George Washington University Athletics
'A Real Eye-Opener'
1/15/2020 12:09:00 PM | Gymnastics, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
Chambliss gained perspective in road to return for GW Gymnastics
GW gymnastics practice is a flurry of gravity-bending action.
At a workout's height, the Colonials are spread across all four events, honing the speed, power and grace needed to compete with the nation's top collegiate gymnasts.
This was the backdrop last April when Deja Chambliss called over head coach Margie Foster-Cunningham.
"Look," Chambliss beamed, flexing onto her toes while standing straight to complete a calf raise.
While her teammates were busy soaring, flipping and twisting, Chambliss was firmly anchored in one spot, but make no mistake, the moment marked a milestone worthy of celebration in her recovery from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon.
"That was one of my tricks for everyone," Chambliss recalled with a laugh.
For Chambliss, that memory serves as a reminder of just how far she has come to get back in the GW lineup.
Last January, the Virginia native's first season in Buff and Blue was cut short after just one meet by the injury suffered in practice.
She was forced to watch as the Colonials made their latest postseason push without her before embarking on a months-long rehabilitation to build back the dynamic skills that made her a coveted recruit.
Chambliss showcased the results of her hard work last Saturday when she posted a podium finish on vault (9.850) in her return to competition at the Little Boston Invitational. Heading into her home debut Sunday at the 13th annual Lindsey Ferris Invitational, the sophomore is moving closer to 100 percent while embracing the lessons learned on her lengthy journey back.
"Surgery and the magnitude of the injury was life-changing for me," Chambliss said. "Being out and just seeing how much gymnastics impacts my life and how it changes when it's not in my life anymore. It was a real eye-opener."
The rest of the Colonials are excited to have her back – both because of her vast potential to boost the lineup and the extraordinary attitude that she's maintained along the comeback trail.
"It's super motivational and really inspiring to see her in the gym every day," classmate Simone Banen said. "It's not just something she says. You watch her do it. She talks the talk and walks the walk. On every skill, every event, every day."
A former Virginia state champion, Chambliss joined the Colonials last year with lofty expectations and backed them up in the countdown to her collegiate debut. Her mix of high-octane athleticism, painstaking attention to detail and blue-collar grit stood out, even among her distinguished teammates.
"Excellence is where she wants to live," Foster-Cunningham said. "That's a dream for me to work with a student-athlete like that."
Chambliss' team-high vault score of 9.800 at GW's season-opening meet on Jan. 13, 2019, provided more evidence that she was poised for a memorable debut season.
Nine days later, those plans crumbled in an instant.
Chambliss was practicing a tumbling pass as part of her floor routine when she felt a sharp pain in her right heel. Before the practice had even finished, athletic trainer Nolan Hartzell had diagnosed the Achilles injury.
"I was in denial for the first couple hours," Chambliss remembered. "I told him, 'I'll throw some ice on it, and I should be fine by tomorrow.' He was like 'Deja, that's not going to happen.' I thought I was going to make it work."
Season-ending surgery came just two days later, forcing Chambliss to reconsider everything. She'd always taken on the bumps and bruises that come with her sport, and even missed a few months during high school with a stress fracture in her back, but she'd never faced a recovery like this.
"It was disappointing," Chambliss said. "Just because I knew I had so much in me, and I wasn't going to be able to show people until a year later."
The first three months were the most difficult with strict orders to avoid putting weight on her injured leg, but Chambliss threw familiar determination into making the best of a tough situation.
She cruised campus on a scooter that immobilized her leg – and even used her extra free time to explore the city with trips to the White House, National Museum of African American History and more.
"Thankfully, they're all very handicap accessible," Chambliss reported with a grin.
At practice, Chambliss maneuvered the mats on crutches, providing a lift with her endless energy. She dished out encouragement on meet day with the same gusto as if she was about to take her turn in the lineup.
When the Colonials hit a decided lull midway through the season, it was Chambliss who spoke up in a team meeting.
"Would you rather change places with me?" she asked the rest of the Colonials.
Eventually, Chambliss could start focusing on her rehab. She was in a walking boot for the end of the season and able to make the trip with the team to its NCAA Regional at LSU.
