Ex-OU gymnastics champion returns to Oklahoma with Cirque du Soleil
Feb. 8—A former NCAA gymnastics champion returned to Norman on Tuesday to visit his former team and promote Cirque du Soleil, which is coming to the Paycom Center later this week.
David Henderson, 40, competed for OU between 2002 and 2006 and was a member of three National Championship teams. In 2005, he won an NCAA individual championship on rings.
Henderson joined Cirque du Soleil in 2010 and is performing in "Corteo," which is about a procession through the life of a clown which celebrates his triumphs and struggles.
He previously performed for Cirque du Soleil's "Totem."
In 2005, Henderson received All-American recognition for vault at OU. In 2004, he was named All-American in the all-around and rings, and in 2002, he again received the honor for rings.
Since graduation, he has worked as a professional gymnast.
"I have been a professional gymnast for most of my life," he said. "At the end of my career in 2010, I decided I still feel good enough, I still want to continue to do some kind of acrobatics."
He sent in a video to Cirque du Soleil, and two weeks later, he received a call about joining the troupe.
"I graduated in 2006, and won three out of four National Championships with the team and one individual national championship, so I represented this university quite well, and they have treated me quite well in return," he said.
As a part of giving back, he spent time visiting a younger generation of student-athletes, including Alan Camillus, a senior from Flower Mound, Texas who is majoring in biology. He was impressed by Henderson's hard work and dedication, as well as his ability to make a career out of the sport.
"I think it shows that for many gymnasts or athletes in other sports that college is the end," Camillus said. "They say you can only do gymnastics until a certain age, then you move onto the next thing, but he has shown that you can transfer that knowledge into a successful career."
The senior said that Henderson took time to talk to the team and share with them his experiences as a student-athlete at OU.
"He talked about his favorite moment being part of the team," Camillus said. "It wasn't related to competition, rather, it was about being with his teammates."
OU head coach Mark Williams worked with Henderson when he was a student-athlete. Williams began coaching in 1988 and became the head coach in 1999.
He said he has seen very few compete at Henderson's level.
"It's amazing. He's had quite a career out side of being a part of our NCAA championships," Williams said. "It's not that often that Cirque comes back to Oklahoma City, so it's awesome to have someone we know be a part of the performance this weekend."
During Henderson's time with the team Tuesday, he addressed how to prepare for competition, how to train, how to recover from competition and building a team.
For young people interested in getting into gymnastics, Henderson recommended anyone should give it a try.
"It will give you the best foundation mentally and physically, more than you could ever imagine," he said. "I think It's the greatest sport on the planet because it involves getting familiar with your body in all three dimensions as well as getting your mind used to challenging yourself on a daily basis and working through problems, troubleshooting, and having phenomenal successes.
"And, you get to have fun spinning around and flipping. You never really have to grow up in that sense."
Throughout his career at Cirque du Soleil, he has toured the world and performed in front of thousands of people. He said that he has the kind of work that doesn't feel like work.
"I know I work for it, and get paid for it, but it is a gift to interact. They give back with their cheers, and I love it," he said.
Cirque du Soleil will perform "Corteo" from Feb. 9-10 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 12 at 1 p.m.
