From No. 1 recruit to budding Red Rocks star, Avery Neff is creating her own 'legacy'

SALT LAKE CITY — Avery Neff wanted to get away from everything.

Social media ran rampant and it wasn't worth answering any questions immediately — admittedly, she didn't have any yet — especially with the news still fresh.

Three weeks earlier, Neff had signed her name to paper to officially commit to the University of Utah to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a member of the Red Rocks.

But when former Utes gymnastics coach Tom Farden and the university mutually agreed to split 20 days after her signing, questions and doubts flooded her mind.

And her text messages. And her social media accounts. It was everywhere.

"Tom did work so hard to get me," Avery Neff said. "I didn't know Tom from a coaching standpoint, but I did know him from a recruiting standpoint, and I did feel like I grew a relationship with him. And so when he was gone, I was quite hurt by it."

"It was extremely difficult for us as a family," Neff's father, Brandon, added. "It was extremely difficult for her, because she believed that she made the right choice, and then when it came down and it changed, and they didn't know who the head coach was going to be, they didn't know what was going on, she felt kind of duped, as well."

As the No. 1 recruit in the country for her recruiting class, Neff had previously turned down offers to many other great schools — gymnastic programs she felt comfortable being a part of and ones with coaching staffs that cared about her, too. Each was a place where she could similarly compete for a national championship.

Was Utah still the right choice?

Why feel so good about coming to Utah, then, when everything had seemingly changed in an instant?

"She struggled with what she should do," Brandon Neff said. "She struggled with why did I feel so good about the decision I made, and now I'm back at it again. She really, really struggled with that whole thing, again, wondering: Did I make the right decision, and am I making the right decision if I stay. If I go, am I making the right decision, because now it all (the recruiting) starts over again, and what's going to happen with the team."

"It was pretty hard, like it was a hard decision because all of these amazing programs wanted her ... and she just wanted to please everyone," Neff's mother, Tonya, added. "But, ultimately, it came down to she had to do what was right for her."

To help ease the confusion, Tonya Neff booked a flight to Paris, where she and her daughter could get away from everything. No distractions. No social media. No incessant phone calls or messages.

In time — and without the worry of constant distractions — Avery Neff settled on a decision; it was a decision she had already made. Neff felt that staying at Utah was the best thing for her and her gymnastics career.

"It wasn't just Tom, it was the whole program, and that she could be at Utah and be home with her family and be in front of her family and friends to compete and be in the Huntsman. ... She kind of came to a conclusion that when she had made that decision to go to Utah, that it wasn't just him," Tonya Neff said. "And so she felt like she had an answer to her prayers — like, yeah, I'm going to Utah and this is the right decision."

It's a decision that Avery Neff has no regrets making, and one she's never looking back on, either.

"I knew that Carly (Dockendorf) and the rest of the staff would have my back, and I knew that I'd be taken care of," Neff said. "Carly has done everything she possibly could, same with the other coaches, to make me feel comfortable and make me feel at home and with the family. So, yes, it was hard not having Tom here, but I think everybody else still levels it up and brings the same amount of love."

And the Red Rocks world — from the coaching staff to teammates to the nearly 15,000 fans who pack the Huntsman Center every meet — have embraced her with open arms.

By all accounts, her decision has been an early success.

The freshman gymnast with high expectations placed upon her has already left her mark in such a short time.

Avery Neff the competitor

It probably shouldn't come as a surprise that someone like Avery Neff is ultra competitive, but that competitive spirit carries over into all facets of her life. And it's all her father's fault — or more appropriately, it's the Neff family gene.

Neff describes herself as being "very similar" to her father, who comes from a long line of competitive people.

"Everybody in my extended family is very competitive," Neff said. "All of his sisters, like, we can't play games when we're together, because we're all super competitive, but it makes it really fun and, like, it kind of just levels up the family, as well."

