Twenty seconds.
A national championship on the line.
Jake Maglike finished first place out of eight final contestants at the 2024 USA Gymnastics Championships on June 25.
“It was like everything was building up to this moment at the competition,” Jake said. “So it was like, ‘I gotta put my best foot forward and show what I usually do during practice.’ And it was also cool to see all the Elites [olympic-level performing trampoline athletes], who were very motivating.”
Jake’s coach, Beck Mamat, from the Houston JCC, has played a pivotal role in his gymnastics career. Coach Mamat has provided Jake with encouragement, constructive feedback and mental conditioning strategies to help him handle the pressures of competition.
“I’ve helped Jake achieve significant milestones in trampoline gymnastics, such as mastering advanced combinations, improving his execution scores and increasing his time of flight, “Mamat said “To accomplish this, I focused on refining his foundational techniques, breaking down complex skills into manageable progressions and providing consistent feedback during training. By emphasizing proper form and technique, along with mental preparation for competitions, I’ve helped Jake build the confidence and skill set needed to excel on the trampoline.”
Jake competes solo in the open male 17+ division. He challenges himself to compete individually, because he finds it “fun” to compete in trampoline flipping.
“My cousin introduced gymnastics to me,” Jake said. “She started doing gymnastics at JCC, and that motivated me to start. I like to be involved with gymnastics. I like to keep exercising. It sometimes gets tiring after a long day at school, but that just keeps me motivated to get better skills and get stronger.”
Jake feels that performing gymnastics helps him stay more “disciplined” and keeps him “on track” with school work after practice.
“[I go] straight to the JCC, and then I have practice from 5 to 8 p.m., after, I go home, eat dinner and probably start homework around 8:45 p.m.,” Jake said. “Then, at like 10:30 p.m., I stop, take a shower and then go to bed.”
Jake visualizes his jumps before he practices his routines.
“I have gotten injured a bunch of times,” Jake said “But never an injury where I had broken bones or anything. I did get a hit on my hip because my joint was weird. Because of trampling, I hit my back a bunch of times and just had to sit out the rest of the practice.”
Jake’s mother, Trish Magilke, has supported him since the second grade when he started his journey in gymnastics. She has traveled with Jake, and has aided him during his competitions.
“Watching Jake perform has gotten worse because his skills are getting harder,” Magilke said. “Watching him is tough. I always have to hold my breath because if he misses something, he can easily flip off the trampoline. Luckily, there’s a lot of padding around the trampoline, but I’m feeling like the older he gets, the more advanced his skills get, the more nerve wracking it becomes. But I’ve noticed when I’m watching him, because he always has to complete 10 skills in order to complete his routine, I noticed myself counting his skills and that helps calm me down.”
Maglike has felt supportive towards Jake’s achievements in competition trampoline jumping.
“It was exciting, first of all that he qualified,” Magilke said. “This was his third year to qualify, but every year he’s been going up in level and this was the highest level he’d been in. So just to qualify is an accomplishment.”
Jake’s mentorship under Mamat, combined with his own determination, has set the stage for him to continue pursuing his goals and inspiring others in the world of gymnastics.
“Jake has a bright future in gymnastics due to his dedication, work ethic and natural talent,” Mamat said. “If he continues to train consistently and stay focused, he has the potential to represent his country.”
