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Friday, March 29, 2024

Pair of Jokers – Castillo and Sinclair's friendship propels team to historic two-year run

Before Amanda Castillo stepped in her new training center, most of the other girls at the Orlando Metro thought they knew her.

They had heard from Castillo's former teammates that she was cocky and stuck up.

"When I was at (Brown's Gymnastics in Sanford), I was moving up quicker than the other girls, and a bunch of them were getting jealous and making me feel bad," Castillo said. "So before I even went to Metro, those girls went to school with Melanie (Sinclair) and were telling Mel that I was stuck-up. When I went to Metro, everyone had a stereotype of me, but that wasn't me at all."

However, Sinclair didn't blindly accept the rumor and instead tried to make Castillo feel welcomed in her new home.

"I remember I was on bars and Melanie cheered for me, and she was the only person cheering for me that day," Castillo said. "Ever since then, we have been best friends."

Despite coming from different backgrounds, their bouncy personalities have created a bond that lasted into their college careers.

"We are total opposites, and opposites attract," Sinclair said. "We have different beliefs and morals, but we are similar in ways and we understand each other. We are both loud and obnoxious."

The duo is now at UF and changing how the Gators approach competitions, but they took very different routes on the way to Gainesville.

Hyperactive

For someone as hyper and energetic as Castillo, there are few places to safely let that vigor out as a child.

Luckily, her parents found a haven to protect Castillo from injuries she surely would have sustained from jumping on couches - Brown's Gymnastics.

She enrolled in gymnastics classes there as a 5-year-old, and it was apparent right away that she was a special talent when it came to the sport.

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"When you first start gymnastics, you do recreational classes, then Level 1, 2, 3 and so on," Castillo said. "Some kids stay in Level 1 for a year, and I was in it for a week."

It was not until she started performing competitively in the preteen division that Castillo realized she could have a future in gymnastics.

"Right before preteen competition, a bunch of coaches told my parents 'She is a special talent and should pursue gymnastics,' so my parents just went along with it," Castillo said.

She continued to have success in the sport until a fractured back forced her to quit when she was a freshman in high school.

A year later, she decided to return to the sport she loves, but not to Brown's Gymnastics.

Instead, she went to be trained at one of the toughest facilities in state - Orlando Metro.

"There are a bunch of horror stories about the Orlando Metro, because Jeff (Wood) is such a hard coach and I was scared to go, so I never pursued it earlier and went to another gym for 10 years, and I felt like I wasted my time there," Castillo said.

Orlando Metro lived up to its infamous reputation and pushed her harder than she had been previously tested.

"You have those days where you just don't want to go in at all, or you are at practice and asking the coaches, 'Please just kick me out,'" Castillo said. "It was harder, but I found a new love for the sport, so that hard work didn't seem so intense."

Along with the rediscovered fondness, Orlando Metro was also the place where she met Sinclair and four other future Gators gymnasts - Tiffany Murry, Ashley Reed, Courtney Gladys and Ashley Kerr.

The gymnasts and coaches created a second family for Castillo to rely on during tough times in the gym, and it worked.

Castillo won the floor exercise in 2004 and 2005 at Level 10 Junior Olympic Nationals and was the runner-up in 2006.

With her success at a prominent level came plenty of suitors in the form of college coaches, but Castillo already had her mind made up.

She had decided at age 6, when she first stepped foot in the UF practice facility.

"I tried to give other schools a chance, but I knew I wanted to be a Florida Gator," Castillo said. "Most of the schools knew I wanted to be a Gator. My e-mail address was orangeandblue."

Early Riser

While Castillo was climbing the levels, Sinclair was already making a name for herself in international competitions.

She was named to the U.S. national team when she was just 12 years old and was soon competing for her country overseas.

Her first trip was to Canberra, Australia, where she got a chance to display her skills to the world and see parts of it she wouldn't get to see otherwise.

"Some of the things I used to do just seemed so easy, but it was an eye-opening experience," Sinclair said. "We learned from every competition, but I had fun. I remember getting to pet a kangaroo."

Even though she was working her way to global glory, Sinclair got to where she is because of her club coach.

Like Castillo, Sinclair was enrolled in gymnastics at an early age to keep her out of dangerous situations caused by her rambunctious demeanor.

However, Sinclair started at Orlando Metro right away with Jeff Wood, who became like a second father to her.

"We were a family. We still are a family," Sinclair said. "When you spend most of your day in the gym - we spent almost eight hours a day there - and it's during the maturing years of your life, they are definitely going to play a major role in your life.

"I wouldn't be as dedicated, as devoted to the sport as I am now, if I didn't go through all that."

Although Sinclair might have viewed Wood as a father figure, she had to deal with more yelling than most children do from their dads.

With as much shouting as Wood did, it's hard for Sinclair to remember any certain tirade.

"One? There's been many," Sinclair said. "Oh man, there are times when you don't think you are going to make it through the day, and there are days you dreaded going into practice because you feared what might happen. Sometimes in competitions, you were more afraid of what he would think of your performance than your actual performance."

Toward the end of her club career, Sinclair began looking at colleges and chose UF over the likes of LSU and Georgia because of the staff and its proximity to her home in Orlando.

