This feature originally appeared in the 2022-23 Winter edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.




Cal women's gymnast Maya Green comes from a family of gymnasts. 

Both of her parents competed for the Golden Bears – her father Scott was a member of the Cal men's gymnastics team from 1988-92, while her mother Kristen Smyth competed for the Bears from 1989-92 before going on to become the head coach at Stanford for 16 years. Kristen Smyth also is currently the only women's gymnast in the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame. 

With that pedigree in mind, one would think that competing in gymnastics was a forgone conclusion for the Cal senior. 

"It was actually kind of funny – my parents wanted me to do anything but gymnastics," Green says with a laugh. "They put me in volleyball, swimming, dance, soccer and then gymnastics on the side. Because my mom coached at Stanford, I was naturally in the gym here and there to visit her at work.  When I was 12, my parents said, 'You can't keep doing all these sports, what do you want to do?' I said that I want to do gymnastics."

Green's choice was simple. To her, every other sport felt like it had a ceiling in terms of difficulty level. In gymnastics, she felt there were more levels of what an athlete could achieve and more potential of where an athlete could go. 

So why would two former high-level gymnasts push their daughter away from the sport in which they excelled? Green believes the reason is that her parents wanted to avoid impacting her decision on what she wanted to do with her life.

"They took a side to my involvement," Green said. "I know a lot of kids that do a sport that their parents participated in and they're very into it and they love to be as involved as possible. My parents were the perfect amount of involved, where they wanted me to choose what I wanted to do and they were going to support me and whatever decision I made." 

Scott and Kristen agree.

"We never pushed her in any one direction," Scott said. "She's been a decision-maker from the beginning, and we encouraged her to make decisions and she kept choosing gymnastics all the way through."

Kristen added: "She's stubborn. We love that about her."

At an early age, Green had uncommon clarity about what she wanted out of life. She knew she wanted to compete in gymnastics at the next level. Thanks to the time spent in the gym with her mother's Stanford teams, she acquired the insight that collegiate gymnastics was for her.

"The funny thing about gymnastics is your club years are the hardest, and getting to college is like the reward that you've been working towards this entire time," Green said. "I think I saw that by being in the gym, watching my mom coach and seeing more of the team aspect. The only thing that kept me in it for a while was knowing that the goal of college gymnastics was something I wanted to make a reality."

Green's early forays into the world of gymnastics, by her admission, were humble to say the least.

"Let's be clear – when I was younger I was horrible. I started at a gym that was less about competition and more about fun," she said. 

Her parents saw something more.

"We know how hard this sport is," Scott said. "She said she comes from humble beginnings, but I think everyone in this crazy sport does. We've just taken up the position that we know how hard it is and we'd just like to be parents and cheerleaders for our kids. We have other kids involved in the sport and we just want to support them."  

Added Kristen: "She's amazing. She gives all of herself to the work. She loves gymnastics more than anything."

With that level of support, Green was able to achieve her goal of becoming a Division I gymnast. Moreover, she did it at the school where her parents once excelled. However, everyone in the Green family believes that Maya's choice to go to Cal did not add any unwanted pressure to meet certain expectations, even with her mother being a Cal Hall of Famer.

"It crossed my mind a couple of times, thinking 'Oh my gosh, my mom was so freaking cool!'" Green said. "But to give myself the grace I recognize the sport has changed so much as time has gone on. I kind of reframe it into: 'I get to have this experience and also know that my mom paved the way for my whole team. So it just turns into a moment to be grateful, because that's freaking cool.'"

Experiencing all that Cal has to offer was always what Scott and Kristen had hoped for their daughter when she chose to become a Bear. 

"When Maya got to Cal, we encouraged her to branch out and have a bigger circle and she's done that beautifully. That's going to serve her well for the rest of her life," Kristen said.

Added Scott: "I think everyone who knows Cal knows that Berkeley is a magical place with unique people from all over the country and all over the world. I remember telling her that these four years are special. Berkeley is special. Try and take full advantage of it." 

With that in mind, Green turned her parents' advice into success both in the classroom and out, gaining acceptance into the Haas Business School while branching out to make connections with other Cal athletes and students across campus. 

"I can confidently say that my circle here is bigger than just my gymnastics team. My team is amazing, and our chemistry is unexplainable and truly incredible. But I also have friends in a bunch of other sports and that's cool, too," Green said. "I think that my experience at Cal is that I just wanted to make it bigger than me as an athlete, and I think I've excelled in that."

Now in her senior year, the two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree looks to build on her strong junior campaign by competing in the bars and the floor lineup. Last season against Iowa, she was inserted into the floor lineup after warmups and scored a 9.85 to help the Bears set a school record in the event. In the season opener against rival Stanford, she tied a career-high with a 9.875 on the bars, capturing second place. 

Her parents both just hope that Maya is able to enjoy her final season competing for the Golden Bears.

"It's been a journey – this sport is a journey," Scott said. "Seeing her blossom at Cal has been awesome. She's been a part of some great teams. (Co-Head Coaches) Justin (Howell) and Elisabeth (Crandall-Howell) have done great things for the program. Maya's taken advantage of all the opportunities Cal has to offer her and we are super proud of her."