By Daniel Gibson
Action photo by Champion Images
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Austin White, 22, has accomplished much in his gymnastics career. The most impressive part about it is he has done it while juggling school work and two jobs with his training and competition schedule.

Which is why White is very pleased with his success in 2010.

"The World Championships in France is my biggest accomplishment thus far," said White, the silver medalist in double mini-trampoline. "I couldn't have been happier with the outcome. Sure, I had a shot at gold, but I also nearly withdrew from the competition. I pulled my hamstring before the final round of competition and choosing to compete was the formulation of not only me, but also several coaches, doctors, and officials. It revealed how much everyone believed in me."

White had to dig deep within himself to find the strength he needed to compete. That is one of the things he enjoys about gymnastics and that forces him to constantly evaluate his motivations and keep pushing to learn, both mentally and physically.

Competing on the U.S. National Team requires dedication and sticking to a strict training regimen. White trains two hours a day, four days a week. He balances his training with school. He currently is a computer science major at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Calif., but he will be transferring to University of California, Irvine in the fall of 2011.

In addition to his studies, White has a full time job as the information technology director of HomeFree.com.

"It is a site that's dedicated to connecting buyers and sellers of real estate and allowing them to complete their transaction on our site, completely free of charge," said White. "We provide extensive guides, videos, and information about buying and selling so that users can feel confident in their ability to complete the process on their own. We are set to launch very soon and it has me busy programming every minute I have outside of school, training, and coaching."

In addition to competing, he enjoys helping train other gymnasts.

"I coach mainly the upper levels," said White. "I have one advanced recreational class during the week and coach team (Level 4 - senior elite) on the weekends."

White is patient and able to teach young gymnasts because he can remember how he first started.

"Shortly before I began taking classes, I had been avidly training myself to flip on my parents' bed," said White. "Once I mastered the front flip, I began learning how to twist as well."

White first became interested in gymnastics at the age of 12 after seeing a group of kids doing flips at school.

"On my first day in a structured trampoline class, the coach had us learning straddle jumps, tuck jumps, pike jumps, full turns; all the usual stuff," said White. "That was until she gave us a shot at a 'free' turn and let us choose what we wanted to do. That was a mistake. I bounced as high as I could and flipped a front tuck with a full twist and it must have looked something like what trampoline coaches like to call a 'frog in a blender.' She screamed and I was instantly moved to a new class."

Before long, White was interested in moving to the next level.

"I decided to compete when I saw all of the kids on the competitive team learning the difficult and challenging skills and it looked like they all had fun," said White. "I obviously had no idea what I was getting myself into."

As he continued to progress, new opportunities became available and White was prepared for the challenges.

"After a couple of seasons, my coach mentioned that there were international competitions that I could try to qualify for," said White. "I jumped at the offer (no pun intended), and began to take training more seriously. To pursue my newfound goal, I mobilized to the elite level and never looked back. Also, it was at about this time that I switched to a new gym and coach."

Throughout the years of training and competition White has been exposed to different events and techniques, but he does have a favorite.

"I have been part of the National Team on trampoline and successful with it, but double mini is my passion," said White. "It became my predominant event in 2007, when I was selected to compete on the World Championships team. I hadn't trained the event seriously until then, when I was informed that I could possibly make the team. I increased my difficulty over a point on every pass to prepare myself."

White is preparing to push it to the limit in the double mini.

"I've been looking for ways to max out my difficulty. At the past World Championships, I competed a total of six triples and competed the highest difficulty of the competition," said White. "The support of my teammates, coaches, and friends and family every step of the way have motivated me over the years to pursue a world title in the event."

When White finally has some free time, he enjoys spending time playing tennis, going to the beach, eating his dad's barbeque, and hanging out with friends, family, teammates, and coworkers.

However, his passion lies in gymnastics.

"I love the competitive atmosphere," said White. "Meeting up with friends from across the country to display what you've been working on and be rewarded for it is a very fulfilling experience. When it comes to international competitions, however, it's all about my country and the honor of wearing our colors. I take it very seriously and take pride in competing for the U.S."