It’s been almost one year since the Iowa gymnastics team moved into the Nagle-Duda Gymnastics & Spirit Squads Training Center on Prairie Meadow Drive. Inside, the halls echo with encouraging cheers and shouts as gymnasts complete their routines.
The gymnastics practice area is equipped with a large birch spring floor, three vaults, three beams, and four sets of uneven bars. Woven in between each apparatus are handfuls of tumbling tracks, trampolines, and foam pits colored with the Hawkeyes’ signature black and gold.
Assistant coach Brenna Brooks appreciated how the new equipment helped efficiency on the team.
“People don’t have to wait in line for their turns. They can just go and work out as much as they can.”
The facility was built after a generous gift from longtime donors Mary Lee Nagle Duda and Lee Duda. The five million dollar donation allowed for both the gymnastics team and the Spirit Squad to transfer from the field house to a space of their own, one that catered to their specific needs as athletes.
It includes separate gyms for the two sports, locker rooms and lounges, physical therapy lounges and tubs, and administrative offices for the athletic coaches and staff.
Aside from being a space to train, the gymnasts often find themselves spending time there outside of practice.
“They study here, they rest here, they eat here—they pretty much can do everything here,” head coach Jen Llewellyn described. “It’s just a really good space for them to pour into themselves so they can be the best version of themselves both in the gymnastics arena and academically.”
The modern lounges and locker rooms are equipped with TVs, couches, speakers, and a snack bar, which helps the athletes manage their schedules and stress levels.
It also builds a team community, because the students get the chance to know each other outside of their skills.
“They are so busy from class to practice to weights to rehab and recovery,” Llewellyn said. “It just makes everyone’s day more efficient and smooth.
Fifth-year gymnast Haley Tyson confirmed that she often spends time in the building outside of practice.
“It’s more than just a gym here—it’s a space for us to hang out as a team or study or do homework,” she said. “It’s just a really good space.”
But the gymnasts’ success can only be contributed in part by the new facility. The coaches, faculty, and staff helped all the athletes to familiarize themselves with the space and each other. The offices provided by the building allow for flexible meetings with athletes to talk about their progress and create a plan for their training.
First year gymnast Stella DePoala explained that her transition to Iowa from her home state, Arizona, helped her feel confident for the season ahead.
“I came in knowing this was going to be my home away from home. I feel like this staff and this team and everybody in this program reminds me a lot of my home gym, which really prepared me for college gymnastics.”
The Iowa women’s gymnastics team begins their season with the Black and Gold Exhibition at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday, Dec. 12.
The Nagle-Duda Gymnastics & Spirit Squads Training Center provides the Hawkeyes with a competitive edge that allows them to realize their athletic potential in the Big Ten.
“We’ve got a really good group of girls,” Brooks said. “They’re just hungry—being in this space, they understand what it means.”
