Sisters sacrifice free time to become top gymnasts

By Christopher Drexel

Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008 | midnight

When Julia Ross began gymnastics at age 4, her baby sister Alicia followed in her footsteps almost as soon as she could walk.

Now a decade later, the Whitney Ranch residents are still going strong in the sport together. Julia Ross, 14, and Alicia, 10, train together at Brown's Gymnastics in southwest Las Vegas.

The sport has become a full-time job for the sisters. They are in the gym six days a week, totaling about 37 hours of tumbling, balancing and defying gravity each week. But the sisters insist it's worth it.

"It's quite a bit of work," Alicia said. "Sometimes it's hard to keep up with my schoolwork, but I keep up good grades and it's well worth it because I love gymnastics."

Julia Ross said it's a relief to have a family member by her side at the gym.

"It's really great having Alicia with me," Julia said. "It's cool because I see her following in my footsteps a little bit. Right when I started gym, she wanted to start too. We've always been with each other."

The sisters face academic challenges together as well. Though Julia is in eighth grade and Alicia is in fifth, both attend public school via the Internet. It is the only way to keep up with both education and their rigorous schedule in the gym.

"Training is stressful, but I've learned to balance it out so it doesn't overwhelm me," Julia said. "I can schedule when I will get classes done. I have six teachers I can always call whenever I need help."

The time the sisters have sacrificed in the gym has yielded rewards.

Last month, Alicia was named to the USA Gymnastics Total Opportunity Program 'A' squad, qualifying her as one of the nation's top 20 gymnasts for her age. The program is designed to pinpoint the country's top gymnasts early and put them on the fast track to international competion by age 14.

Alicia's coach at Brown's, Marcelo Figueiredo, said she has made huge strides in the last year and her selection to team is proof. Alicia is a level-8 gymnast, three levels below elite status, which is the rank held by all Olympians.

"When she got to Brown's about a year ago she was a different child, afraid, shy," Figueiredo said. "Now she really thinks bigger. She works really hard every single day and doesn't complain."

Dayna Waroe, the owner and co-coach at Brown's, said Alicia has been inspired by her older sister.

"Julia will do anything the coaches ask of her, and that's where Alicia gets her work ethic from," Waroe said. "Now, if I ask Alicia to do 10 in a row of something, she'll do 20 and come over to me and ask, 'What can I do next?'"

When Alicia made the squad, the first person to congratulate her was her sister.

Julia is currently a level-10 gymnast. She was a six-time Nevada state champion from 2005 to 2007 during time in levels 6-9. But she spent much of last season on the sideline due to various injuries that included a broken ankle, a deep laceration on her face and an 80 percent tear in the abductor muscle in her leg.

Now healthy, Julia is attempting to add skills to make International Elite, gymnastics' highest level.

"Being injured showed me how much I love the sport because I missed it so much while I was out," Julia said. "Gymnastics is my life. I couldn't imagine my life without it."

Christopher Drexel can be reached at 990-8929 or [email protected].