Shaffer’s Story: The Setback, the Comeback, the Rise

For redshirt-senior Sarah Shaffer, it has always been gymnastics, but the journey hasn’t always been smooth. Just weeks away from her last season at Arkansas, the Tyler, Texas native reflects back at her recruiting process, the injury that set her back and the rise that brought her back.

For gymnasts, the recruiting process starts fairly early compared to other collegiate athlete. “I remember the recruiting process for me started during the summer before my freshman year of high school,” Shaffer said. “I took several visits to different Universities and went to gymnastics summer camps.”

“It was the summer before my sophomore year that I went to a Region 3 College Bound camp. The week after College Bound camp, the assistant coach at Arkansas at the time offered me a scholarship over the phone. I was obviously very excited, but I did not know much about the gymnastics program.”