Joscelyn Roberson shocked the gymnastics world when she departed World Champions Centre after the 2024 Worlds, leaving behind Simone Biles’ elite powerhouse to train under Chris Brooks at Arkansas. It was a bold gambit. Since 2019, Brooks has been an assistant coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks women’s gymnastics team, focusing on uneven bars and vault. Under his guidance, the program has achieved record-breaking team and individual scores, including multiple 49+ bars outcomes and All-American honors. For Roberson? It was wonderful. And this year?

That time, the gambit was successful. Roberson’s freshman season at Arkansas was stellar: she broke the freshman all‑around record three times, earned 12 event titles, claimed multiple 9.900+ routines, and became the first Arkansas freshman to earn NCAA beam All‑American honors. After the NCAA postseason, she remained in Fayetteville to train elite, aiming for the US Classic and 2025 Worlds under Brooks’s guidance. When the Classics eventually came, she had a special request from him…

Chris Brooks was out there cheering for Joscelyn Roberson as she performed on the bars in the 2025 US Classic on July 19, 2025. The commentator could be heard saying, “In the venue is always Chris Brooks. It doesn’t matter what the venue is or who’s in it. He’s always the best cheerleader.” They said that you have to love a coach who brings good energy, as it makes a difference for the athletes. As they pointed out with Kyle earlier and Simone’s stunt vault, that kind of energy is everything. They also talked of how Roberson had a demand from her coach.

They also said, “Well, she actually said she needed him to bring the energy because she was used to having her Arkansas team cheer for her and really told Chris that it was his job to be the voice of her entire team there with her today.” Earlier this year, Inside Gymnastics had reported a statement from the Olympian where she said that she need people around her “to continue to push me and to help me, and just tell me that I’m still good at gymnastics,.” Coach Brooks is doing exactly that.

One commentator also said, “Whatever they did certainly worked for her today. She looked confident, she looked consistent, and ready to add those upgrades.” The other agreed, “Yeah, she needed a 14.75 to tie the lead on that event. Not gonna happen on the Bars for her, but nonetheless, she’s gotta be thrilled with that performance.” She delivered a somewhat strong performance from someone nervous about entering Simone Biles’ presence, marked completion.

Emotions ran high for Joscelyn Roberson

Before participating in the US Classic, Roberson had made a statement. She said, “In college, it’s like a different type of nervousness, because it’s so team-oriented. You can kind of disperse your nerves on everybody else, and then they can feed you the energy that you need. But here it’s like, all you, because it’s like, this is for me. It’s not for a team. This is because I want to do it.” What she meant was that in NCAA gymnastics, it’s all about the team. You’ve got your teammates right there beside you, cheering, clapping, lifting you. If you’re nervous, you can lean on each other, and it almost feels like you’re carrying the pressure together.

But in elite gymnastics, it’s different. You’re out there on your own. No teammates yelling your name, no one to high-five between routines. It’s just you, your nerves, and the judges. That very thought made her nervous. She also confessed, “So getting back under that nervousness and feeling the nerves and competing under that is the main goal of this week, and seeing how I react. So the main goal is to stay on. I’m not worried about scores; I’m not worried about placement. Just seeing how I react after a whole college season and everything that I’ve done over the last year.” Coming from a successful NCAA season, she wanted to test her elite skills, especially after having left the WCC.

In the classic, Roberson notched an impressive all-around score of 53.250, earning 3rd place behind Claire Pease and Simone Rose in the senior session. She delivered a strong vault: 13.700, ranking 5th. On balance beam, she scored 13.350, placing 4th, just 0.200 behind the bronze medalist. Though she didn’t make the podium on uneven bars or floor, she stayed competitive with a 12.800 on floor. A strong performance for a nervous athlete, don’t you think?