Many twists to Palatine gymnast Eckardt

Palatine senior gymnast Matt Eckardt is willing to twist and turn his body in ways most people wouldn't even dream of trying.

"I just love flying through the air and flipping and twisting," he said. "It's just so much fun."

His daredevil attitude helped him win a state title last year with his floor exercise routine. He also took fourth-place in the all-around competition while helping the Pirates to the first state title in school history.

While he is always up for a challenge in the gym, Eckardt is as stubborn as a mule when it comes to cuisine.

"He's the most incredibly picky eater that I've ever seen in my life," said teammate and long-time friend Danny Weiss. "He is terrible. It's amazing how much basic stuff he just doesn't like to eat."

Eckardt, a very straight shooter, openly admits to his limited palate.

"My favorite thing is hamburgers. I probably eat that 70 percent of the time," said Eckardt, adding that he hates seafood. "I like steak and grilled chicken. That's about it.

"I don't really like many other things. I don't try new things all that often. I don't like new flavors."

Luckily for Palatine, Eckardt is much more flexible when it comes to gymnastics.

An all-around competitor since his freshman year, Eckardt has qualified for the state meet in all six events every year of his prep career. He has steadily progressed in each event, culminating last year with fifth-place finishes on the vault and parallel bars, as well as a seventh-place finish on the high bar.

He also took 12th place on the rings while earning 17th on the pommel horse.

But Eckardt most enjoys tumbling, which he said is almost like second nature.

"My mom first put me in gymnastics at the age of 3 because she told me that I did somersaults before I crawled," Eckardt said. "Then it just continued on from there."

Eckardt got his feet wet with the Palatine Park District gymnastics program, but didn't enjoy competing until he reached high school. Eckardt said he was intrigued by that the team aspect of high school gymnastics.

"I wasn't really into (competing) at club and I didn't really like it," he said. "But we didn't really have a team. Having a team depend on me, it really got me fueled to want to compete."

Eckardt immediately stepped into a leadership role at Palatine, leading pre-practice stretching as a freshman.

His focus and dedication to improving himself quickly paid off as he qualified for state in all six events.

"Matt, whether in practice or in meets, he's always entirely focused on getting better," Palatine coach Scott Hagel said. "He's not distracted easily. He definitely focuses on the tricks that he needs to focus on and he's not one of those guys that's going to have a mental collapse."

His accomplishments haven't gone unnoticed amongst his peers. At a recent meet, a couple of gymnasts from a rival Mid-Suburban League school referred to Eckardt as a "demigod" while watching him perform a routine on the p-bars.

"I wouldn't go there. I think it's a bit unnecessary. It's really nice that other people actually think of me that way but I'm just a normal kid," Eckardt said. "There are plenty of people on this team that are so much more amazing than me. They started (gymnastics) freshman year and they're almost to my caliber."

While he might not be half-mythical, he does come from a unique family.

"I have two older twin brothers. I also have a twin sister," he said. "We have two sets of (fraternal) twins in our family. It's interesting, to say the least."

Eckardt also possesses an uncommon mental toughness.

Last year, at the team's first practice, Eckardt had to be taken to the hospital after a nasty accident.

"I was doing a Yurchenko vault," he said. "I hit my head on the vault and I cracked it open. I got staples in my head and was back at practice the next day."

As soon as he returned, he was attempting the same trick, albeit on a different vault.

"I'm sure he was afraid of it, but he wasn't afraid to try it again," said Hagel. "He got back up there and did a couple more of them and was OK. He's the type of guy that knows that he's good enough to push past that fear.

"Fear can be one of the biggest enemies of a gymnast."

Not totally fearless, Eckardt does worry about life without gymnastics. He will attend the University of Illinois in the fall and hopes to continue his gymnastics career as a walk-on.

"(My life is) school, gymnastics and sleeping. That's about all I do," he said. "That's why I'm really hoping that I can make it onto the (U of I) team. I don't know what I'd do without it."

With only two months remaining in his final prep season, Eckardt is intent on closing his illustrious career on a high note.

"It would be nice to win (another) state championship, but I'm just going to try to throw as many big tricks as possible and if they want to award me the state championship that's fine," he said. "But I want to go out with a bang this year."