StickItMedia Exclusive Interview

Ten year-old David Finning knew what he was doing, yet he didn’t consciously have a means to get his message across. It wasn’t until one of his neighbors turned him in to his parents that he finally got the opportunity to officially become a gymnast. On that fateful day while his parents were at work, David somehow convinced his older brother and sister to help him position the family’s backyard trampoline against the house. David then jumped down from the roof of his house onto the trampoline for added acrobatic effect, and ended up flying over a fence into the yard next door. Out of concern for David’s safety, his neighbors busted him and called his mother at a local school where she worked.

David’s father, Scott Finning, decided it was time to do something about his son’s precocious obsession with being airborne. Scott found a local gym near their Claremore, OK home so that David could be properly supervised when flipping through the air. In about a year and a half, David impressively zipped through the early levels. While competing at a Region 3 camp in Austin, TX, David met and worked with Tom Meadows, the coach at Houston’s Cypress Academy. While at Future Stars in Colorado Springs at age 11, David again caught the attention of Tom Meadows. In this short time, Meadows put David through some rigorous drills on pommel horse, and soon David was doing things that he never could do before.

It was time for Scott and Deborah Finning to make a decision. David wasn’t getting the kind of coaching in Oklahoma that he needed to get to the next level. During the summer of 2003, David was invited to a camp at Cypress Academy and was subsequently asked to consider becoming of part of their team. The family then decided for Scott and David to load up the truck and move to Houston. David’s obvious drive and devotion to the sport of gymnastics made the decision that much easier. This was something that David really wanted, and his parents were willing to make the extreme sacrifice to make it happen. In return, David signed a contract with his parents, obligating consistent academic achievement in exchange for first-class gymnastics training.

The two left their Claremore, OK home, leaving behind Mom, a close-knit family, and friends for a four-year adventure. This truly was a labor of love. An auto glass specialist, Scott was able to transfer to a similar job in Houston. As Scott tells the story, “a guiding hand from above” enabled the two to find a small one-room apartment five blocks away from David’s high school and three blocks away from Cypress Academy. That enabled Scott to toil some long, unpredictable hours, while David was mature enough to faithfully ride his bike to school and to the gym each day.

David started training at Cypress as a level 10, culminating in several Region 3 top 10 All-Around finishes and four trips to J.O. Nationals. He even found time to study Taiji martial arts, and became a junior champion in that pursuit. By the end of this four-year sojourn, all of his hard work and dedication earned David a scholarship to Oklahoma University. Scott was able to return home to be with Deborah again under one roof. It wasn’t an easy task for all concerned, given all the injuries, setbacks and the absence of a normal family life that were endured along the way.

With a first semester of college under his belt, David recently returned home for Christmas break to be reunited with his older brother and sister, Edley and Jessica. The icing on the cake was meeting his one year-old niece, Tabitha, for the first time. The entire family spent Christmas together for the first time in five years. Scott and Deborah couldn’t have felt happier.

Pretty heady stuff for a young man from Claremore, OK. David has fulfilled one of his life-long dreams, earning a scholarship to compete for the most dominant Division I men’s gymnastics program in history. Now he’s hanging out with his teammates, dining on campus with future first-round NBA draft pick Blake Griffin and rubbing elbows with Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford. Oh, and yes, there’s also been hard work in the classroom pursuing a Health and Exercise Science major and, of course, countless hours in the gym.

Within reach is All-American status in academics and gymnastics. David wants to leave OU with five rings on his fingers: four national championship rings and an Olympic ring. For David, it’s all about the team and his desire to add to a very impressive OU legacy.

StickItMedia recently had the pleasure of interviewing this impressive young man.

SiM: Since your move to Houston, what were the main obstacles and challenges you had to overcome?

