By Eric D. Lehman
Leadership is a skill that comes from hard-won experience. University of Bridgeport gymnastics captains Alexis Richardson and Jordan Streete have earned that skill more than most.
Originally from Coram, New York on Long Island, Alexis Richardson has been a member of the UB gymnastics team for six years. While pursuing a degree in Psychology and Human Services during her first two years of undergraduate school, she suffered several injuries and went through knee surgery. Alexis’ perseverance and grit to push through these obstacles serves her well in competition. As well as competing in vault and floor exercises and captaining the team, she joined both the UB lacrosse and cross-country teams, attending meets and matches when they don’t interfere with the gymnastics season. To keep up with her schoolwork, she does a lot of homework on the bus to and from events. “I am able to manage it and keep my grades up,” she says. “If I put my mind to something, I’ll do it.”
“Alexis truly captures what it means to us to be a UB gymnast,” says gymnastics coach Lorraine Galow. “She wants the best for each of her teammates.”
Hailing from Agawam, Massachusetts, co-captain Jordan Streete is a five-year member of the UB team, performing on vault and beam. She entered as a freshman while recovering from an Achilles tendon tear and last year, during the first week of what was supposed to be her final season, she tore her other Achilles. She spent the year completing extensive rehab and getting stronger, making the choice to return to the sport for her final season this year. “When I was a freshman, I never would have thought of being captain,” says Streete. “Alexis has been a leader to me since she was a year above me.”
“Jordan is one of the hardest workers and most determined athletes I have had the pleasure of coaching,” continues Galow. “She’s amazing.”
Pandemic and Recovery
Both Jordan and Alexis credit their injuries with teaching them how to manage larger problems, like the outbreak of COVID-19. “The pandemic arrived during the peak of my gymnastic career,” says Streete, continuing, “and when the season was cancelled, I was content with this being it.” When UB announced that it was bringing back sports, she immediately thought of Coach Galow. “If Lorraine’s coming back, I’m coming back,” she told herself. “So, when she got the job, I trained all summer long.” Unfortunately, shortly after this return, Jordan tore her second Achilles, taking a year to recover before finally competing this season at 100%.
Alexis had torn her meniscus during her sophomore year at UB, missing almost two seasons. Just as she got back onto the floor her junior year, the pandemic hit. “When we found out we were getting sent home because of COVID, we were sitting in the locker room talking about how we might not go to UCLA because of COVID, and we got the email saying we needed to leave school entirely,” says Richardson. “It all happened so fast. But no matter what, I knew I was going to take my fifth year and compete, because I felt like I never accomplished what I wanted to in college gymnastics.” Now, Alexis is in her second year of graduate school and sixth year of gymnastics. “I feel like I’m finally getting the ending that I want to my career,” she says happily.
A New Style of Coaching
As five-time USAG National Team Champion, Lorraine Galow was already a legend at University of Bridgeport. Now, in just two years as head coach, Galow’s impact has been incredible. The team quickly went from only 12 members last year to 22 this year. “For all five returners from the previous year, Lorraine was the deciding factor,” says Richardson. “That was the best news of the entire year.”
Teaching emotional maturity is not something that most people think of when they think of athletics…or college classes for that matter. But Coach Galow has taught Alexis, Jordan, and the rest of her students to listen to their bodies and their minds. She factors in their mental health, always asking how they are doing. They are allowed to take three personal days from practice, no questions asked, unless they want to talk about it with her. “She’s always there for us,” says Streete, explaining, “Lorraine is huge on safety.” Galow also lets them modify their routines if their bodies are feeling off, letting them make their own decisions about what is right for their own bodies.
“The great thing about Lorraine is that she doesn’t put a lot of pressure on winning championships but instead on building us into well rounded people,” says Streete.
Co-Captains
There is a moment when leaders are given the opportunity to step up and take charge, not only of your own futures, but the futures of those around them. That moment came when Alexis and Jordan were asked to be team captains. “When I was injured, I had a different role, and so I transitioned into a captain from that,” says Streete. “We have different strengths, but we understand how much it takes to get where you want to be, to push through pain and injury.”
“Our biggest role as captains is that we’ve been through it,” agrees Richardson. “We’re just trying to share our experiences with these young athletes. I’m 23, Jordan is 22. They call us ‘grandma,’ and in a way, that’s true. We’re trying to teach them as much as we can before we are gone.”
Some of that teaching comes in the form of passing on Galow’s lessons about empathy for other athletes who are injured, or who are struggling with the intense nature of college sports. “We tell them that it is going to be okay,” they both say. “You have to give them tough love, support each other, give them pep talks, and push them to succeed.”
Putting It All Together
Meanwhile, a second graduation nears for both Alexis and Jordan. Previously, Alexis earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology & Human Services and is now getting her Secondary Education Master’s Degree to become a math teacher. Jordan graduates with a Master’s in Business Administration this May. And yet, despite a busy schedule of schoolwork and sports, they find time for other work.
Alexis coaches students who range from first grade to high school at the Gymnastics and Cheerleading Academy in Fairfield, while preparing to be a teacher. “I’m going to be teaching math, and a lot of kids don’t like math,” she laughs. “I’m going to impart confidence and positivity in my classes. Positive self-talk has gotten me through so much. Stop saying the words ‘I can’t.’ It will change your whole mindset.”
Jordan also coached during the pandemic but had to stop when her Achilles tendon tore. She took an internship in summer 2022 that has helped her secure a full-time job in the auditing department of Deloitte when she graduates in May. The opportunity to work in different leadership role in the gym will certainly translate to her upcoming work at Deloitte. “Once you are physically skilled, gymnastics is 100% mental,” she says. “In a corporate setting, I might get nervous, and so I imagine I am in competition, and take a few deep breaths. I know that I will do my best, and if I mess up, I will have my team behind me.”
A Well-Rounded Education
Both Alexis and Jordan credit University of Bridgeport with giving them the skills to navigate their futures, from the lessons learned from their incredible coach to the stellar education they got from world-class professors. “I was really happy with my decision to come here,” says Streete. “Particularly the one-on-one classroom attention that you get.”
“It’s a small school; everyone knows everyone,” agrees Richardson. “And everyone is close. We are such a strong community.”
With a solid foundation of expert knowledge, emotional awareness, and relentless work ethic, Richardson and Streete can look forward to success far beyond UB. They have proven to be leaders in the gym, and now they will have the chance to demonstrate those skills to the rest of the world. “I have no doubt they will,” says Galow.
“They are well-prepared to be captains wherever they go.”
Eric D. Lehman is the director of publications and associate professor of English at University of Bridgeport. He is the author or editor of 22 books, including “New England Nature, A History of Connecticut Food,” and “Bridgeport: Tales from the Park City.” His biography of Charles Stratton, “Becoming Tom Thumb,” won the Henry Russell Hitchcock Award from the Victorian Society of America and was chosen as one of the American Library Association’s outstanding university press books of the year. His novella “Shadows of Paris” and novel “9 Lupine Road” were finalists for the Connecticut Book Award. He has been consulted on diverse subjects and quoted by The Atlantic Monthly, USA Today, the BBC, the History Channel, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and The Wall Street Journal.