Anderson gymnast makes it to regional competition

small but mighty:
Anderson gymnast Kaden Love is only 11-years-old, and is one of the youngest competitors at his level. Love trains more than 16 hours per week.

Kaden Love, 11, of Anderson recently traveled to Phoenix to compete in a regional gymnastics meet. Love competes at level 7 and is coached by Rene Esparza of Anderson.

A month ago, Love placed high enough at the state level to move into the regional competition. It takes high scores in all six events to get to compete at this level. Loves is one of the youngest gymnasts competing at his level.

The young athlete has been participating in the sport of gymnastics for the past four years, and has been competing for three of these years. He trains sixteen hours a week, and trains at home as well. While traveling to and from the gym each day, Love said he does his reading homework.

Love is an honor roll student at Grant Elementary School. His teachers give him his homework on Fridays, which he does over the weekend and turns it in on the designated due dates.

Love is totally committed to the sport of gymnastics and enjoys the hard work and level of concentration that is involved. His favorite events are the rings and the high bar.

"When Kaden came into the gym four years ago, he couldn't do a cartwheel," said JD MacDonald, one of Love's coaches. "Now he is doing a layout one and a half flip."

Love's future goal is to earn a scholarship in gymnastics to compete for Stanford University. Among Love's other goals, is to be able to someday compete in the Olympic Games. At the end of the season, Love will skip level 8 competition and continue on to level 9.

At the regional meet in Phoenix, Love placed twenty first out of thirty five competitors in the ranks of Level seven in his age group.

The young gymnasts' biggest supporters are his parents Kimmi and Joe Love, and his grandparents, Deelfha and Mike Love.

Love trains at Athletics Unlimited in Anderson.