’s support with gymnastics was clear. “I’m the only person in my family that doesn’t play soccer or football. Gymnastics was always something other than those two sports to watch, so I always had a big fan base… It’s me and thirteen boys.” Growing up with so many boys shaped who Kendall is now; she is very competitive when it comes to sports and is very family-oriented.
Because of how close Knaps is with her family, she could never see herself living far from them. That’s why when she heard about Centenary, thanks to Max Belike, a school in Louisiana that has a gymnastics program, she began talking with the coach and visiting the school. “I went on lots of other visits to other colleges and none of them felt like home, Centenary really felt like home.” She soon found a close-knit group of friends in the Gymnastics team, headed to Paris, and took handstand pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower. Kendall Sanders, Xian, and Kendall Knaps have been peas in a pod since the first day they got together on campus.
Photo by Kendall Knaps
Going from Club Gymnastics to college-level Gymnastics was an adjustment. Centenary doesn’t have their own facility for the team, so they share space at Jill’s Gymnastics. The Club Team gets the space after school hours while Centenary’s team is split up throughout the week based on their schedule. They come together on the weekend though from 4:00 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. “I didn’t think I would be practicing on the weekends in college, but those full team practices are always so fun. You dread having to go, but then once you get there you have fun.” The thing that Knaps enjoyed was the independence in college gymnastics. She is an adult, and the coaches treat her as such, giving her the responsibility to practice her routines and trust that she will perform as expected for meets. “Freshman coming in it takes them a little bit of time to adjust because it’s almost weird for them to have freedom, but once you get a grasp on how college gymnastics works it’s kind of liberating.”
Outside of Gymnastics, Kendall Knaps is a Senior majoring in Communications with a concentration in New Media Design. Winning several awards for her work in Shreveport, Knaps is just getting started. She has already applied to agencies and is doing freelance work to start making her way in her career. Her Communications degree has helped her be a better team member on Gymnastics and has set her up to lead a career in an artistic field that she enjoys. Not only is Knaps skilled with graphic design and computer editing programs, but she also has a love of music and singing. Her father is a singer and music producer, so she loves to get involved and has even written her own songs.
Make sure to go cheer Kendall Knaps and the rest of the Centenary Gymnastics Team on throughout the Spring 2022 semester. You can check their schedule at https://www.gocentenary.com/ .
This article goes with the podcast titled “Athlete Spotlight: Kendall Knaps” found in our Multimedia section!