Brandon Neff said his family's competitive drive can often become "very, very emotional" as "we all want to win." For him — and by extension his daughter — being the best at something is everything. Or is that being the best at everything is everything?

"I always want to win, no matter what it is — card games to any sports," he said.

"Floating down a river, his boat has to be in the front," Tonya Neff interjects. "Doesn't matter. Cars driving, he's got to be in the front."

"Just what it is, I don't know," he responds.

That's no different for Avery, who similarly wants — nay, needs — to be the best at everything. Gymnastics is just the most public expression of her competitive drive.

From challenging her brothers on the mountain with their snowboards — something she can't do now because of gymnastics — to wake surfing and everything in between, life is a competition for the Neff family.

And while that competitive spirit has certainly contributed to her success in gymnastics, she's also had to learn to accept that she doesn't have to always win in everything. Sure, there's going to be a gymnast that may perform better than her on any given night, but she's learning to accept perceived defeat in life, too.

When Neff enrolled at Utah, she received a leased car as part of an NIL package given to athletes. The problem was, at least to her, the car came with a stipulation that Neff — and all athletes who accepted the deal — cannot drive more than 10 miles over the speed limit or else the car goes goodbye.

"When she first got it, she literally had a full nervous meltdown, a breakdown. She was balling," Brandon Neff recalled. "She's like, 'I can't do this.' Cars were passing her, and she was literally having a heart attack. She said, 'I don't want to do this.' She was crying, physically crying: 'Take the car back, I don't want it; I'll buy my own car, I can't do this. I can't have people pass me on the freeway.'

"That's how competitive she is," he added.

In time, she learned to accept it. Maybe the desire hasn't gone away, but it's been a subtle lesson that she doesn't have always be first on the roads — a welcomed gift that Tonya Neff describes as "the best thing ever."

And though being competitive is a huge part of who Neff is, it's just a part. The freshman gymnast is "very self-motivated" but uses that to also push others around her. It's not good enough for her to be the best, it's about lifting her teammates, too.

"You'll see that side of her that she really, truly cares about others and wants to make them the best that they can be," Brandon Neff said. "But she also does that for herself first, and wants to make sure that she's the best, as well."

"You don't have to tell her when she's done something wrong, like as far as in life or in gymnastics," Tonya Neff added. "I think she holds herself to a higher standard herself. In the gym, she doesn't need to be told if she did something wrong, she knows. And it's kind of how she is in life, too. She just kind of holds herself to higher standards with school, life, everything. She just is a hard worker and very driven."

On top of that, she's a "very spiritual person," her mother said.

As Neff's brothers served church missions, prospective colleges asked Neff if she was also planning on serving a mission. A church mission was never in the cards as a gymnast with a limited timeline, but she doesn't shy away from her beliefs, either.

"She relies a lot on her faith and her belief in God and Jesus Christ, and she feels blessed in her life. ... She knew she wouldn't be able to, but she's kind of made it her mission, I guess, that on social media people will still know that she believes in Jesus Christ, and that's something that's important to her in her life," Tonya Neff said.

In short, she's a driven, introspective and well-rounded 18-year-old who just so happens to be one of the best gymnasts in the country.

A natural-born gymnast

Avery Neff is a natural in the sport. That's not to say gymnastics comes easy to the 18-year-old from South Jordan, but it was clear from an early age that she was different.

Gymnastics was never the original plan, especially with a mother who had competed in the sport and had experienced the injuries — including a broken back — associated with gymnastics. But Neff's calling to the sport was undeniable from a young age.

Neff had always been interested in informal tumbling, doing cartwheels in her church's hallways and teaching herself various tricks. But while at a trampoline park near their home, Neff performed a back walkover on a beam over a foam pit, and her mother knew it was time to introduce her daughter formally to the sport.

"My mom was like, 'This is not normal,'" Avery Neff said, recalling that moment. "Like, this is not normal."

