<table> </table> Shortly before she begins her routine on the uneven bars, Olathe East senior Beth Copeland chats with her teammates. She&#8217;s smiling, laughing and genuinely having a good time.</p><p>This is how she blocks out the pain, but Kathy Copeland knows it&#8217;s there. It&#8217;s Oct. 28 and her granddaughter is competing in the regional gymnastics meet at SM North. Kathy Copeland &#8212; who is watching from the stands &#8212; can&#8217;t help but wince at the aches Beth deals with on a regular basis.</p><p>&#8220;Unless you&#8217;re a parent, a coach or a judge, you probably don&#8217;t know what these girls go through,&#8221; Kathy Copeland says. &#8220;They make it look really easy.&#8221;</p><p>The list of Beth Copeland&#8217;s injuries is extensive. She has suffered a dislocated elbow, a wrist injury and a broken ankle over the last four years. Last summer, she had surgery on her elbow for the second time. To dull the pain, she takes Aleve every day.</p><p>While it&#8217;s safe to say that the number &#8212; and severity &#8212; of the injuries Copeland has dealt with is extreme, she is not alone. Gymnasts and their coaches say that at some point, all participants have to fight through sprained ankles, shin splints, stress fractures and wrist pain.</p><p>&#8220;You always have pain,&#8221; said Copeland, who finished fourth in the all-around at state last year. &#8220;People think it&#8217;s easy, and they say &#8216;Oh, we can do that.&#8217; But it&#8217;s really difficult.&#8221;</p><p>Copeland will get to rest soon &#8212; the high school season ends with the Kansas state gymnastics meet, which begins at noon Saturday at Olathe East.</p><p>But former SM Northwest coach Janice Baker says it&#8217;s the way gymnasts fight through the little injuries that build up over a two-month season that proves that they are some of the toughest athletes around.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of people think it&#8217;s a girlie sport and that they are just dancing around out there, but if you look around, I don&#8217;t know how many people are stronger, pound-for-pound, than gymnasts,&#8221; said Baker, who retired from coaching after 35 years last season. &#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of pressure, flipping and twisting &#8212; you can screw up a little bit and get hurt.&#8221;</p><p>Still, most of them continue to do it because they love the sport. Take SM South junior Nicole Minardi. She was performing on the beam at the Sunflower League meet last year when she tore two ligaments and fractured her ankle in three places on a dismount. She had two titanium screws inserted to help stabilize the ankle.</p><p>Minardi got her cast off in January and returned to the team in the summer, but it has not been an easy comeback. She ices her ankle every night, tapes it for competitions and often wears a brace. It hurts during practice, and it hurts in class.</p><p>But like Copeland, Minardi simply can&#8217;t imagine her life without gymnastics.</p><p>&#8220;Most people are like &#8216;Oh my gosh, why would you go back to (that sport)?&#8217;&#8194;&#8221; Minardi said. &#8220;But I&#8217;ve done it ever since I was little. I know I&#8217;ll never be an Olympian, but it&#8217;s really fun.&#8221;</p><p>Olathe East senior Annie Pauls, who finished sixth in the all-around at the state meet last year, says the thrill she gets from competing in front of judges and succeeding in such a difficult sport outweigh the negatives.</p><p>&#8220;I always have huge rips on my hands and calluses &#8230; but it&#8217;s just so rewarding,&#8221; said Pauls, who has to battle through Sever&#8217;s disease, which causes chronic heel pain. &#8220;Struggling and having it pay off is a character-builder.&#8221;</p><p>So is winning, which is exactly what Olathe East&#8217;s gymnastics team did at SM North on that night in October. After the meet, Copeland was still smiling, mainly because the Hawks defended their regional team title and qualified for state again.</p><p>Now Copeland is looking forward to helping the Hawks win another state title. But no matter what happens, she will be proud of herself for fighting through the pain and competing in her favorite sport.</p><p>&#8220;Sometimes you lay in your bed and you&#8217;re like, &#8216;Why do I do this?&#8217;&#8194;&#8221; Copeland said. &#8220;And then you&#8217;re like, wait &#8212; (I do it) because I love it.&#8221;