GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Eleven hours. You can do a lot in that time. Spend a day at the beach, visit a theme park, or drive to a different state for gymnastics. That was Gators senior gymnast Victoria Nguyen and her mother's choice when she was 10 years old.
Nguyen didn't start gymnastics until she was about 8, a late start in the high-flying sport. It began when Nikki Nguyen, Victoria's mother, signed her up while they waited for her two older brothers to finish baseball lessons. That didn't stop Victoria from quickly excelling in her training and falling for gymnastics.
"I remember just her getting in the car and talking about class and what she did in them. She was like, 'Yeah, I'm having so much fun. Today, I learned a back handspring.' She would just be so happy to talk about it," said Kristofer Nguyen, Victoria's oldest brother.
By May 2009, Victoria started competing as a level four gymnast after only starting in March of that same year without any prior training.
Victoria Nguyen and five of her siblings. From top right: Cody #3 (with glasses), Kristofer #2, Steffany #1, Victoria #4, London #7 and Brooklynne #6 (in middle) - missing Matthew #5. (Photo: Justin Ah Chow/UAA Communications)
While training in Houston for about two years, Victoria soon became frustrated with her approach and discouraged. So, her mom's solution was to find a place that helped her daughter achieve what she dreamed of doing.
With this goal in mind, they traveled to Dallas in search of their new home but realized they needed to look further. Nikki continued researching other gyms and found Chow's Gymnastics in West Des Moines, Iowa, where Olympian Shawn Johnson trained.
Despite being a prestigious gym, Nikki was determined to find the perfect place for her daughter.
"We can go look there, and she was like, 'I'll send an email just to see if we can watch practice. See if that's what you want to do,' " said Victoria. "So, we took a trip from Dallas to Iowa, and I think that's about 12 hours. We drove overnight, and we got there around 8 in the morning."
They arrived before Chow opened the gym and met him in the parking lot. Chow was impressed by Victoria and her mother's determination to drive overnight to see if his gym would be a fit.
"I asked him if it was possible for V to train with the team for the day. He agreed," said Nikki. "V was so happy. We came back in the afternoon, and V had a great four hours of training with the team."
That great training session gave Victoria the chance to join Chow's team.
"He said, 'You know I don't normally do this because I get so many emails,' after he coached Shawn," said Victoria. "He said 'I never know who's really committed to it. But, if you and your mom are crazy enough to drive hours just to come see us, I can see your determination. We'd like to offer your spot on the team.' "
After some consideration, Victoria and her mother accepted.
"The evening that Chow offered her a spot on the team, 10-year-old little V told me at bedtime that 'this is where I need to be to do what I want to do and be successful,' " Nikki said. "Of course, I listened and knew that she made the right choice."
Victoria Nguyen won the all-around title at the Ameritas Master's Classic at the University of Nebraska on March 9. (Photo: Molly Kaiser/UAA Communications)
The only downside was the family of nine had to split up.
"It was an adjustment," said Kristofer. "Every time we would be together, we would hang out for a couple of days, and everyone dreaded that little goodbye. Everyone would start crying because we're a real tight family. We enjoy everyone and like being together."
Despite living in different states, the family committed to remaining a close family unit and always being each other's biggest supporters.
"When we're away from each other, we call daily, either by Skype or FaceTime. I required the three oldest to cook and eat their meals together. It allows them to spend time together. The same I would do with the four that were with me in Iowa," Nikki said. "When we get together, we spend as much time with each other as we can. We make cooking, eating and cleaning a family affair. We have a no phone policy during meals and playing board games is a must after dinner activitiy."
This mindset was carried through later when Victoria started competing at the collegiate level in Georgia.
"There's always going to be one of us or a group of us there behind her," Kristofer said.
The family attended every meet except for Victoria's first two months of competition in her freshman year at Georgia when COVID-19 limited the travel plans of so many across the U.S.
While she knew she could always count on her family, Victoria struggled with finding that same feeling of home while competing at Georgia. Starting her collegiate career during COVID was different from what she imagined. After battling injuries that prevented her from competing as an all-around gymnast, she entered the transfer portal, searching for a place that reminded her of family. Of course there were members of the Nguyen family in Rupp Arena on March 3 to see the Gators and Victoria Nguyen win the Southeastern Conference regular-season title. Victoria Nguyen with parents Tony and Nikki and her younger three siblings Matthew, Brooklynne and London.(Photo: Molly Kaiser/UAA Communications)
As soon as her old friend and fellow Gator gymnast Morgan Hurd found out about Victoria entering the transfer portal, she reached out to try to convince her to join the Gators. At that time, she had not been contacted by any of the coaches. Nguyen didn't think the coaching staff at Florida would be interested due to her injuries at Georgia.
That is until UF associate head coach Adrian Burde reached out.
After communicating with Burde and Gators head coach Jenny Rowland, Nguyen was offered a spot on the team.
"When she told me that, I was thought, 'Yes, this is where I want to go,' " said Victoria.
The feeling of family and home won her over.
"I think what's important for her and any of our athletes is that we are who we are and that she can rely on that," said Rowland. "She knows that we have their best interest at hand, and we work really hard on it, not just to speak but actually take action."
There was no doubt that Florida was the place for Victoria as soon as she began to train with her new teammates.
"She most definitely fit right in," said Rowland. "As soon as she set foot into the gym, it was like she had been a junior, a true junior here with us."
The tradition of attending every meet has continued for Victoria's family.
Steffanny, Cody and Kristofer, Victoria's three older siblings living in Houston, have their travel plans down to a science. Gators head coach Jenny Rowland congratulates Victoria Nguyen during a meet earlier this season at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. (Photo: Molly Kaiser/UAA Communications)
"For her home meets, we drive early on Friday morning to make it there. It's about a 13-hour trip. So, we'll leave really early in the morning and get there in the afternoon," said Kristofer. "We'll hang out with Vicky for a little bit before she has to head into the gym. Go to the competition, cheer her on, and then we'll hang out and grab dinner. We usually hang out and play board games and get a quick little nap before we're right back on the road so that we can come back to Houston to make it to work."
When these three can't make it to a meet, you can bet that Matthew, Brooklynne and London, Victoria's three younger siblings, and her parents will be in attendance.
All the challenges and sacrifices made by the Nguyen family seem to have finally paid off, as Victoria is both happy and competing at her best in her senior year with the Gators. She matched her collegiate-best beam score of 9.95 and won the all-around with a score of 39.625, a collegiate-best for her, in the Gators' meet against the University of Nebraska, Eastern Michigan University and Lindenwood University earlier this month. The victory was just Victoria's second title since winning her all-around performance in Georgia's 2021 season opener.
Part of her success is because Victoria is incorporating things she enjoys in the sport again, like the artistry in her floor routine, which made Victoria fall in love with the sport. While college gymnastics is made up of high-powered, upbeat music, Victoria's music stands out as slower, allowing her to choreograph more graceful routines.
"I was a little nervous to use it because I thought, 'Oh, people are going to say it's boring,' " she said. "But then I decided, 'Wait, this is for me, and I want to do a routine that I like so I can give it my all.' "
Gators fans are not the only ones enjoying the elevation in Victoria's performances. While they may see the big scores, her family sees how she has changed through her body language.
"The biggest difference I've seen in V since she transferred to Florida is the happiness and confidence we see in her even when there are bad days in training or competition," said Nikki. "The coaching staff, the medical and supporting staff and her teammates are why she is happy and in love with gymnastics again."