After enrolling in a tumbling class, Neff progressed "really quickly," so the family moved her into formal gymnastics training when she was 7 years old, setting her on a path where she would eventually become the best in the country in her class.

But even then, the immediate goal wasn't to become a Division I athlete or to win national championships; it was just an outlet for a young girl interested in the sport.

"I was not the greatest," Neff said. "I was not the greatest in compulsory at all, and I hated it. But once I got into optionals and I could have a free will of what I wanted to just throw around and play with, it was fun."

That quickly changed, however.

"We started gymnastics in April and by September she was competing," Tonya Neff said. "She jumped right into gymnastics and competition. So it was like, boom, we're doing this and we're competing. So it was like, immediately, probably two to three hours a night. It was a lot going from one hour a week to two to three hours."

Even as a natural in the sport, there was a time where Neff said she didn't like gymnastics — a time she called "a dead period" — or at least like how much time it took in her life.

"I kind of locked myself in the bathroom before practice when our carpool would come and be like, 'I'm not going to practice,'" Neff said. "And I'm very stubborn. I would pretend to be sick, because I was like, 'I don't want to go to practice.'"

It was a short-lived situation, though, and Neff quickly rose in the ranks of gymnastics, reaching level 10 — or the highest level of USA gymnastics — by seventh grade. Reaching level 10 was where Neff realized she could be really good if she put her mind to being the best.

"My coaches were like, 'You're not gonna make level 10; you barely made level 9,'" Neff recalled. "But I just put my mind to it and I did it. So that was kind of like where I dipped my toes in and I was like, OK, I can — if I want to and I work hard, and whatever — I can do good at this. And I made level 10 — not the greatest season. I took probably 20th place at nationals, but I was the only girl that made nationals on my team.

"And then my dad just from there on was like, 'You're gonna be national champion,'" she added. "And I was like, funny. And he's like, 'No, you can be national champion. Anything you put your mind to, you can.'"

Neff continued to progress and became a national champion several times, while moving up the recruiting rankings to become the No. 1 recruit for her class. But Neff said she never really let any of that get to her, and "I didn't really realize it for myself."

"I tried to stay humble. Like, I'll hear that kid's the No. 1 recruit for football, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, that's actually like crazy.' And sometimes it is kind of crazy to think about it like that. That was me, but I don't really see myself in that way."

Even when her friends teased that they were lucky to be close to the No. 1 recruit in gymnastics, she pushed the thought away.

"That's not me," she'd tell them. "Like, you know my personality, you know who I am as a person, and that's all I could ask for. Like, put gymnastics aside, I just want to be someone's true friend. I just want to be your friend. Yes, I'm a part of gymnastics, but that's not who I am."

It all led her to being coveted by every imaginable gymnastics program in the country. Utah was always her first love, but there was a real desire to explore schools outside of the state. And though Neff wanted to please them all after building great connections, she eventually settled on Utah.

"I'd always see the Red Rocks billboard up on the freeway, and I was like, that's gonna be me," Neff said. "And so after I went to all these places, I was like, these are truly amazing places, but I kind of want to build my own legacy, too — not that I couldn't in other places, but I've always wanted my legacy kind of to be a Red Rock."

She'd had a little code phrase — "giddy up," a reference from her father that meant "let's go" — that Tom Farden wanted her to use if she decided to commit. No questions would be needed.

"And so I was like, you know what, giddy up," Neff said of a phone conversation she had with Farden. "And he just got so excited, and his wife was listening in the background, and she was crying and just so excited. You could feel the love through the phone, even though it wasn't even person, you could feel the love, and it was just the greatest feeling ever.

"And the support that Carly and everybody gave me, too, was the greatest feeling — like texts right after it happened. Tom was calling them, like, 'We got her.' It was just truly like no other feeling."

A new Red Rocks star is born

It didn't take long for Avery Neff to become a fan favorite at the University of Utah. The hometown gymnast — who just so happened to be No. 1 in the country — had already earned her spot for the all-around competition as a freshman.

