Flip Out

Mother-Daughter Duo Represents Fishers High School In Gymnastics 

Photographer / Amy Payne

One mother-daughter duo is flipping over their shared passion for gymnastics. Susie Strange grew up participating in the sport in Marion, Indiana. 

“I was a gymnast growing up,” Susie says. “I began coaching at the age of 13 while still competing. I tore my PCL and meniscus at age 15, which took me out of competition.” 

Susie took up judging at age 18 while still coaching and attending college. 

“I continued with coaching but I wanted to have another outlet for the sport,” Susie says. “Coaching was a lot of night and weekend hours so I got into the judging side of things. I’ve been judging competitive gymnastics for USA Gymnastics for quite some time. I enjoy it because you can do as much or as little as you want.”

Susie’s daughter Savannah took a liking to the sport at a young age. 

“I’ve been competing in USAG and been on a gymnastics team since I was 9,” Savannah says. “Gymnastics is something that stuck with me through all these years. I’ve tried other sports but I always circled back to gymnastics. It’s so much fun because there are so many different events you can try.” 

Now, a 17-year-old junior at Fishers High School, Savannah participates in a Diamond-Level club team at DeVeau’s School of Gymnastics in Fishers. 

“Savannah has competed for multiple gyms throughout the years,” Susie says. “When her previous gym closed in March of 2020, we moved over to DeVeau’s. She spends about 12 hours a week practicing.” 

The duo discussed Savannah’s love of competing and Susie’s passion for coaching, creating the first high school team at Fishers High School. 

“You don’t have to have a special certification to coach,” Susie says. “Any parent that is willing can coach. I told her if she was willing to do it, I was willing to coach her.” 

She participates as an individual representing the school, without having a competitive team, and she is recognized as a sanctioned, competing entity by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

“I met with the athletic director at the school and he was fine with Savannah and I doing this,” Susie says. “He was very helpful. I tell him which meets we can participate in and he signs us up. I’m doing the coaching, the planning and the driving.” 

Susie tries to keep her mom role separate from her coach role. 

“I try to keep those hats separate so it gets challenging,” Susie says. “At the end of the day she is my daughter and she is a teenager, so she doesn’t necessarily always like my critiquing or words of wisdom, but she does respect my coaching, judging and participation in the sport. We’re both passionate about the sport, so that helps.” 

Savannah hopes the endeavor will spark interest for others to join. Both mother and daughter would love to see a larger team in the future, and would need approval from coaches and the school board, with gym access. 

“I thought this was a good opportunity to do something new,” Savannah says. “I get to compete in twice as many competitions. I’m up for having more members on my team. I know it would be a lot of work to go through with the school, but I’d like to see it happen.”