Kees hones her craft despite injury, becomes Gymnast of the Year

DeKALB – After finding out she would miss two months with a wrist injury, DeKalb-Sycamore gymnast Maddy Kees said it took her a short while to process the news.

And although the sophomore was in a cast for the start of the high school season, she finished it back at the state tournament in the finals of two events. She also was named the 2020 Daily Chronicle Gymnast of the Year.

"When they first told me you're in a cast for eight weeks, I didn't know what to say," Kees said. "He was like, 'Do you want to talk?' and I was like, 'No' (laughs). I was in shock. Oh my God. This was going to be like a breakout year. I was expecting sophomore year to be my year. So I was really disappointed."

Kees was coming off state medals in the floor and beam as a freshman and was expecting a big season. But the injury put a crimp in those plans, and she did not medal at the finale this year.

Coach Andy Morreale said he was impressed with the way Kees handled her road back.

"I thought it was a character-building year for her," Morreale said. "Being injured kind of set her back. I told her it would be a process coming back for her that we wouldn't rush because it could cause other problems down the road, or maybe get injured again. So we took our time. I thought she was very patient. As a slow build, she put it all together throughout the year."

Kees said after the initial shock wore off, she realized she had to keep working out as much as she could.

"After a couple weeks of kind of having the pity party, I was like, no, we've got to get over this," Kees said. "I kind of said I have to do the best of what I can to the best of my ability, and that is what helped me."

Those workouts, she said, included a lot of cardio and basically anything avoiding the arms as possible.

"For beam, I just worked on my turns and leaps and jumps, really working on my flexibility," Kees said. "It was just sharpening up mental things. And on the floor, I really worked on my cardio a bunch. Then I worked a lot of front tumbling cause I don't use my hands for that. So I had some upgraded passes from that. So that was a bonus. And on floors, I just worked on strength, working on my abs and legs. And then just as much arm strength as I could do."

Morreale said it was ironic she qualified for the finals of the state tournament in the two events the cast affected the most: the bars and the vault.

"Those are the ones she did well on," Morreale said. "Maybe it was a little so much focusing on that it was like, I got these other ones. I don't know. But it puts her in a great position for next year."

This year, Kees posted a 9.575 on vault to take eighth on the final day and a 9.1 on bars for a 10th-place finish.

Next year, Kees hopes the big season she hoped to have this year finally happens.

"I'm hoping to qualify in all four," Kees said. "Then I'm hoping to make it back on two or three event finals. And winning all-around would be great. That's a goal I think I can achieve with hard work in the offseason."