Many watching probably don't know the message behind her movements. Fan support and cheering were simply a response to a well-executed routine that included well-intentioned statements about current events and society. Her phone lit up and her Twitter feed sizzled after she started posting 10s. Gymnasts from other programs retweeted her routine. So did Vikings running back C.J. Ham, who brought his family to a meet.
Gophers assistant coach Geralen Stack-Eaton approached Hooten with the idea after Hooten got the go-ahead to revamp her floor exercise routine for this season. Performing to a Beyonce song was a no-brainer. It was up to them to come up with the right moves.
"We knew we wanted to make my routine a message for people," said Hooten, who is from Woodbury and attended Tartan and Chanhassen high schools before joining the Gophers. "I wanted people to watch it and go, 'Oh, that's powerful.' So we were working in the gym and figured out some cool moves."
We are in the age in which speaking up is encouraged. It is understandable if younger people aren't comfortable with taking a hard stance on polarizing topics. That has not been a problem for Hooten, who has seen Minneapolis in the news for all the wrong reasons in recent years and wanted to address it through her floor routine.
She said she had been emboldened by heartfelt and sometimes emotional conversations with teammates about current events as they learned more about themselves and one another.
"It crossed our minds that there may be people who weren't a fan of it," Hooten's mother, Kari Conroy, said. "But she is strong in what she stands for. And to be like that at her age, to realize that, 'I can put a message out there through this' — she succeeded."
