PROVO, Utah — BYU gymnastics head coach Guard Young announced junior Brittni Wilde Hawes as the 2016-17 team captain.
Young and the assistant coaches selected the walk-on as team captain because of her laser-like focus and caring nature.
“I can be the big, bad coach and then she can go and put her arm around the girls and say, ‘You can do this. We all believe in each other,’” Young said.
He is also impressed with Wilde Hawes’ work ethic in the gym as an uneven bars specialist. While other all-around gymnasts practiced to compete in all four events, coaches prepared an individual bars workout plan for Wilde Hawes last year. This year, she’s creating the plans.
“Not only can she write up these workouts, but she’ll stick to them and I have that trust,” Young said. “There’s definitely a trust level there I have with her.”
Wilde Hawes felt honored to have earned the coaches’ trust as team captain.
“It’s not so much the name of being captain, but knowing that the coaches trust me to lead this team and set a good example,” Wilde Hawes said. “It was such a good feeling.”
A native of Idaho Falls, Idaho, Wilde Hawes recently married Nick Hawes this summer. She grew up playing soccer and basketball before starting gymnastics at age eight. Wilde Hawes' mother signed her up “because I had too much energy.”
She plans to focus on bringing the BYU gymnastics family together this season.
“If we can be unified and believe in each other, then nothing is stopping us,” Wilde Hawes said. “I really want us to be able to go out there and show this world what BYU gymnastics is capable of.”
The Cougars will begin their season with the Blue and White intrasquad meet Friday, Dec. 9, at the Smith Fieldhouse. The time has yet to be determined, but the full schedule can be found on the BYU gymnastics schedule page.