- June 24, 2026
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This isn’t the first time gymnastics has dictated Mia Busser’s schedule.
She’s accustomed to traveling all over the country for training, camps and competitions.
Busser forfeited a traditional education for homeschooling so she could dedicate more hours to the gym, hoping to keep improving. Finding time just to be a kid wasn’t easy.
Last week, though, was unlike any other the 16-year-old has experienced. Recruiting is sure to dominate her future schedule.
“This is, for sure, the busiest I’ve been,” Busser said.
Her recruitment opened June 15 following the completion of her sophomore year, which she spent training with Lakewood Ranch Gymnastics. That was the first time NCAA Division I coaches could officially contact her, and more than a few reached out — many more.
She juggled 18 phone calls that day alone. Two days later, she got in a car with her mother, Lyndsey Busser, and drove to Clemson, South Carolina, for the Eye of the Tiger Camp from June 18-20.
It was a particularly eventful week for someone who’s already had her fair share of events across 12 years and counting of gymnastics.
Mia Busser competed at the USA Gymnastics Women's Development Program National Championships from May 8-10 in Oklahoma City, turning in a career-best performance. She placed fourth in the all-around (38.375), second on floor (9.625) and fourth on vault (9.775).
“It was just a beautiful, perfect storm of preparation physically and mentally,” said Laura Parraga, co-owner of Lakewood Ranch Gymnastics with her husband, David Parraga. “Just did her thing — didn't do more, didn't do less. Trusted her training, obviously believed in herself, and she killed it.”
Busser’s performance dwarfed any other from her previous appearances at the national championships. In 2025, she earned sixth on vault and 12th in the all-around, and in 2024, she finished ninth on beam.
She’s now entering her fifth year competing at Level 10. Before Elite, that’s the highest level of the USA Gymnastics Development Program, which is organized from Levels 1-10 for athletes to progress from beginner to advanced skills.
Elite serves as a pipeline for USA Gymnastics at the Olympics and all other world championships. Busser tried her hand at Elite from 11-12 years old, but Laura Parraga said the physical and mental burden became too heavy to bear.
So the young gymnast altered course and set a new goal — an NCAA scholarship.
“I was in the gym for five or six hours (per day) when I was little, working up to this point,” Busser said. “It takes a lot of time. It’s definitely stressful, but it just worked out in the end. You just have to push yourself.”
Her parents, Brian and Lyndsey Busser, put her in the sport at 4 years old. That was when they lived in Illinois, and well before they moved to Florida in 2021.
Mia Busser’s earliest coaches saw something in her they don’t see in every girl who entered their gyms. They quickly communicated that to her parents, advising she be homeschooled so she could maximize her time in training.
While in kindergarten, Busser attended school from 8 to 10:30 a.m. and hit the gym from noon to 5:45 p.m. on weekdays. Most of her learning occurred on mats — not at a desk.
“We were taken aback, because gymnastics was a sport that we knew nothing about,” said Lyndsey Busser. “We were just putting her in it for fun and as something to do… it was a total whirlwind. We were not expecting it and we had no idea, really, what it was going to lead to.”
The Gymnastics Academy of Rockford in Illinois was Mia Busser’s longtime home away from home. It’s where she reached Level 9, developing into an advanced gymnast.
Lakewood Ranch Gymnastics moved into her family’s radar when they moved to nearby Parrish. When Parraga watched Busser in action for the first time, she identified her potential.
“She was just this tiny, quick, very self-driven, very focused little girl,” Parraga said. “She had a lot of gymnastics skills and was powerful, but kind of wild. We had to rein her in and get her to focus on the little things and the details of making her gymnastics beautiful.”
That first year with the club was all about going back to basics. Parraga wanted to clean up Busser’s fundamental skills at Level 9 before she moved to Level 10.
Since making that move, not once has Busser failed to qualify for the national championships. And it’s on vault, Parraga said, where the 16-year-old shines most.
“My vault is what I’m working the hardest on,” Busser said. “I’m doing a front handspring pike right now, so I want to improve that for a pike half which will hopefully get a lot of college attention.”
Last week gave her a taste of what colleges are interested in signing her. Last month’s national championships gave coaches a taste of what she’s capable of doing.
Busser could find herself headed to a college gymnastics program two years from now. Until then, more busy weeks are to come.
