Josh Katzowitz
Special to Rivals High

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Sometimes, when Luan Peszek was chauffeuring daughter Samantha to and from gymnastics practice, the two would role-play.

Luan would interview Samantha, throw queries at her, ask her to describe what was happening with her gymnastics, question why she did this and that. It makes sense, after all. Luan has worked with USA Gymnastics as the publications director for two decades and has written "The Gymnastics Almanac."

She's used to hearing answers, both good and bad, and, presumably, she wanted Samantha to shoot for the former.

Often, Luan's interrogations would evoke an annoyed answer of "Mom!" as only a teenage girl can exasperate.

"Since that's what I did for my business, we used to practice in the car," Luan said. "She'd get mad at me."

Peszek primed for performance

Samantha Peszek has been preparing for the opportunity she has in front of her for as long as she can remember. Check out the photo gallery of Peszek and her incredible athletic ability.

Samantha has done this for a long time, and if she makes the 2008 U.S. Olympic team - as she's dreamed about for her entire life - she'll have media queries galore.

What they'll find is an enthusiastic 16-year-old gymnast from suburban Indianapolis who attends high school, enjoys having a social life away from the gym and understands that her identity isn't solely based on the beam, vault and uneven bars.

More than that ? and this goes back to her practicing answering questions in the car with her mom ? she's just a well-rounded teenager.

"Going to school is really good for me," said Peszek, who goes to Indianapolis' Cathedral High. "I get the best of both worlds. Some of the (other gymnasts) are home-schooled, which is fine; I'm sure it works for them. But I'm so social. I just like interacting with friends. I like to go shopping. I'm just a normal teenager, but I spend an enormous amount of time in the gym."

She's also not immune to sacrificing her social life for her gymnastics. Although she was off for spring break when she was interviewed for this story, she was in Indiana training while her friends were sunning themselves somewhere in Florida.

She was wistful but realistic. Peszek knows she gets to experience a completely different world than most of her friends.

"Over the years, I've figured it out," she said. "Every once in a while, I'll have to miss something ? like a football game on Friday night ? and it's like, 'I can't believe I'm going to miss that.' Then, I think: 'A football game or going to Italy?' How many people get to travel around the world? Honestly, I'm not really missing anything compared to what other people are missing."

She hopes that experience includes an all-expenses-paid trip to Beijing this summer.

For Peszek, who began tumbling at age 2, an Olympic berth is something she has thought about for a long time. Indeed, her parents still have video footage of her as a 4-year-old as she watched the 1996 Olympics on TV and mimicked the athletes' movements.

As she examined the routines of Dominique Dawes, Amy Chow and Kerri Strug, Peszek would practice over and over again.

"My outfit is hideous," said a laughing Peszek, who watched the 12-year-old video recently when a major network called looking for the footage. "It looks like I got wrapped up in a Twister game."

Embarrassing outfit or not, that's when Peszek began laying the foundation for her amateur career.

Luan Peszek said her daughter wasn't always so brilliant in the gym. She just took more turns than anybody else, she got stronger and stronger, and by the time she turned 10, she had made the national team.

Solo effort

Being the only top level athlete at her gym Peszek often has to practice alone.

"A couple months, wow, there's so much that needs to be done," Peszek said. "But I've already accomplished so much during my gymnastics career. Life is not always about gymnastics, but right now it is.

"Everything I do right now is focused on gymnastics. I'm paying attention to everything I eat and putting in extra hours in the gym and doing everything I can do."

Yet, she doesn't want her mind focused entirely on gymnastics. For her, that wouldn't be a good system. She needs to be social, needs to unwind away from the gym. It almost certainly has helped her avoid burnout.

"When we started training more and more hours, people would say we should consider home-school," Luan Peszek said. "We would mention it to Sam, and she wanted no part of it. I don't think she would have thrived so much if she would have been in a home-school situation and training twice a day. Sam does just one long practice and she gets the same hours as everybody else.

"I don't think she could be where she is if she didn't have the school aspect."

Still, Samantha feels the pressure of accomplishing her life's goal, especially since she's the only elite gymnast at her gym, she has to practice alone ? a tough trap for such a social butterfly.

"It's not always a fairy tale," Peszek said. "I practice by myself, which can be a little tough. It's just me and my coach, but it's worked out pretty well. You just have to remind yourself why you're doing this."

A quick glance at the little girl in the dreadful outfit from 1996 likely is the only reminder she needs.

"Even talking about it, it gives me butterflies," Peszek said. "I've been waiting my whole life for this."

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