FLIPPIN’ AMAZING: Salem 3-sport star adds twist to excellence

Twelve years ago, when Emily and Jason Barczyk noticed their first-born daughter Anna was blessed with as much energy as the Energizer Bunny, they searched for a fun outlet for their 5-year-old.

Following a thorough search, they enrolled her in a class at Canton’s Splitz Gymnastics — a move that, in hindsight, has turned into a perfect 10.0.

“I tried soccer,” Barcyzk recounted, “but I loved gymnastics right from the start. I remember when I was 6 or 7, I got a Bosu Ball (a half-sphere filled with air) for Christmas. I would do jumps off that — in the house and in the backyard — onto gymnastics mats.

“I’ve knocked over a lamp or two, but nothing serious. Gymnastics has been my favorite sport, for sure, since I was young.”

But not her only sport.

Multi-sport talent

Blessed with flexibility to match her energy, Barcyzk has excelled in three sports during her three-plus years at Salem High School — two of which require advanced-level flipping.

She dove for the Rocks swimming-and-diving team the past four falls, excelled as an all-around gymnast for Salem in the winter; and earned All-Region accolades as a hurdler for her school’s track-and-field team in the spring.

Barcyzk has been a multiple-state-qualifier in diving and gymnastics — a feat few high school athletes can claim — while clearing hurdles at a near-state-qualifying clip.

While her athletic accomplishments are noteworthy, it’s Barcyzk’s work ethic and generous way of dealing with peers and coaches that have most impressed Salem gymnastics Janelle Maryanski.

Powerful presence

“Anna missed our first two weeks of practice because her diving season was extended when she qualified for the state meet,” Maryanski explained. “When she was not in our gymnastics room, you could really feel it because she’s so nice to everyone in here.

“And she works so hard. Once she walks in the door, she gets to work because she wants to do the very best she can all the time.”

When a Salem gymnast is struggling with a routine, Maryanski will often ask Barcyzk to step in.

“Whenever I ask her to help out a teammate who I may not be getting through to, she’ll immediately say, ‘Yeah, no problem!'” Maryanski revealed. “She’s always willing to help out in whatever way she can.

“Gymnastics-wise, she’s one of our top gymnasts. She someone I can count on all the time in every event.”

She excelled early

Once enrolled at Splitz, Barcyzk’s talent was evident quickly. By the time Barcyzk was 6, she was promoted from the recreation program to the team competition program alongside older, more-seasoned athletes.

“I think I caught on so fast because I loved it so much,” she said. “I’d practice three days a week for three hours each day. I loved learning new moves.

Barcyzk qualified for the Division 1 state meet in the vault as a freshman before qualifying in the distinguished all-around competition her sophomore and junior seasons.

She didn’t attempt competitive diving until her freshman year at Salem, but that didn’t slow her down.

Diving right in

“I didn’t even know was diving was until I joined the team my freshman year,” she admitted. “Knowing how to do flips was helpful because it took away the fear. I didn’t reach my potential my freshman and sophomore years, but my junior year and this past year I qualified for states (she finished 19th overall at the D1 state meet in November).”

At the moment, Barcyzk is not planning to compete in athletics in college.

Thanks in part to her sterling 3.83 grade-point average, she has been accepted to Michigan State University already, but is unsure of where she will continue her post-high school studies.

“I’d like to study biology and become a dermatologist — that’s my dream job now, but it could change,” said Barcyzk, whose younger sister Kate (a sophomore at Salem) plays soccer and basketball; while her middle school-aged brother James competes in the same two sports as Kate.

Whatever endeavor she pursues, everyone who knows her will tell you she’ll excel because, well, she’s pretty flippin’ good at everything she pursued up to this point.

Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.