When Bridget Sloan walked up to perform her first routine in almost six weeks, she had no fear.
There were no questions swirling in her head about the durability of her ankle, how sharp she would be - nothing.
"Not at all," Sloan said. "I have a lot of trust in myself."
That trust led to a 9.9 bars routine, an impressive feat for someone weeks removed from an ankle sprain that many - including the junior - thought would end her season.
But for Sloan, it still wasn’t good enough.
"When I landed, I was actually so upset that I didn’t stick it," she said. "Rhonda (Faehn) was like ‘That was a great routine,’ and I was like ‘Rhonda, I could have stuck my dismount. ... I could have done better.’"
That’s the type of drive that encapsulates everything Sloan is about, and it’s why she believes she will be back competing in all four events by season’s end.
Sloan has grinded since the time of her injury. There were days where she didn’t want to leave her apartment because of the pain in her ankle, she said. But she knew she had to fight through it.
"I could either mellow and be sorry for myself and have my own little pity party or I could keep on doing life as well as I could," she said.
But now, with only three weeks left in the regular season, Sloan believes it is time to find an extra gear in order to expedite her recovery in time for the postseason.
"It’s come down to the time now where if I can handle the pain, I’m gonna do it," Sloan said. "I told Kelly (Bridges) - our trainer - yesterday that mentally, as long as I know it can’t get any worse, I was like ‘There is nothing that can stop me.’"
And that was exactly what Bridges told Sloan: the injury couldn’t get any worse.
"As soon as she said that, it was kinda like a switch in my head that turned on and it made me realize that I could come back on (all-around)," Sloan said.
Her expectation is to accomplish that goal before the Southeastern Conference Championships next month, a lofty expectation considering she has only added one event so far. But as long as the ankle continues to hold up as well as it has, it’s hard to doubt the junior’s will power.
The next step for Sloan is a return to beam, something Faehn said she hopes Sloan will be able to do by Senior Night on March 13 - three weeks away.
But Sloan has other ideas.
"Beam will be next week, for sure," Sloan said. "I would love to do it this week - I’ll try to see if (Faehn) will let me compete, but I doubt it."
Follow Graham Hack on Twitter @graham_hack24
Bridget Sloan performs a floor routine during Florida's win against LSU last season.
