Fantastic Flipper

RHS Student Gymnast Competes Internationally

By Amy Morgan

 

Most of us won’t ever achieve the strength and agility it takes to compete in a gymnastics floor routine, much less the high bar, pommel horse, vault, still rings or parallel bars. Gymnast and Ronald Reagan senior student Alejandro Siso excels on these apparatuses, and more! He can leap in the air and flip twice before landing and repeating the double backwards, just one of the many skills he’s performed in international competition. For Alejandro, mastery of the floor and vault came naturally. He started gymnastics at the age of three and by 10 years old he was catching the attention of coaches at regional competitions. His abilities outgrew the expertise of the training available in his hometown of Laredo, so the Siso family moved to San Antonio when Alejandro was starting fifth grade so he could further his technique. 

 

Like many student athletes, Alejandro’s found participating in a club sport takes as much time as a part-time job. He spends at least 20 hours a week at the Alamo Gymnastics Center – including four hours on Saturday mornings. Unlike some sports, male and female gymnasts train and compete separately. Alejandro appreciates the rigorous training regimen his coaches Yuejin Sun and Yu Zhang design to change the conditioning routine monthly to increase both strength and endurance. 

He considers his peers at the gym as close as family. They’ve bonded over the sport they all love as they’ve grown up together over the years, he said. 

 

Competition season begins this month and consists of a handful of regional events before nationals. Alejandro will proudly wear the large red A logo representing his gym when he faces the up to 250 other men. Last year, he placed 13th in the nation, which led to invitations to compete in Mexico and Spain. Alejandro finished first place all around in the Spanish regional in May 2024 and went on to face other European clubs. He noted the European gymnastic equipment is different than that in America, including a bouncier floor. “I really liked the vibe and experience,” he said. Alejandro also is fluent in Spanish, a benefit at international meets. 

 

Alejandro’s loyalty also is evident toward his fellow Reagan students. He’s part of the Minds that Matter club his friend Cynthia Guerrero created to spread kindness throughout the Reagan community. Participants have made and taken cards to residents at Independence Hill and shared Positive Potatoes – tiny plastic potato toys decorated with a smiley face, which were a big hit. “Who wouldn’t want a smiling potato?” Alejandro said. 

 

He credits his AVID college and career readiness teacher, Ms. Gail Newberg, with help navigating the college application process. “Without her, I don’t know where I’d be,” he said. She’s just one of the Reagan teachers he appreciates. “They inspire me,” he said, “because they make me feel like I have potential to be a better person. They have seen me when I was injured and would encourage me to keep going.” 

 

Alejandro has applied to colleges with strong gymnastics programs – Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Greenville. He’s just waiting for a response from Michigan before he makes his final decision. He hopes to study physical therapy because as an athlete who’s struggled with injuries, he can identify with others. 

 

But before then, he’ll have his senior season to fly high, leaving his mark in the sport of men’s gymnastics – both at home and abroad.