For ISU gymnastics, there is no preseason, only “champion” season. Walking into a practice, you’re guaranteed to see the gymnasts working hard on the equipment, but the next thing that’ll catch your eye is a sign in between two mirrors that contains a motivational acronym — “C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N”.

Iowa State trains to be the best, but with a season spanning from August to April, it can be tough to stay motivated. That’s where the acronym of “champion” comes into play. Each letter represents a phase of the season, along with a term dedicated to the work the gymnasts will be putting in during practices.

“The word “pre-season” is like a bad word,” said ISU coach Jay Ronayne. “One thing I told the team was that I dare you to try to say pre-season without having poor body language. We struck that word from our vocabulary. Instead what actually now happens is that there are eight phases within our season. It just happens that the word “champion” has eight letters in it, so we’ve used that to help delineate each phase that we have.”

Eight letters spanning over a nine-month season and each month driven by a new letter. The ISU program was ready to unlock its first phase of a new season.

Phase one, or “C” in the acronym, began by showing pride in Iowa State. This phase opened the season with the word Cyclone. Without a passion for Iowa State, victories would not come easy, but a team with a bond like the ISU gymnastics team, this phase was a no brainer.

Phase two was another logical, but driving, word — “H” for hard work.

“The “H” phase was the hard work phase,” Ronayne said. “That’s what it’s all about. The hard work that it takes to be a champion. That’s what we’d try to keep things focused on for that phase. Remember that hard work pays off in the end.”

The third phase of the Cyclones season was unlocked with the word attitude represented by the “A” in champion. Nearing the mid-season grind, it would come down to attitude to prove whether or not the gymnasts were willing to put in the time that it would take to be champions. Phase three and phase four worked hand in hand for the team because without a good attitude, phase four would not be possible.

Motivation, or the “M” in ISU’s C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N, was the word to unlock the fourth phase. Carrying their attitudes from phase three, the Cyclones pushed themselves at the halfway mark of their season.

By December, phase five was ready to be unlocked with the Cardinal and Gold Scrimmage right around the corner on Dec. 15. Phase five was “P,” which stands for purpose. Competition season was knocking on Iowa State’s door and it was time to show all the hard work that had been put in. With all the hours spent in the gym, it was time for the team’s first meet.

With competition in full swing, phase six and the letter “I” was the standard for what the gymnasts hoped to do, and that was impress.

“[Impress] means so much more than people realize,” said junior Sammie Pearsall. “It’s not only impressing the crowd and obviously the judges, but I like the idea of impressing yourself and not putting limitations on your ability. Taking advantage, which is going to [the next phase], of every meet you have and not necessarily needing a reason to do your absolute best every meet, but to impress yourself every weekend.”

For Pearsall in order to achieve phase six, one had to take on phase seven, which was “O” for opportunity. Phase seven signaled go-time for the Cyclones, and with post-season drawing closer, every meet was an opportunity to strive for higher scores on their routines.

With the season entering its final phase, the last letter of the acronym was revealed. “N” would stand for the end goal that all the gymnasts had their eyes on: nationals. While nationals were on each member of ISU gymnastics mind, senior Caitlin Brown was ready to give all she had to get there.

“All the other [phases] are obviously important and important for different reasons, but [nationals] is what’s most important because that’s the end goal,” Brown said. “All those other things will help me get there.”

And that’s exactly what would happen for the senior. In her last meet for Iowa State, she would be stepping on the big stage of nationals in Fort Worth, Texas. Brown said she was able to unlock and achieve each of those phases in order to reach her end goal.