The process began with mobility exercises and learning how to walk again without a wobble. Soon, they added in strength bands to start building back her calf muscle again.
She spent the summer working hard back home in Virginia, getting cleared to run again just before her return for the fall semester.
As she edged toward a return, Chambliss found herself confronting new questions: Am I strong enough? Can I still do this?
In those moments, it helped to have a coach with more than three decades of experience.
"Margie was always the one to let me know 'You're going to be fine. I've seen it before. You're going to come back just as good, if not better,'" Chambliss said. "I think that helped a lot. With her confidence in me, it helped with the lack of confidence I had in myself."
Indeed, Foster-Cunningham had helped a couple of former Colonials come back from the same injury, but the coach also found Chambliss made a difficult process seem smooth because of her commitment to communication from start to finish.
"It was really a character-building experience for her," said Foster-Cunningham, who is in her 35th season leading the Colonials. "I loved the way she just stayed in there. She didn't quit on her teammates. She didn't quit on herself."
Chambliss started working on bars before one-by-one adding in the rest of the events. Her first vault in October was a particularly meaningful breakthrough.
As the fall progressed, Chambliss relished a return to business as usual.
With an eye on being better than ever, she's added a new release on bars and started working on some upgrades to her vault arsenal.
"It's scary," Chambliss said. "Coming back from anything, it's not easy, but I think having your mindset right is half the battle."
Chambliss showed last weekend that she's on the right track. Her vault score tied with Cydney Crasa for best on the squad, and she also cracked the bars lineup in her long-awaited return.
As the one-year anniversary of her injury approaches, she's making sure to savor every chance to compete, delighting in the boost of positive vibes that comes from being part of what Foster-Cunningham calls the Colonial Bubble during meets.
The memories of watching her teammates fly around the gym when she could barely do a calf raise have shaped that newfound perspective.
"I'm just trying to enjoy every bit of gymnastics that I have," Chambliss said. "Because it doesn't last forever. And if I live my life scared of 'What if this gets taken away?' I probably won't enjoy any of it anyway."
At a workout's height, the Colonials are spread across all four events, honing the speed, power and grace needed to compete with the nation's top collegiate gymnasts.
This was the backdrop last April when Deja Chambliss called over head coach Margie Foster-Cunningham.
"Look," Chambliss beamed, flexing onto her toes while standing straight to complete a calf raise.
While her teammates were busy soaring, flipping and twisting, Chambliss was firmly anchored in one spot, but make no mistake, the moment marked a milestone worthy of celebration in her recovery from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon.
"That was one of my tricks for everyone," Chambliss recalled with a laugh.
For Chambliss, that memory serves as a reminder of just how far she has come to get back in the GW lineup.
Last January, the Virginia native's first season in Buff and Blue was cut short after just one meet by the injury suffered in practice.
She was forced to watch as the Colonials made their latest postseason push without her before embarking on a months-long rehabilitation to build back the dynamic skills that made her a coveted recruit.
Chambliss showcased the results of her hard work last Saturday when she posted a podium finish on vault (9.850) in her return to competition at the Little Boston Invitational. Heading into her home debut Sunday at the 13th annual Lindsey Ferris Invitational, the sophomore is moving closer to 100 percent while embracing the lessons learned on her lengthy journey back.
"Surgery and the magnitude of the injury was life-changing for me," Chambliss said. "Being out and just seeing how much gymnastics impacts my life and how it changes when it's not in my life anymore. It was a real eye-opener."
The rest of the Colonials are excited to have her back – both because of her vast potential to boost the lineup and the extraordinary attitude that she's maintained along the comeback trail.
"It's super motivational and really inspiring to see her in the gym every day," classmate Simone Banen said. "It's not just something she says. You watch her do it. She talks the talk and walks the walk. On every skill, every event, every day."
A former Virginia state champion, Chambliss joined the Colonials last year with lofty expectations and backed them up in the countdown to her collegiate debut. Her mix of high-octane athleticism, painstaking attention to detail and blue-collar grit stood out, even among her distinguished teammates.
"Excellence is where she wants to live," Foster-Cunningham said. "That's a dream for me to work with a student-athlete like that."
