This Mustang doesn't horse around

If you want a story about how passion for a certain skill can develop into excellence, talk to John Scallon.

As a sophomore, the Rolling Meadows senior barely even knew what the pommel horse was when he joined Mike Costa's Power Gymnastics, an alternative class for physical education. Incredibly, less than two years later he is one of the top pommel horse specialists in the state.

Scallon, who will compete for the University of Minnesota next year, set a personal high of 9.8 this spring.

After tying for fourth in the IHSA state meet last year with a 9.1, he will try for the title this weekend at Lincoln-Way East.

In his first meet, Scallon scored a 2.5 and finished his sophomore year with a 5.5. Last year he was scoring in the mid-9s.

"I have never seen anyone come so far in such a short period of time," said Costa, who competed for coach Howard Rubin at Schaumburg and became the first Illinois-Chicago gymnast to qualify for the nationals four straight times while earning All-America honors on the pommel horse. "I've never seen anybody improve like that.

"You've got to give John all the credit. He sacrificed. When his friends were out at the beach or doing things together, John was in the gym doing circles. He'd be in there three hours, go home for lunch and then come back for two or three more hours. It's his passion. He loves it."

Scallon watched videos of college gymnasts and did everything he could to learn new routines.

He even saw a tape of former Glenbard West gymnast Josh Levin, who scored a perfect 10 to win the IHSA state pommel horse title in 1996.

"No way did I ever think I'd get to this point," Scallon said. "I just spent a lot of time in this (gymnastics) room because I loved it. Even after the first year and a half, I still thought this was pretty far out of reach. I'd watch videos of college gymnasts and thought it was pretty crazy (how good they were)."

Crazy enough, Scallon is now performing the same routines as the college athletes he was watching.

"He's actually had to cut back on some routines because they won't count," Costa said. "The judges don't even know them. He's just a great kid. He's consistent all the time. He's determined and so supportive of his teammates."

Before he got to high school, Scallon played a few years of park district soccer but he says he was not very good.

"I always had an interest in gymnastics," Scallon said. "As a kid, I remember being at someone's birthday party and jumping on the trampoline and landing on a foam pit."

But he never got seriously involved until he learned about the Power Gymnastics class.

"My brother (Robert) was in the class and he told me about it," Scallon said. "I thought it would be cool so I signed up."

Incredibly, a few years later he was signing a letter of intent with Minnesota.

"When he started the class, he had no knowledge of gymnastics," Costa said "He was just your normal run-of-the-mill sophomore coming into it. I give him so much credit.

"He is absolutely, undeniably probably one of the best pommel horse performers in school history. It's his passion. He loves it. He is doing skills now that we have to look on the Internet to find out about. He has such an arsenal of skills, it's ridiculous."

Scallon says his favorite is the "Sohn" which is a one-handed circle.

"It's sweet when you hit it," he said. "I've been trying it all season, I may do it in the state final."

Costa sees a bright future for Scallon, who plans to major in kinesiology at Minnesota.

"I call him the 'phenom,' " Costa said. "We are going to miss him. He's our captain and leader of the team. And John is always there to lend a hand. It's not just all about John.

"In my opinion, he has a chance to be a four-time All-American. I think he can be in the top five each year and potentially be a national champion on the pommel horse."

Scallon's immediate goal is becoming a champion this weekend.

"Being an All-American in college would be awesome," Scallon said. "Right now, I would just like to win state. It's not that far out of reach. I just have to stay clean with my routine."