Elizabeth Broderick--A Star Both In and Out of the Gym
By Marisa Geary, Staff Writer
Jan. 31, 2020
Junior Elizabeth Broderick, or more commonly “Lizzie”, is known at Norwood High School for her exceptional talent: gymnastics. With balancing her time on NHS’ gymnastics team (in which she was voted a junior captain), and the Broderick gymnastics team, along with keeping up with 3 AP classes and 3 honors classes, Broderick is the ultimate student-athlete.
One thing that makes Broderick unique is her mother, Karen. Karen Broderick owns Broderick Gymnastics Academy and doubles as the Norwood High team’s coach. Although some may see being related to their coach as a burden, Lizzie sees it as a valuable asset. “At first I thought it would be weird to be coached by my mom, but it quickly felt normal because she’s coached me in the past a little… I enjoy being coached by her even though we might not always see eye to eye.”
However, there are some disadvantages. Broderick claims that “It is not easy to keep our normal life separate from our gymnastics life… things from practice are always brought up at home.” This she contrasts with her club team coach, who is a “second mom” to her. Both coaches, she claims, create an atmosphere for practices that are both enjoyable and productive.
Lizzie is aware of the fact that she is NHS’ resident gymnastics all-star. Junior Jared Shea, said “I know she’s done it from a young age, she’s definitely extremely good at it. She talks about it and you know it’s her passion, she’s been doing it for so long.”
However, she remains humble. “It feels really good to be recognized for this sport, I feel that my hard work has paid off. I’m also happy that the Norwood gymnastics team has been recognized more lately because of all of the talent on the team.” She comments on how in middle school, many of her peers knew she did gymnastics, but in the past couple of years, people began to recognize that she’s serious about the sport.
Juggling her time-consuming sport and her difficult classes, Broderick has a lot on her plate. “I barely have time to do anything,” she says. However, she manages to maintain good grades and a busy social life.
Although students see Lizzie as a star gymnast, she has her own role models. She spends a lot of time following both Olympic gymnastics and college gymnastics and is inspired by many of the athletes. Even though she looks up to these professional gymnasts, she claims that her biggest role model is her mother.
“Although my mother does not compete in gymnastics anymore, she’s been involved with the sport for most of her life. She competed in club gymnastics during her school years and then competed in college at the University of New Hampshire. She then went on coaching gymnastics which led to her opening two of her very own gymnastics academies. I inspire to be as good at gymnastics as she was, and to be as good of a person as she is.”
Junior Rose Donovan, another Norwood High School gymnast, says “She’s a level ten gymnast, which is insanely good. She and her mom have a really good relationship, too. Karen can be hard on her sometimes, but it makes Lizzie work harder. She is the perfect example of a great gymnast, you can tell she has a passion.”