WAKULLA COUNTY, FL — A 9-year-old Wakulla County gymnast is putting her training to the test at a multi-state regional gymnastics competition in Savannah, Georgia from May 1 to May 3.
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"So gymnastics is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of concentration. It takes a lot of dedication," Jill Puckett, a gymnastics coach and co-owner of Edge Athletics, said.
Ava Vargas has been training since she was 4. She competed in the Florida State Championships earlier this month, where she scored a 37 across her floor, bar, beam, and vault events. She did not score lower than a 9.15 out of 10 in any event.
Her performance landed her in the top 10% of all competitors in the Florida championship, making her one of 214 Floridians across all age groups to qualify for regionals.
"It was really fun. And I was nervous at first, but when I started doing my events, I was really excited," Vargas said.
Vargas says she practices Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
"So you have to be really hard worker, and you have to have a lot of technique, and you have to smile and act all positive," Vargas said.
When asked how she felt about qualifying for regionals, she was nothing but grateful.
"I'm really happy and excited, and it's like so fun, and I'm really thankful for everyone that made me get there," Vargas said.
Jill Puckett is Vargas' gymnastics coach. She says gymnastics is a sport that requires a lot of hard work and mental discipline.
"Gymnasts like Ava practice four days a week, three hours a day. It requires core strength, flexibility, speed, power endurance," Puckett said. "One of the things to remember is, with a gymnast that competes, is they only have one shot, so there is one performance on the team, where there is one time they can perform their floor routine, their bar routine, one time."
Puckett said Vargas' love for the sport makes her strive for a better performance each time.
Her goal is to leave the regional competition with a score of 38 for her events.
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