UCLA Gymnastics Coach McDonald Reveals Struggles Behind Star Athlete’s Underwhelming Performances in the Past

So many highlights for UCLA Gymnastics from the Penn State meet! Jordan Chiles was crushing it on uneven bars and floor exercise, while Mika Webster-Longin registered a career-high 9.850 on vault. UCLA won every individual event on the night again, making it 2 in a row. Emily Lee became the individual event winner on the balance beam with 9.925. This was the 5th consecutive win for the Big Ten Conference program, with a special showing on uneven bars – getting a season-high 49.575.

Frida Esparza registered her career-high 9.975 on the bars against Penn State. It was a stellar performance from the Mexican, who has had her issues and challenges at UCLA for a long time. So, it has been so refreshing to see the 24-year-old turning it around. Coach Janelle McDonald didn’t forget to mention how Frida has looked different this season. For the coach, something has always been holding Frida back, stopping her from matching her potential.

Frida Esparza had to deal with her mindset and injuries

Frida Esparza has been at UCLA Gymnastics since 2021. But this is the first time at the West Coast program that she looks for a consistent performer. Even the coach has seen the difference this season. As per Janelle McDonald’s press conference after the Penn State meet, “This season has been different for her, you know. She’s very very steady and I think that’s a little bit of a piece that she was still building in previous years.”

The coach even sees how the previous Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week is steadier now mentally. This was not the case in previous years. McDonald went, “I feel like this year, she doesn’t get phased by something that doesn’t go right, like her warmup today on bars was not her best and I think she missed like two or three Dismounts, you know, uncharacteristically. But she just stayed steady through it, made the corrections, got it done, then obviously was able to come out and compete so well.”

You can see Frida grow mentally. She is not letting minor mistakes unnerve her like in previous years. In fact, her former UCLA coach had talked about Frida facing the same challenges.

Speaking to News4usonline in 2021, former coach Chris Waller said how Frida needed to see things differently: “Being a champion is not about being perfect. Being a champion is about how quickly you can recover from an error, whether that’s during a routine.” Continuing to explain what Frida needed to do, Waller said, “Let’s say you miss a little handstand, you have a slight wobble on beam. So you have this slight half-tenth deduction. Champions have that and then they recover. Like in milliseconds instead in an hour or two days. Her (Frida) ability to recover emotionally from a little error is getting quicker and quicker.”

Obviously, her injuries didn’t help her rectify the issues quickly enough. She missed 6 meets in 2022 and missed the entirety of 2023 with a shoulder injury. It also didn’t help that the Bruins were going through a transition under the new coach, Janelle McDonald, after 2022. She was changing the team lineup continuously based on the team’s needs. But there was a plan. McDonald wanted the gymnasts to get into a mindset of consistency where they would be always ready to perform. When talking to the Los Angeles Daily News on March 1, 2024, Frida shared how it felt: “It’s stressful, but exciting. If you’re there for a hot second, it does get a bit frustrating.”

Frida knew what she needed to do to pin down a spot. Talking to Samantha Garcia of the Daily Bruin on February 13, Frida shared, “I’m focusing on handstands. Mainly because that gives you, like, a good rest, and then you can reset your skills.” Frida is a talented gymnast, no doubt. She won the 2018 Mexican national all-around championship. But she needed fine-tuning. She needed to sort things out and feel she belonged in the right place.

The 24-year-old gymnast professed, “Freshman-year me was someone who was very reserved and didn’t really want to put myself out there.” By her own admission, she felt she hadn’t had a normal year at UCLA. That is until 2024. She was feeling good and she wanted to give it one last try. She returned for her 5th year of NCAA eligibility. And things are going on the right track. Even her coach is happy to have her back in the final year: “She’s (Frida) had a lot of ups and downs through her time as a NCAA gymnast, and I feel like she hasn’t hit her peak. I felt like this year she was starting to build towards that, so I’m excited for her to be able to have the best year yet that she’s had in the NCAA.”

2024 is seeing a new beginning of sorts. We are seeing a new Frida. Confident, assured, comfortable in her own skin, and contributing to UCLA’s success. But Frida dedicates her turnaround to her teammates.

Frida found a team in UCLA Gymnastics to back her

The same reserved girl just played the National Anthem on her electric guitar in front of a packed audience. She didn’t get scared or overwhelmed. Frida Esparza has come a long way. She credits her teammates and friends for this: “Being surrounded by people that genuinely cared about me and made me feel safe to be who I was made it so much easier for me to explore different parts of myself.”

In fact, time and again, her friends have come to her aid to provide her encouragement and advice. The bronze medal winner at the 2018 Pan American Games was nervous about playing the national anthem. So, she asked her roommate, Chae Campbell, for suggestions. What do you think Chae did? She was a fan of Frida. Of course, she wanted Frida to chase her dreams and not be afraid. Chae helped Frida get rid of the jitters and show the world her talent.

Even in gymnastics, Frida has had tips from her fellow teammates to get better: “Ciena (Alipio) reminded me I have so many skills I can choose from that I don’t have to stick with something if I’m not comfortable with it. That really changed my perspective on switching skills around and overall it’s been really helpful and it’s taken some stress off.”

She also feels safe that she is not alone in this. UCLA Gymnastics wins and loses together. The new star on the team explained, “It’s helped me like I realize I actually-it’s more of a team thing not so much of an individual. So, I know that I have people that have my back, and they’re there to support me, whether I do good or bad. So, it’s kind of like a safety net for me and it’s nice to know that I have a lot of people on my side.”

And now, coupled with training and consistency and confidence, she is just getting into the Zen flow. After her career-high bars score on February 14, she told the Daily Bruin, “It was one of those times where it was like my body found the rhythm, so I could turn my brain off, and I didn’t have to worry about anything. There are no words to describe it.”

Even her coach is so proud of the performance and how Frida has inspired other UCLA teammates. A true redemption arc for the Mexican. In the post-match press conference, McDonald praised Frida for how she has turned a corner this season, “It’s just like an amazing example for the rest of our team to have somebody competing at such a high level, just to have such a steady mentality about how they approach things, and it was very special to see her just nail that routine.”

Frida Esparza’s initial struggles were part of the process. What her coach did to inculcate consistency in the team has made Frida Esparza a resilient competitor. The injuries were also a psychological hurdle, but Frida has not crumbled. She has withstood the storm.