Stephen Nedoroscik is leading the charge of the male gymnastics comeback in the United States. The Pommel horse guy helped guide his country to a bronze medal in the team final after performing his exceptional signature move. This earned him a plethora of praise from the spectators, making him a household name in the process.

But to reach this stage, the gymnast has had to deal with a lot of pressure, which goes hand in hand with competing at the top level. It doesn’t help when he has the expectations of a country on his shoulder who threaten to lose their interest in the sport if he puts on a bad performance. This is what his mother talked about recently in a podcast. She outlined how calm her son has to be to compete successfully in such huge competitions as the Olympics.

Talking about this in the Got It from My Momma podcast, Stephen’s mother, Cheryl, talked about the psychological aspect of the sport. She said that despite having tense moments, one has to keep really calm and concentrate on the proceedings to succeed in it. “They can’t let their thoughts wander, especially when you only have 45 seconds to do your one event; you need to be in it. You can’t let your nerves, you know, get your blood pressure to rise,” said Cheryl.

The only people who can get nervous during the competition are the spectators. She admitted that she could barely hold her nerves while Stephen was competing. This is why the gymnast’s mother is glad that she doesn’t participate in the competitions and her son does it instead. This is because Stephen Nedoroscik is a master at handling the pressure of his surroundings.

It is the reason why he has been given his ‘Clark Kent’ nickname. While the gymnast looks like a shy and humorous nerd with glasses normally, it’s a completely different scenario when he’s actually competing. As soon as he takes off his glasses to get on the mat, he’s a changed person with a confident demeanor who looks like he trusts his abilities, just like Clark Kent when he removes his glasses and becomes Superman.

This whole switch is the main cause behind his success, which has seen him win numerous medals and could do so in the future too. Apparently, this tactic of his was very visible to his mother since his childhood. Cheryl claims that Stephen has showcased his unnatural talent since his start in gymnastics at a very young age.

Stephen Nedoroscik’s mother talks about his entry into gymnastics at a very early age

Stephen Nedoroscik got into gymnastics at the mere age of five. In the same interview, his mother, Cheryl, spoke about how that happened. The gymnast was a very fast learner. Apparently, all the milestones in his life came very early. “He was walking when he was nine months old. By the time he was a year old, he could go up the stairs to the second floor,” his mother said.

Stephen was a very energetic child who would be a nightmare to handle, as he refused to sit in one place and would climb baby gates and shimmy outside the house. This resulted in him having a bruise on his forehead for six months as he couldn’t stop bumping into things.

Cheryl knew that she had to do something productive with his hyperactivity, or else he would’ve continued creating havoc around the house. This helped her make the decision to enroll Stephen Nedoroscik in gymnastics at the age of five. It is safe to say that the gymnast hasn’t looked back since, and instead of being a headache for babysitters to deal with, he has become a nightmare for his competitors to fight off.