Chambliss' team-high vault score of 9.800 at GW's season-opening meet on Jan. 13, 2019, provided more evidence that she was poised for a memorable debut season.
Nine days later, those plans crumbled in an instant.
Chambliss was practicing a tumbling pass as part of her floor routine when she felt a sharp pain in her right heel. Before the practice had even finished, athletic trainer Nolan Hartzell had diagnosed the Achilles injury.
"I was in denial for the first couple hours," Chambliss remembered. "I told him, 'I'll throw some ice on it, and I should be fine by tomorrow.' He was like 'Deja, that's not going to happen.' I thought I was going to make it work."
Season-ending surgery came just two days later, forcing Chambliss to reconsider everything. She'd always taken on the bumps and bruises that come with her sport, and even missed a few months during high school with a stress fracture in her back, but she'd never faced a recovery like this.
"It was disappointing," Chambliss said. "Just because I knew I had so much in me, and I wasn't going to be able to show people until a year later."
The first three months were the most difficult with strict orders to avoid putting weight on her injured leg, but Chambliss threw familiar determination into making the best of a tough situation.
She cruised campus on a scooter that immobilized her leg – and even used her extra free time to explore the city with trips to the White House, National Museum of African American History and more.
"Thankfully, they're all very handicap accessible," Chambliss reported with a grin.
At practice, Chambliss maneuvered the mats on crutches, providing a lift with her endless energy. She dished out encouragement on meet day with the same gusto as if she was about to take her turn in the lineup.
When the Colonials hit a decided lull midway through the season, it was Chambliss who spoke up in a team meeting.
"Would you rather change places with me?" she asked the rest of the Colonials.
Eventually, Chambliss could start focusing on her rehab. She was in a walking boot for the end of the season and able to make the trip with the team to its NCAA Regional at LSU.
The process began with mobility exercises and learning how to walk again without a wobble. Soon, they added in strength bands to start building back her calf muscle again.
She spent the summer working hard back home in Virginia, getting cleared to run again just before her return for the fall semester.
As she edged toward a return, Chambliss found herself confronting new questions: Am I strong enough? Can I still do this?
In those moments, it helped to have a coach with more than three decades of experience.
"Margie was always the one to let me know 'You're going to be fine. I've seen it before. You're going to come back just as good, if not better,'" Chambliss said. "I think that helped a lot. With her confidence in me, it helped with the lack of confidence I had in myself."
Indeed, Foster-Cunningham had helped a couple of former Colonials come back from the same injury, but the coach also found Chambliss made a difficult process seem smooth because of her commitment to communication from start to finish.
"It was really a character-building experience for her," said Foster-Cunningham, who is in her 35th season leading the Colonials. "I loved the way she just stayed in there. She didn't quit on her teammates. She didn't quit on herself."
Chambliss started working on bars before one-by-one adding in the rest of the events. Her first vault in October was a particularly meaningful breakthrough.
As the fall progressed, Chambliss relished a return to business as usual.
With an eye on being better than ever, she's added a new release on bars and started working on some upgrades to her vault arsenal.
"It's scary," Chambliss said. "Coming back from anything, it's not easy, but I think having your mindset right is half the battle."
Chambliss showed last weekend that she's on the right track. Her vault score tied with Cydney Crasa for best on the squad, and she also cracked the bars lineup in her long-awaited return.
As the one-year anniversary of her injury approaches, she's making sure to savor every chance to compete, delighting in the boost of positive vibes that comes from being part of what Foster-Cunningham calls the Colonial Bubble during meets.
The memories of watching her teammates fly around the gym when she could barely do a calf raise have shaped that newfound perspective.
"I'm just trying to enjoy every bit of gymnastics that I have," Chambliss said. "Because it doesn't last forever. And if I live my life scared of 'What if this gets taken away?' I probably won't enjoy any of it anyway."
Players Mentioned
All-Around
/ Gymnastics
All-Around
/ Gymnastics
All-Around
/ GymnasticsGW Gymnastics Senior Meet
Sunday, February 27
Pink Meet
Sunday, February 06
GW Gymnastics Lindsey Ferris Meet
Sunday, January 16
Buff & Blue Forever: Anna Warhol
Friday, May 07