SHOOTING STAR Sophina DeJesus SHOOTING STAR Sophina DeJesus
From Hip-Hop to Flip-Flop!
ELITE gymnasts don’t have much free time beyond school and their sport, but for 15-year-old Sophina DeJesus, gymnastics was is one of
her many talents. An actress
and dancer as well, she was on
the world championship hip-hop
team, performed in Debbie Allen’s play
The Bayou Legend, and starred in a commercial for Go-Gurt.
In 2006, Sophina and younger sister
Savannah were even part of the Discovery
Kids show Hip Hop Harry, which still airs on
weekday mornings. The show was her favorite
project so far. “It was just an amazing experience
to go out there and perform and do what I love to
do,” she says.
While all this was going on, Sophina also juggled a
gymnastics career. She had risen to the elite level
while doing the sport part-time, but she wanted to see
how good she could be at gymnastics. So about a
year and a half ago, Sophina decided to put acting
and dancing on hold. She returned to SCEGA in
Temecula, Calif., where she had started her gymnastics career, and began training full time.
So far, it has paid off. Last summer, Sophina made
the junior national team for the first time, and was
chosen to represent the U.S. at the Junior Japan
International. She placed fourth all-around at the
meet, and won floor in event finals. She was happy,
but not fully satisfied with her performances. “I am
excited that I did pretty well, though there are always
some things I could improve on,” she recalls. “Next
time, I’ll be even better.”
Kathy Strate, who coaches Sophina with Luis
Garcia and Merideth Paulicivic, believes Sophina will
continue to get better—quickly—because of her great
work ethic and humble personality. “She’s very self-dri-
ven and motivated, and she doesn’t give up,” Strate
says. “If she’s not making her skills, she gets mad and
keeps at it until she can do it.”
The coaches have been working with Sophina to add
new skills, and she’s hoping to compete several
upgrades this year, including a Yurchenko-double twist on
vault, a Gienger and piked Tkatchev on bars, and a front
layout to punch double front on floor.
Not surprisingly, Sophina carries her dance ability and
love of performing to floor, where she does an expres-
sive, entertaining routine to music from The Twilight
Zone. “We thought the music was weird and cool and mysteri-
ous, so we thought it would be really fun to dance to it,” she
laughs.
Former gymnast Amy Van Deusen lives in San Diego.
“She’s very self-driven and motivated, and
she doesn’t give up,” Strate says. “If she’s
not making her skills, she gets mad and keeps
at it until she can do it.”