But being in the all-around competition as a freshman was an impressive feat enough, especially with how Neff said she lacked confidence once she got into the program and saw her teammates.

"I struggled a lot with confidence — more than I used to — because when I came here, I just was like, 'Oh my gosh, everybody is so good, like, I'm not gonna make a lineup,' I had that feeling," Neff said. "I was like, 'I'm never gonna make a lineup,' because I just see everybody in practice and they're just amazing every day."

But Dockendorf and assistant coach Jimmy Pratt sat her down and helped her reclaim some confidence. It was a reassurance that she could compete with them, but she had to put in the work.

"Obviously, we see her competing, and she's exceptional and puts up big results," Dockendorf said. "But I think her training habits is really what's been really cool to see for me. She comes in and competes every single day. There's never a day that she comes in and gives anything less than 100%, and I think that attributes to part of the reason why she's so great."

From that conversation with her coaches, Neff said she stared to "realize that what I'm doing is enough, but I had to still keep working if I wanted to get my spot." And work she did, proving herself in every practice session that she was good enough to be included with the rest of her talented teammates.

And in the first gymnastics meet of the season — a home meet against Utah State — Neff found herself in the all-around competition as a freshman. It was a dream come true, but one that lifted her up more than anything.

"Being able to compete four events was truly like no other," Neff said. "And it was kind of like it built my confidence back up that I can be a good enough gymnast, I just have to work for it."

Her first meet wasn't perfect, but it was obvious for all to see that Neff was special, and one that could help lift the Red Rocks to another potential national championship.

"It's been pretty amazing," Tonya Neff said. "In fact, every time they used to say the No. 1 recruit, I'd be like, 'Oh, that's so far to fall,' Like, I hate hearing that. What if she doesn't live up to expectations? So when they would announce that before she started I was really nervous.

"But to have her go out there and just do so amazing as a freshman and being an all-arounder, what an honor," she added. "That's such an amazing honor for her that she could be an all-arounder as a freshman."

But for as quickly as the success came, tragedy struck early. A few weeks into the season, Neff suffered a serious injury — third degree sprains to both ankles — while competing on floor in what appeared to be season-ending.

"I don't even really know what happened," Neff said. "People ask me, I think my brain just wasn't really connected with my body. I didn't even know. ... I didn't know if I'd be out for the rest of the season. I didn't even know what happened."

Beyond the injury, Neff said her first thought during the whole ordeal — an entire Huntsman Center crowd staring down at her in silence — was "so embarrassing."

"This is so embarrassing," she recalled. "My whole family is here, my friends are here. I'm like, this is so embarrassing."

For the rest of the world, it was a devastating blow to a promising gymnast who was well on her way to greatness in her first season. The Red Rocks would survive without Neff, but the team could be so much better with her in the lineup.

Neff thought the same thing; and almost immediately, she went right back to practice.

Within three weeks of what was considered to be a likely season-ending injury, Neff was putting herself in the mix to compete on bars ... and then on beam ... and then back in the all-around competition.

For Neff, it was more just "proving to myself that I could do it."

"I went through a really hard time the week before, just struggling with confidence and (wondering) if I was even gonna come back and for this season," she said. "And so I was like, well, let's make a goal for yourself so you're not just doing all the little drills for no reason."

She set her sights on a return on alumni night — the Red Rocks' 50th celebration — to ensure she could be counted among all the great gymnasts that have come through the program. And sure enough, Neff made it happen.

"Even the night before, I didn't know if I would compete," she said. "I'd done bars and stuff, but I didn't know if the landing I'd be OK. And then I warmed it up, and I was like, let's do it."

But even if she couldn't return because of her injury, Neff was going to support her team fully.

"I think that's definitely kind of who I am. I'm there for my team, not for myself, so I'm not gonna let just a little injury affect other people," Neff said.

Related topics