Susan Jackson is One of the Nation’s Elite Gymnasts
At the 2008 NCAA Championships LSU gymnast Susan Jackson became the school’s first vault national champion. Winning an individual championship and being crowned the best is an impressive feat, but a deeper look reveals that her accomplishment was actually more impressive than most would imagine.
“I’m terrified of the vault,” Jackson said. “Terrified of it.”
Jackson said that she and assistant coach Bob Moore spent countless hours alone in the gym to try and help her overcome her fear.
“We tried everything,” Jackson said. “I even had a psychiatrist come and try to help me.”
Incredibly, Jackson has been able to fight through her fears to become one of the nation’s elite vaulters.
“I didn’t really overcome my fear, but I worked with my fear,” Jackson said. “I was proud just knowing I could do that.”
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Now entering her senior season as a Tiger, Jackson ? a native of Spring, Texas ? has already racked up numerous individual awards and accolades. Even though it is her final season at LSU, she explained that she won’t let that distract her from her goals.
“I don’t want to fixate on it being my last season and get overwhelmed and try to do something different,” Jackson said. “I want to keep the same mentality and do everything the same I have done in the past because it has worked for me.”
Her tireless work ethic has paid off throughout her career. She capped off an impressive freshman campaign by earning First-Team All-America honors on floor exercise at the 2007 NCAA Championships.
“My freshman year I was a little intimidated by the college atmosphere, so I was a little hesitant,” Jackson said. “Now I have kind of come into my own. I have become a lot more confident in all of my skills and my routines. It is a lot easier for me to calm myself down in a competition setting, and I have the ability now to just go out and hit my event.”
This progress was clearly visible during her sophomore campaign in 2008. In addition to her vault national championship, Jackson earned four more First-Team All-America honors on beam, floor, vault and all-around. Her outstanding performance played a vital role in helping LSU make its first NCAA Super Six appearance.
“Coach D-D Breaux came over to us and told us that we were in (the Super Six), and immediately everyone was crying,” Jackson said. “She has been here for over 30 years and had never made it. To be part of the first team to make it for her was just ground-breaking. It was just so emotional.”
That historic trip to the ’08 Super Six proved to be just the beginning. As a junior last year, Jackson once again helped the Tigers earn a berth in the Super Six as she raked in another pair of First-Team All-America honors in vault and all-around.
Jackson explained that the back-to-back appearances in the Super Six have not only changed the attitude of the team but also the culture of the LSU gymnastics program.
“I don’t really know what it’s like not making it anymore,” Jackson said. “The seniors now have only missed it one time so we are expected to make it now. We are expecting it of ourselves, and our coaches and fans are expecting it.
“I don’t think we are going to be too shocked making it back for a third time in a row.”
The gymnastics team will kick off the 2010 season on Jan. 8 versus Maryland at the Maravich Center. It will be the start of Jackson’s last season as a collegiate athlete, and she said she is ready for the challenge.
“I am excited about it,” Jackson said. “It is my last season to compete, and I have been doing gymnastics for over 20 years now. It is kind of a surreal feeling. Personally, I would like to win another national championship. I want to go out with a bang and give it all I’ve got because this is my last chance.”