Written by FIGHTINGILLINI.com staff writer Lexi Shurilla | Follow @LexiShurilla

Part One

Olympian Mentality

C.J. Maestas' body is starting to show its age because of years of being in a sport that's so demanding. Whether it's his elbows, back or ankles, he said he's blessed that he's smaller and strong, with his main focus now on doing whatever he can to stay healthy.

For Maestas, his gymnastics career is far from over.

Prior to coming to Illinois, Maestas just missed the cut for making the national team at the 2012 Olympic Trials. But soon he's heading back to Colorado Springs to live at the United States Olympic Training Center in preparation for the 2016 Olympics.

Switching from the rigorous student-athlete schedule to gymnastics 24/7 has its appeal - without the extra responsibility of schoolwork - but being a professional gymnast still means Maestas has a lot on his plate, and he won't have his teammates with him every step of the way. He'll be working out twice a day, and his only day off each week will be Thursdays, so it's a totally different ballgame.

"It's a little scary," Maestas said. "It kind of hit me with my parents coming in for the senior banquet. It finally hit me that this is it. It's time to put on the grown up pants and join the real world. I bet you right when I get there and I say bye, and my boys aren't literally right down the street or a door-knock away, it's going to be a little bit hard for me to take in, but I'm ready. It's time to move forward."

At Maestas' current stage, he said gymnastics for him is 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical. Being from New Mexico, he's confident that his body can handle the altitude and dry climate of Colorado, but he's going to need to make a mental switch. He lived at the USOC in Colorado Springs before coming to Illinois, so he's got a jump start on the move, but the facility has changed a lot since he was last there.

"It's going to be a mental shift when we're in week three and my arms are shaking because I can't move anymore," Maestas said. "That's just that push I need, being able to know that nothing is going to happen to me and to keep telling myself I can do it. I want to push myself to that next point, to not live in regret, train to the best of my ability and just have fun. We always forget that it's fun too."

"I think he's ready," Head Coach Justin Spring said. "I think C.J. is very well prepared. He's going to be very well taken care of and I don't think he's going to get distracted. I think he gets it. He knows what could distract him, what could hurt him and I think he knows where he stands and how bad he wants it."

Spring, a former Illini standout, is no stranger to working towards an Olympic goal, and has a bronze medal to show for it that he won with Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Spring said he talks about his Olympic experience a lot less than he used to; he doesn't want his athletes thinking that he's making personal comparisons because every gymnast is different. But he has shed some light on the hard work it takes to get to that level. Because of his medical waiver from his sophomore season, Maestas technically has another year of eligibility at the collegiate level but the conversation about his decision to move on happened about eight months ago, and Spring said that the most he could have done was encourage Maestas to move on.

"It wouldn't be fair to him and his dream of being an Olympian to keep going in school," Spring said. "He gave enough, he deserves to be done and go off and give everything he has to make this push for 2016. As hard as that is, as a manger and as a leader, it's pretty easy. It's absolutely in his best interest."

Achieving Goals

Maestas' whole extended family made the trip to see him walk in his graduation ceremony this May, as he is the first in his lineage of Maestas to graduate college. While continuing to check items off his list of goals, this team captain has made a long line of friends and family proud of how far he's come, how hard he's worked and where he is headed.

He might be saying bye to his time at Illinois, but family is everything to Maestas. As the oldest of four, Maestas helped out immensely with taking care of his siblings while his parents worked. Coming from a mother who always made home cooked meals, he gives her the credit for why he's so strong, but he's also used to helping her in the kitchen. As a little kid, he would tell her that when he grew up, he wanted to open up his own restaurant with her. He'd love to follow the path of the Rocky movies, where he has his own restaurant, has his memorabilia hanging on the walls and he knows all of his customers.

That dream will be on hold temporarily as Maestas has been checking off goals for some time now. He's a National Champion, he's earned a college degree and now has his mind set on his shot at the Olympics.

"I want to enjoy everything in life, whether that's gymnastics, my family, my friends, doesn't matter what it is, I just want to be living in the moment," Maestas said. "When I see myself down the road, I see a house in Albuquerque, nice big old house, me sitting on the porch with my Olympic medals hopefully, just enjoying my life at that point. Being able to know that I accomplished my goals and everything I wanted to achieve in life. It's not to say that gymnastics defines you as a person, or defines you as a man or woman, it doesn't matter who you are, I've set these goals and I've slowly been checking them off."

"I hope that when he makes it, it's not about an Olympic medal," Spring said. "I know it's kind of corny, but the things you learn along the way will set you up for life. It's about that journey and what you did with your teammates and what you sacrificed and understanding those intangibles of what it took to get there. That's going to set you up to be a great human being. If he makes it or doesn't, I think he's going to be okay and that's awesome, but I do hope he makes it."