Simone Biles open up about the tough decision she had to make between.. homeschooling and going to high school to pursue her gymnastics career with more focus as her training demands grew. The determination was fueled after Biles missed a spot on the national team in 2011.

In her autobiography, Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance, published in 2016, Biles reflected on the moment. She stated that she longed to experience high school life with her friends while also pursuing a top-tier gymnastics career. She wondered whether her parents would support her decision to opt for public school.

Biles further stated the uncertainty regarding her public school offering her waive-offs while she frequently traveled for competitions. Reflecting on the moment Biles wrote:

“How would I juggle my training and a busier schedule of competitions away from home? Would my public high school allow me to miss so many days of school? Would my parents?

And if they did, how far behind would I fall in my classes? How would I make up the work? I wanted the best of both worlds—the thrill and the drama of high school with all my friends and a top-tier gymnastics career.”

“Could I really have it all? I didn’t know. What I did know was that not getting a spot on the national team had made me more determined to excel in elite gymnastics.”

Simone Biles opted for homeschooling after facing a setback at the 2011 Visa National Championships, where she missed the spot in the national team after settling in 14th place with 108,100 points when only the first 13 finishers qualified. Her mother Nellie Biles chose Biles’ father Ronald as her home tutor.

In her autobiography, Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance, published in 2016, Biles opened up on the experience of tutoring under her father Ronald, calling it a “disaster.”

“He simply adjusted his hours so that he could devote four of them to tutoring me in between my morning and afternoon workouts at the gym,” Simone Biles wrote. “Right from the start, it was a disaster.

What teenager wants her father teaching her history and algebra? Dad thought I was a whiner and a procrastinator, which made him exasperated and annoyed. We ended up fussing at each other almost every single day.

Her parents Ronald and Nellie later built the World Champion Centre, an elite-level gymnastics facility that helped the legendary gymnast navigate her intense training regime.