From Manager to Gymnast: Borden Turns Dreams Into Reality
February 15, 2023 | Women's Gymnastics
FEATURE
It all started with an email.
Rachel Borden knew she wanted to compete at the collegiate level – and, potentially, beyond – before even leaving middle school. But after graduating high school without any college offers, Borden decided it was time to move on and accept that her gymnastics career was over.
At peace with the reality of being "just a regular college student," Borden began her freshman year at Illinois with the expectation that she would never compete again.
Everything changed on Quad Day in 2018, when Borden walked by the club gymnastics table, and though she was intrigued at the time, her course load and academics came first. Looking to find a hobby later her freshman year as a way to relax and enjoy her rare free time away from studying, Borden decided to join the club team in the spring. Unbeknownst to her at the time, the club coaches were two Illini women's varsity gymnasts: Sarah Lyons and Rae Balthazor.
"I had just realized that I missed going in the gym and flipping," Borden said. "When I was first going, I was like, 'This is fun. This is just a fun little way to mess around.'"
After Borden confessed that she had looked into Illinois as a potential home when still hoping to compete in varsity gymnastics, Lyons encouraged her to email the Division-I coaching staff. Borden briefly thought about it and then sent the email in the summer of 2019, though she did not expect a response.
The Illini coaches recognized the unprecedented nature of the situation, but they offered Borden a tryout in the fall. Spending hours in the gym with former club teammates who were back home in Naperville over the summer, Borden used the eventual tryout as motivation to regain her form and routines, reconnect with friends, and find her love for gymnastics again.
Borden's tryout in September of 2019 did not go as planned. She trained with the varsity program for one week, and though she was not offered a spot on the roster, Borden earned the opportunity to work as a student manager while still practicing with the club team.
Helping with mats and offering a helping hand whenever needed as a manager, Borden says the chance to even have a tryout was already a surreal experience, and she appreciated the team's openness to her during that first week in September.
"When I was offered the manager spot, I was like, 'Yeah, I still want to be a part of this team. It's a great group of girls. I would love to do that,' Borden said. "It was a lot of fun because it was something to do, and it was fun to make new friends with all the girls on the team. Everyone was so welcoming and nice. It wasn't weird that I had suddenly just showed up, so it was really fun to go through that and get to meet all of them."
After serving as a team manager for the remainder of the fall semester, Borden returned home for three weeks during winter break and eagerly anticipated her first club meet in February. Once back in Champaign, she helped out at two varsity home meets and then prepared to head to Purdue to compete with the club. Before leaving for West Lafayette, Borden's mom encouraged her to email varsity head coach Nadalie Walsh with updates in hopes of earning another tryout in the fall.
Borden sent videos of her beam routine on the Monday before the club meet and received an unexpected reply the following day: Walsh wanted to set up a phone call. Despite just receiving her club leotard, Borden was about to get the opportunity of a lifetime.
"I was like, 'It's kind of strange that she wants to call me now. I hope I didn't do anything wrong,' Borden said. "She called me and was like, 'We watched your videos. Do you want to join the team now?' I was shocked. I started crying a little bit, and I was so happy and so excited."
She immediately jumped at the chance to join the varsity team, a dream she had always kept in the back of her mind after being told 'no' countless times during her recruitment process. Instead of going to Purdue that weekend, Borden joined the varsity team and traveled to Iowa City, making her exhibition debut against Iowa less than one week after being offered the spot.
The following weekend, Borden made her official collegiate debut on beam in the Big Five Meet, an experience that still feels surreal.
"I wasn't nervous because I think I was so excited that I didn't have time to be nervous," Borden said. "I was like, 'Oh my gosh, the bright lights, the floor, the fancy leo. This is so cool.' It was a little bit of a blur. I don't even know what I was thinking during the routine. I think I blacked out a little bit. I landed, and I just got swarmed by everyone. It was just very, very cool. Just the feeling of competing for the first time and being out there, I can't even explain it."
Now in her sixth year at Illinois and her fifth and final season on the varsity team, Borden is still in shock of her journey. The transition from being a student to a D-I student-athlete was difficult, especially with the workload that came with being a chemical engineering student.
Originally enrolled in 18 credit hours when offered the varsity spot, Borden had to drop a class to make things more manageable. Following a long line of family members who attended Illinois, including her mom, aunt, uncle, and cousin, Borden always knew Champaign was where she wanted to call home during her time in college.
"Being able to come here and call U of I my home is still very surreal," Borden said. "Some people want to go to their dream college, but not everyone gets into it, so I think I'm very lucky that I got into my dream college and I got to go here. Still being able to go here and say I'm an Illinois alum, I'm very blessed.
"I'm very grateful that I had the opportunity to come here, and I'm very grateful that I still have the opportunity to wear the Block I on my chest when we go out and compete, especially because that part I never thought I would be doing when I first came here."
It all started with an email, and Borden has turned it into a lengthy collegiate career. After being rejected and counted out countless times, Borden wants others to continue to fight for their dreams and never settle for 'no.'
Because maybe, just maybe, you'll be able to make those dreams a reality.
"To all the little girls out there, the ones that are struggling to find the college that fits them, struggling to find a team that they can be a part of, it all works out in the end. Even if you don't think it's going to work out, you're gonna find your place, you're gonna find your people, and it's very rewarding when you do.
"I just want people to know that you can do it. Don't let people tell you that you can't because no matter what, you're gonna be able to find your place, you'll find your people, and everything will work out."
