Senior Claire Boyce earlier this season after her floor performance. (Photo: Aaron Albright/For UAA Communications)
Boyce's Time to Shine for Final Time in O'Dome
Friday, March 10, 2017 | Gymnastics, Scott Carter
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The senior gymnast retired as a competitor last month due to recurring hip pain.
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Her relentless drive never took a vacation. The family took time away, sometimes with Claire Boyce, sometimes without.
Even on annual family trips to Destin, where the beach and pool beckoned, Claire didn't want to miss time training in the gym.
Her coaches back home in Oklahoma City, where the family moved when Claire was 9, would call a local gymnastics center in Destin. While her parents and two brothers frolicked in the sand, Claire was determined to make it to the local gym at least three times during their visit.
Kim Wilson, Claire's mom and a former elite-level gymnast who gave up the sport in the seventh grade due to a back injury, allowed Claire to train at her own pace. It was that way for 20 years, long after brothers Brian and Luke had moved on from gymnastics to other interests.
Along the way, Claire took turns in soccer and dance and other sports, but gymnastics was always the main draw. Claire's drive eventually earned her a scholarship to UF, where she has been a member of the Gators gymnastics team the past four years.
"I always said I want to be Claire when I grow up,'' Kim said.
David Boyce, Claire's father, Kim and youngest brother Luke are in town this weekend to celebrate her career, starting Friday on Senior Night at Exactech Arena. She is the lone senior on a Florida team once again positioned to make a strong run in the postseason.
The Super Six – aka the NCAA Championships – are in St. Louis next month. Boyce and her family envisioned her last college performance at Chaifetz Arena in front of her extended family. Her parents grew up in St. Louis and most of Boyce's relatives still live there.
But in an unfortunate twist of fate, despite her drive to recover from hip dysplasia surgery in the summer of 2015, Boyce won't be competing. She officially retired from the sport last month for health reasons. Claire Boyce competes on beam at the 2015 NCAA Finals. (Photo: Erin Long/For UAA Communications)
"I was in too much pain and it was affecting me too much,'' Boyce said. "It was always an injury that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to come back from. It just kind of got to the point where I felt like I was doing too much harm.
"A life after gymnastics is extremely important. I've been an athlete my whole life. Not being able to run or anything like that, it was pretty scary for me."
Boyce's final performance of her college career stands as a 9.775 on the floor routine at Arkansas on Feb. 17. Four days later she officially made the announcement she was finished as a competitor, despite a grueling rehab following the 2015 surgery that forced her to miss her junior season.
Boyce competed in six meets this season but the pain became unbearable. Doctors told her that her hip sockets were too small for the joint to fit correctly, which led to the eight-hour surgery that included the insertion of long screws to try and improve the mechanics of her hips.
The fact Claire pushed herself to return didn't surprise Kim, but it did concern her. Kim said doctors and UF's training staff took great care of Claire, but when Claire told her she was retiring from competition, she knew it had to be serious.
"It's so sad as far as that perspective,'' Kim said of Claire not being able to finish the way she wanted. "But as a mom, I am relieved. I was afraid she might hurt herself severely. I think she would give up a limb for the sport. That's how driven she is. She couldn't get out of bed after the last meet."
Boyce has remained closely connected with the team helping out any way she can. An applied physiology and kinesiology major with a specialty in fitness wellness, she had ample information to help her make a final decision.
Gators coach Jenny Rowland and her teammates were supportive when Boyce surprised them at midseason.
"It's a decision that nobody ever wants to hear,'' Rowland said. "But in the end, I think it's a good decision for her. It's a decision we respect completely and know that her health is most important."
Boyce showed promise as a freshman who specialized on the balance beam and floor exercise. She was named the team's newcomer of the year in 2014. Over time her skills started to be diminished by the pain.
She is at peace with her decision and ready for a special night in front of the home fans as Florida closes the regular season by hosting West Virginia.
"Emotions are all over the place,'' Boyce said. "You're here for four years, and yeah, it goes pretty fast, and now you're in this position and it's going to be your last meet at the O'Dome. It kind of hits you. I'll never be in this situation again.
"You're going to have some sadness, but also, I've had a great career here and I've loved every second of it. I know I haven't regretted anything, and that's a pretty good feeling."
Set to graduate in August, Boyce plans to enter an accelerated nursing program in the fall.
Her gymnastics career may be over, but that drive, well it continues to burn.
"I love hard work. I'm not afraid to work at something. I loved that you could come in here and everyday was a challenge that you had to overcome,'' she said. "I loved practicing. I loved competing. I'm definitely going to miss that."
Kim can relate. When she had to give up gymnastics, she said "it was like a death in the family."
But time moves on and other doors open. When Claire is honored on Senior Night, Kim will have mixed emotions. Sad that it ended this way for her only daughter, but pleased at the prospects of a healthy and pain-free future.
"We've been along for the ride and enjoyed it,'' Kim said. "From her perspective, the relief the child must feel. She was never able to turn it off."
