July 2028 is a month that is firmly set in teenager Joe Feery’s calendar.
It may be seven years away, but if you want to make it to the Olympics then you need to have plenty of patience, determination, and be willing to put in the hard work.
At just 14, Joe is adamant that he will achieve his goal and he’s certainly on the right track - having already reached the top spot at the 2018 English Championships and a fully-fledged member of Team GB’s gymnastics Under-16s Junior Squad.
It’s something that Joe has been working diligently on since he was seven. And his dad, also called Joe, has been right there by his side all the time.
“It started with judo lessons and there was a woman there who said he had really good balance and that it could be worth looking into gymnastics,” dad Joe, 57, tells the Manchester Evening News.
“We took him there and since that first class, he’s just taken to it like a duck to water - he’s a natural.”
Joe, who lives in Didsbury, began training at Sharston in Wythenshawe before moving to classes in Bury, where he stayed for five years.
He now trains at the Manchester Academy Gymnastics centre in Salford with coach Jake Seager. But, with the pandemic seeing the temporary closure of gyms and leisure centres, Joe has had to think creatively about how he can retain his strength.
Thankfully, his dad has put his craftsmanship to good use and created a home gym for his teenage son.
“I made him loads of equipment so that he was able to keep up with his training at home,” his dad says.
“I made him a pommel horse that took about two weeks to finish and I got it professionally covered at a place in Stockport. It’s not full size but it’s been able to help him put together a routine at home.”
The teenage athlete also has ropes, rings and high bars set up at home - so much so that the training equipment has now taken over his mum’s TV room.
But his dad insists that it’s something that needs to be taken seriously if there’s even going to be a chance of being considered for the Olympics.
“I’m his biggest fan and his biggest critic - massively,” Joe says.
“People used to think that I was being tough with him, but it takes so long to learn gymnastics. At the end of it, it’d be like a prison sentence if he learnt things wrong as it’d amount to nothing.
“So many people don’t last because it takes up so much time. It’s not a quick sport, there’s a very long path towards the Olympics.”
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In fact, Joe believes in his son so much that he tried to put a bet on him going to the Olympics and the World Championships. The bet was ultimately voided but he says it was spurred on by just how dedicated his son is to the sport.
He says that Joe still has six years of training, at a minimum, ahead of him before he’ll be able to reap the rewards of being a gymnast pro and possibly represent Team GB at the Olympics.
It’s something that his son is fully aware of and prepared to commit to as well.
“It’s a long sport - it doesn’t just happen in one day,” the teenage gymnast says.
"Sometimes I will train for three hours a day, I will do conditioning for about an hour then get on a pommel for another hour and then do some endurance exercises.
“If I keep at it then I know that my goal is definitely achievable.”
While the pandemic has meant that Joe has been unable to attend training sessions in person, his dad believes it has had a positive impact on his son in other ways.
“He does Zoom classes with boys from other clubs and with the Team GB coaches once a week,” Joe adds.
"I think the pandemic has changed the dynamics of things. The lads are all helping each other a lot more, beforehand they wanted to better each other but now they’re starting to ask each other for tips. It’s really given things a bit of a twist.”
Joe also believes the lockdown has brought him closer to his son and he says he’s now his son’s unofficial coach when he's training at home.
“It’s like watching a soap sometimes,” Joe explains.
“You watch them grow up and, at the same time, you don’t realise that you’re getting older because it’s such a slow sport.
“But I’ve enjoyed every minute of it with Joe. Through the lockdown, I’ve got to understand why he gets in his head and can be so hard on himself sometimes.
“Before this pandemic, I was just watching him on a screen while I was sat in the stadium, thinking that he’s not tough enough but seeing him during lockdown has made me realise why he is struggling, it’s given me a new appreciation for him and the sport.
“We’ve been able to figure out that sometimes it just doesn't work, sometimes you just have bad days and sometimes you just have to learn to walk away from it.”
While the next few years for Joe will be firmly set on training and hopefully being able to take part in more competitions, he already has a career path in mind for when he retires from the sport.
"I’m gonna be a coach and do it differently,” Joe adds.
“Gymnastics is something I really enjoy doing and I want to be able to share what I've learnt from my coaches and pass it down to the younger generation after me.”
But, first, the goal is firmly set on representing Team GB at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
