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Natalie Galioto’s Balance and Grace Key In Her Success
I’m not telling anyone anything they don’t already know about being a gymnast; it takes unparalleled balance. You’re expected to flip, turn, twirl, and land with amazing balance either on a mat or a four inch wide balance beam in each event. But beyond the balance in gymnastics comes the human elements of beauty and grace. There’s just something beautiful about a gymnast landing a stunt or nailing every bit of a routine that they’ve worked on time and time again for sometimes years to master. But I’ve discovered that beyond the balance and grace in this sport, they are some of the most impressive overall achievers and have the biggest hearts.
(College photos courtesy of Kaite Wilson & Mathieu Starke)
Such is the case for Pittsburgh native Natalie Galioto. Aside from being a standout gymnast at the State University of New York Brockport (SUNY Brockport), she also is a dedicated nursing student and unquestionably has a heart of gold. Her journey in gymnastics started at age two at Premier Gym and Cheer. This business still welcomes her today during the summer months with open arms, proving that her experience there was nothing short of exceptional. These coaches and gymnasts became like family over the years and only continue to want the best for one of their best gymnasts in recent memory.
“My high school coach, Jodi Cummings, continues to let me practice with the high school team (Thomas Jefferson) on summer breaks. Mary Wilson, Sam Duttine, and Bernadette Paternoster from my club gymnastics days also still keep in touch with me. I send them all videos and they make an effort to watch my college meets. It makes me feel so good that they check in and care about how I’m doing.”
Growing up, Galioto competed in local and regional gymnastics competitions before Premier Gym became a USA Gymnastics partnered gym in early middle school. After this, she worked her way all the way to a Level 10 gymnastic by the end of her high school days and earned the chance to compete at USA Regionals both as a Level 9 and Level 10 gymnast. In addition to her club gymnastics career picking up, the Thomas Jefferson Jaguars began sponsoring a high school team in her freshman year. The high school team was supported and aided by Premier Gym, as the club coaches and high school coaches worked together to support both the school team and fulfill their club season expectations.
Being a four year varsity letter winner is something Galioto has a lot of pride in as growing up, she never represented her school teams. But by the end of her senior year, she became a WPIAL All-Around Gymnastics champion individually and helped lead the Jaguars to their first WPIAL team title in program history.
“To be able to represent my school was really cool because after I won WPIAL’s, I was named the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Athlete of the Week. They announced it over the loud speaker which was unusual for me. All my life, everyone knew I did gymnastics, but they did not know much about it. I didn’t compete for a school and club meets were always far away. It changed in high school when we had home meets and meets locally. It was so cool to represent the black and gold leo.”
It took Galioto some time to decide what she would do past her high school career. Would she join her friends at Penn State and study nursing or find an opportunity to be a gymnast, be a nurse, and head to a new place? Ultimately, it was a serious foot injury in her senior year that helped to make her mind that gymnastics was too important to depart with just yet. With the help of her father Gabe, she located schools with a gymnastics team that also had solid nursing program. The closest one that seemed realistic was SUNY Brockport, a school that’s almost five hours away by vehicle from her residence. But in the end, a new nursing building, a solid nursing program, and a chance to compete for national championships was an opportunity she could not pass up.
Her first year as a college gymnast was odd to say the least. The team did not compete and the coach that recruited her, John Feeney, left the program. The team was left without a coach until the late fall, but the decision to hire Dr. Rene Lyst has left the program in excellent hands. The Golden Eagles have been the number one team in the country at points in each of the last two seasons and have added two East Region Championships to the trophy case. They also took home a second place finish in 2022 and a fifth place finish in 2023 at nationals. While not winning a national title was frustrating, there are still so many moments to be proud of and more moments forthcoming to look forward to.
“I have a good feeling about next year,” she said. “I am looking forward to getting in the gym a few times a week, holding my skills, perfecting my routines, and making a few upgrades where I can to be more confident in my routines. We have 10 new recruits coming in who I think will make a difference for us.”
In addition to the dedication she has for her sport, she’s remained equally dedicated to her mission to graduate with her nursing degree. She looks forward to moving home to the 412 after college and beginning her career. At the time of this piece, she is interested in mother-baby nursing and thinks there’s a chance she may study to become a nurse anesthetist someday down the line. It has not been easy to juggle a tough major and a demanding sport, but her coaches and professors have both supported her dedication both in her sport and in the classroom.
Equally, she’s appreciated them and has soaked in so much of their knowledge over time. The time she spent with her first college coach, John Feeney, and her now coach, Dr. Rene Lyst, has made her an even better student-athlete. Coach Feeney saw her talent, while Coach Lyst has helped her to perfect parts of her skill set and learn new characteristics to help her and her teammates thrive. But more than her coaches, her parents Karen and Gabe, have been by her side through each step. From her first practice as a toddler to hundreds of meets around the country, they have proven they love to see their girl smile from ear to ear when she’s out on center stage.
The moments that are forthcoming over the next year are times she’s dreamed of for all of her life. From hopefully competing in more regional and national competitions in 2024 to being pinned as a graduating nurse, the time will surely fly. It’s been almost 20 years in the making to get here and many of the best people she’s met, favorite places she’s seen, and special things she’s done have come from being a gymnast. Gymnastics is not her life, but it’s been crucial in her forming solid habits, making lifelong friends, and overcoming various battles of adversity to help her be successful. Her balance and grace is bigger than gymnastics; it’s the attributes she will take with her no matter what life has in store for her.
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