Before enrolling at UF, she made one last attempt to qualify for the U.S. world championships team in 2005, and disaster struck.

"I went to a national team camp and they sent me out to France for a World Cup meet, and I tore my [anterior cruciate ligament], so that went out the window," Sinclair said.

She did not immediately get her knee checked out because of the fear of disappointing her coach and country.

"I tried so hard not to limp, and that was the hardest task ever," Sinclair said.

When she finally did find out what was wrong, Sinclair began to worry about her future as a Gator.

UF coach Rhonda Faehn knew that Sinclair had a long road of recovery before she would be able to compete for the Gators, but she stood by her recruit.

"For us, it was sad, and we felt bad for her, because we knew that's not how she wanted to start her college career," Faehn said. "It is always difficult to be in a new environment with a new team and not be able to contribute. She struggled a little bit to get adjusted, but we knew her talent level and her work ethic, so I had no doubt that when she was healthy, she would really figure things out."

But not even Faehn could predict the impact Sinclair would soon have on her program.

Joining Forces

Despite Sinclair being a year ahead of Castillo, it was only right that they would start their college careers together.

Since Sinclair tore her ACL, she was unable to compete her first year at UF and was redshirted.

Last season, the two played major roles in the Gators' undefeated regular season, Southeastern Conference Championship title and third-place finish at the national championship.

As a true freshman, Castillo provided UF with its best individual performance at nationals by finishing third in the all-around competition and earning All-America honors in all-around, vault, uneven bars and balance beam.

Faehn had confidence that Castillo could put up that kind of performance all season but was initially concerned with how her athlete would handle pressure situations.

"We knew she was healthy coming in and she had tremendous talent," Faehn said. "She was a star waiting to happen, but we didn't know exactly how she would feed off the competition and how she would do in arenas where there aren't 10,000 fans cheering for her. Those little things we didn't know, but she happily surprised us, and she did an unbelievable job."

While Castillo was thriving as an all-arounder, Sinclair had to be limited to mostly uneven bars and balance beam.

Sinclair excelled in both, becoming an All-American in the two events, but it was on the bars where she really stood out.

She accumulated eight bar titles throughout the season, including two victories by the way of perfect scores.

Despite the top performances, she never competed at full strength until this year.

Sinclair is third on the team this season in event titles with 16, and she is starting to look like the national team competitor she was just two years ago.

"This is the healthiest she has been her entire career, so we are really excited about that," Faehn said. "It's paying off for her because of what she has put in, working her tail off this past summer and this entire year."

With Sinclair putting away concerns about her knee, Castillo had to bat down any talk of a sophomore slump.

She did so emphatically, claiming 18 event titles, good enough for second on the team.

The only other question about Castillo was whether she could be consistent on beam.

To help her keep her poise on the 4-inch wide beam, she uses a type of equipment none of the other Gators wear.

She has beam shoes that look like socks.

"I have really sweaty hands and feet," Castillo said. "I used to not wear socks when I was at Metro, and Jeff helped me find a way to overcome my sweaty feet, so he let me wear my socks during practice and I have worked out like that ever since."

Before donning the socks, some of her teammates probably wished she would for their own benefit.

"I remember in club before she started wearing her socks, she would get up and there would be puddles everywhere on the beam, and no one would want to go on after her," Sinclair joked.

Even if the socks might be a little unconventional and detrimental to other gymnasts, Faehn is sticking with the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" policy as long as Castillo continues to perform well in the event - she won three titles on the beam this season.

If there is any question to how important the two sub-5 footers' performances are to the team, the only two regular-season meets where neither won an event title were the Gators' losses.

All Wound Up

Although their high marks might bring in the W's, it is not the only thing they bring to the table to put UF in position to win a national championship.

The emotion they carry into each meet has affected the team and the way it handles its business.

"The energy really elevated in the gym when they showed up because they keep everyone smiling and laughing," senior Ashley Reed said. "They really get everyone pumped up during practice and the meets."

Their energy can be summed up during the Gators' custom of running to a teammate and giving out high-fives after a routine.

While the whole team takes part in it, these two can be seen running a little faster and a little more out of control than the rest.

"They have to stand still for so long, and they have so much energy that they can't help but sprint," senior Tiffany Murry said. "I get nervous a lot, especially with Mel, because she has been known to miss hands and hit in other places."

It is this type of behavior that makes Faehn feel like "she had hit the jackpot" getting two talented gymnasts with that much enthusiasm, but she also admits to worrying about their fun-loving ways affecting their performance.

"Every once in a while, I'm concerned they are using too much energy," Faehn said. "I know (assistant coach Robert Ladanyi) has had to bring them down a little bit and say, 'Hey, lets focus a little bit more,' but that is not a bad problem to have."

For now, the two will keep dancing and enjoying their time on the mat at UF, but eventually, Faehn will have to start looking for new faces to replace their energy.

Faehn can enjoy coaching and watching the Castillo and Sinclair Show for another two years before the search must begin, but she wishes her time with them could last longer.

"I would love to have them for 20 years if I could, but I'm glad they are only sophomores," Faehn said.

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