Before she was an All-American at Auburn, and even before she was a national recruit as a teenager, Auburn gymnast Caitlin Atkinson knew she had the talent and the drive to become great.
“I always kind of knew when I was younger because, even from the start, I always wanted to go more, always wanted to train more hours,” Atkinson said. “So, even from my first years when I was four or five years old, I just wanted more and wanted to be the best I could be.”
That mindset led to her becoming a prized recruit, and though she is from Houston, rivals Alabama and Auburn were her top schools.
In the end, Auburn prevailed because of a few factors.
“Honestly, the coaches, the team and the school itself because, once gymnastics is over, school is the most important thing, so the draw to the University was really big for me,” Atkinson said. “I just fell in love with every aspect of it.”
Coach Jeff Graba said he knew how good she could become and did everything he could to sign her.
“She was one of our first big, elite recruits that we got,” Graba said. “In the gymnastics world, when you recruit athletes, there’s no secrets. Everyone knows who’s good. Everyone knew Caitlin was going to be good, and we feel like we did a terrific job recruiting her and got lucky.”
During her time at Auburn, Atkinson has lived up to the hype.
She is a three-time All-American and broke the school all-around scoring record this season with a 39.750 against Alabama.
Graba said he believes her success stems from her competitiveness and her composure under pressure.
“She loves competition, and the bigger the competition, the more she loves it,” Graba said. “That’s a positive because you need some people like that on your team that rise to the occasion and embrace the pressure. A lot of people, even high-level athletes, have to manage the pressure. She’s not one of those. The higher the pressure, the better she gets. When the meet’s on the line, she’s the one you want up.”
Atkinson said she would rather focus on the team than personal goals, and knowing her success helps the team is the most satisfying part.
“As far as personal scores, I try to go into each meet doing what I can for the team, so I don’t really go into it thinking about my all-around score or what I can get for my personal benefit,” Atkinson said. “It’s rewarding to be able to do it for the team, and then afterwards realize that my score either broke a record or been one of my highest.”
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