Finning: Switching to a new gym was quite a challenge for me, but I knew it was a good change, which made it easier for me to go with the flow rather than struggle. Once I was settled in at the new gym, it was easy to find friends among the team. They were really everything I ever wanted to have for teammates. They were consistently pushing me and driving me to better things, and they had all the acceptance in the world with no tolerance for disagreements between any teammates. If there were any problems, it was worked out right then and there. Above all, the best aspect of my new team was that it was truly a team, and not just a group of guys who happened to go to the same gym to compete individually. We all wanted the best for each other, and that is why it is so easy for me to give my all for my new teammates at OU.

SiM: What was it like for you to be away from your family and friends?

Finning: It was very hard to leave my family and friends behind, but at the same time, I always kept my eye on the prize. Many of my friends were heartbroken when I left and I don’t think it would have been as hard for all of us if it weren’t for the fact that when I moved it was quiet and quick. Most people didn’t find out that I was gone until I was already gone. I was very focused on what I was there for: gymnastics.

SiM: Outside of gymnastics, how was it for you to make new friends?

Finning: I barely had any friends outside of gymnastics for the simple fact that I rarely left the gym. My teammates and I were constantly hanging out at the gym. My days pretty much consisted of school, hanging out, working out, coaching and then hanging out again. Don’t get me wrong, I did have friends at school, but I never saw them other than at school.

SiM: What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Finning: My most favorite accomplishment is probably making it to OU. Ever since I was 11 or 12, I wanted to go to Oklahoma University. I worked long and hard for this goal, and with OU’s reputation, I still find it hard to believe.

SiM: What is the most important role that Coach Tom Meadows has played in your development?

Finning: Tom was a guy who really took me in as a student and tried his best to mold me into a true competitor. I came to Tom as a restless Oklahoma boy who only thought about gymnastics. After four years of training with Tom, I try to be a man who cares about every aspect of what my sport has to offer.

SiM: How does Tom Meadows’ coaching philosophy differ from other coaches that you have had?

Finning: When I left Oklahoma, I had been trained by two coaches, Will Harvey and Neptali Narvice. My first coach, Harvey, was very inspirational and opened my eyes to what I had to look forward to in gymnastics. Soon after leaving my first gym, American Gymnastics, I went to Krafft Academy of Gymnastics, where I trained under Neptali Narvice. Neptali was probably my favorite coach. ‘Til this day, I still think of him as my coach and my second father. I spent every day with him watching gymnastics videos and simply learning as much from him as I could. As good a coach as Tom Meadows is, he never got as personal as Neptali. Tom kept his distance but always had his finger on me.

SiM: How has the transition to a new coaching staff been for you so far?

Finning: It really hasn’t been much different. The reason for this is because Tom Meadows is a former gymnast who trained under my new coach, Mark Williams. Because of this, Tom adopted some of the same coaching strategies as Mark Williams, therefore making it slightly easy for me to make the transition.

SiM: What are your goals for the upcoming season?

Finning: As of right now, due to my recent back and wrist injuries, my goals have been shortened to just making it on the competing team. By the end of the season, I hope to be a dependable competitor for another national championship.

SiM: What new skills would you like to master in 2009?

Finning: Right now I’m mainly focusing on getting all my skills back. I lost a few after taking time off due to injuries. But when I’m fully back to where I need to be, I hope to learn several skills on the pommel horse, rings and vault.

SiM: What do you think your role for OU will be in 2009?

Finning: My role is simply to be a good teammate. It’s my job to not only take care of myself, but also to take care of my brothers who train right beside me. Without them, a national championship is meaningless.

SiM: What are your academic/gymnastics goals for the next four years?

Finning: I would really like to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA or higher. I struggled in high school, but I feel in my first college semester that I have found my way in college education. As for gymnastics, the end goal for me is to make it to the Olympics. Whether that will happen or not, I don’t know, but it’s my goal and it’s something I will pursue until I can’t go any further.

SiM: Describe what it is like for you when you walk into the gym.

Finning: The gym for me is a place of happiness and victory, struggle and failure, and above all, love. Gymnastics is my passion which can’t be affected by anything. I would do gymnastics for the rest of my life if I could.

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