Shayla Kazensky '21 Recruiting Profile

I started into gymnastics when I was 2 years old.  Soon enough I was on the  J.O. club gymnastics team where I trained 11 months of the year, year after year.  Being on this gymnastics team, and maintaining the training schedule that I did, I learned the importance of being disciplined.  I would miss many events with friends or other sports opportunities, but that was okay because I loved gymnastics and I did not want to let my coach or my team down.

Unfortunately, I started having some problems with my knees.  I was looking for other ways to stay in physical shape but would allow my knees to heal.  This is when I found swimming when I was in eighth grade.  I had always loved swimming when I was little but found it difficult to do often with my schedule, and impossible to compete in.  Soon my love of swimming began to compete with my love for gymnastics, and I had to make a choice.  As I was heading into my freshman year in high school, my school did not have a gymnastics team but they did have a swim team.  Decision made, I was going to be a swimmer.

While I had left gymnastics, I found that my habits of hard work and discipline that I developed then also played a large part of any success I would have in swimming now.  But unlike gymnastics, I got to do it while being part of a team, competing in relays and loudly cheering each other on.  I was very proud of being selected for the varsity swim team, and ultimately earning my varsity letter in my first year of high school...and only my second full year of swimming competitively.

Then I was able to combine these two loves into one sport: diving.  One of my swim coaches is also the high school assistant diving coach, and has known me since my toddler days in gymnastics.  She recruited me the summer going into sophomore year to join the diving team.  I found my experience and training in gymnastics has helped me understand how to move my body through space, how to point my toes, and how to do it all gracefully.  I am still very new to diving, but I am learning more and more with each practice. Within my first year of diving, I qualified and participated in the Washington State Championships.

As I move through my junior year in high school, I am again on the varsity swim and dive team, competing as both a swimmer and a diver. I have always had a strong and positive relationship with my coaches. I love being a natural, informal leader on the team, and I am currently the captain of the swim team.  I also have the personal goals of going to state and our team becoming district champions.

For my academic goals, I want to continue my strong GPA while pushing myself with Honors, AP and Dual Enrollment college courses through the University of Washington.  My love for sports and my personal sports injuries, have helped me shape what I want to be: a doctor of physiatry.  I want to be able to help people - especially athletes - to recover from their injuries and get back to doing what they love.