When Newtown High School’s gymnasts await their turn on the bars, beam, vault, or floor, they cheer not only for teammates, but also for opposing squad members. Gymnastics, similarly to track and cross country, features a lot of sportsmanship in the form of support for opposing teams.

This is especially so when the Nighthawks take on their practice partners from Pomperaug of Southbury, Nonnewaug, and Oxford, as they do multiple times throughout the season. They all practice together at Kinetic Kids Gymnastics in Oxford, and coaches give tips to friendly-rival school competitors to help them improve. It’s almost like an extended gymnastics family. What’s more, Newtown Coach Kim Kane’s fiance, Mark Sorrentino, is the coach at Nonnewaug, adding even more of a family feel to practices and meets.

When it comes to competitions, it’s not uncommon to see Kane offering encouragement to or congratulating an opposing school’s gymnast or another coach supporting a member of the Nighthawks.

“We help each other out. It’s a community for sure,” Kane said.

“Of course we want to win. Every coach wants to win, but there’s more to it. Having these kids become really great young adults and grownups and becoming accountable and reliable is the end goal for us,” Newtown’s coach added.

When Newtown and its practice partner schools match up, “it’s like glorified practice,” Kane said. “We work out with everybody, so we know what to expect.”

That makes for a better meet atmosphere than any other competition for the gymnasts, NHS junior Mary Locke points out.

“It’s way more fun because we know everybody and we practice with each other. You’re not competing with a stranger, you’re competing with your friends,” Locke said.

Unlike those sports in which goals are to literally go past an opponent to win, gymnasts simply try to beat their opponents with their best individual effort, but they encourage their counterparts between their performances.

Gymnasts are generally year-round athletes, working to hone and build on their skills throughout the offseason so they can pull off some impressive acrobatic maneuvering on the bars, balance on the beam, timing and touch on the vault, and skill and grace in their floor routine.

“We work so hard, but at the same time, we have so much fun. We always are working on new-level skills, so we’re always getting better, always improving,” Newtown senior captain Bella Manfredi said.

“I’m trying to improve my skills and clean up my routine as best I can. It takes a lot of dedication, and it takes a lot of time. It’s definitely a lot of fun,” senior captain Ally Kenny added. “One of the best things about it is your team cheering you on.”

And sometimes the opposition giving you a hand as well.