Flooring ‘em

Mike Sciacca

Eduard Azarian remembers a precarious youngster from nearly seven

years ago who would dare try anything when it came to gymnastics.

“He was an extraordinary kid who liked to do things that the other

kids wouldn’t,” the gymnastics coach recalled of Jimmy Kerry. “He

stood out in the crowd in that regard but his talent has brought him

to where he is now.”

Kerry, a 12-year-old and seventh-grade student at Dwyer Middle

School, has put in countless hours of practice at New Hope Academy of

Gymnastics in Fountain Valley.

All of that hard work has paid off.

Kerry leaves Tuesday for Savannah, Ga., to compete at the Jr.

Olympics national competition.

He’s the first alternate on the Region 1 All-Star team, which

means he will compete only if one of the team’s starters cannot.

“I’m ready to go at any time,” Kerry said. “I’ve been practicing

hard preparing for this. I’ve been doing various routines on each

event every day at practice, trying to keep it clean.”

Kerry can be found at New Hope six days a week. On four of those

days, he’s practicing four hours at a time; the other two days, he

goes at it for three hours.

Sunday, he said, is a day of rest.

For all the time he’s put in, he says he’d miss it if he skipped a

day of practice.

“I’d go nuts,” Kerry said. “I’m so used to being at practice that

if I didn’t go to the gym for a few days or a week, I’d get really

bored. I just love it.”

Kerry credits his enthusiasm for gymnastics to Azarian, who is the

boys’ team head coach at New Hope.

Azarian said he spotted something in Kerry’s ability early on. And

the coach should know about such talent: he was a member of the

Soviet Union’s 1980 Olympic gymnastics team. He won a bronze medal in

the all-around and the team captured a gold medal.

He is a nine-time champion in the USSR.

“Jimmy’s very talented but he doesn’t rest there, as he is a hard

worker,” Azarian said. “He has every trait required of a great

gymnast, including body structure.”

Kerry, who said he’s 4-foot-8, said of the six events in which he

competes -- rings, floor, vault, pommel horse, T-bar and high-bar --

his favorite, and what has become his “highest-scoring event,” is the

floor exercise.

“I love the feeling of flying through the air on that event,” he

said. “It’s an awesome feeling.”

Kerry qualified for the Jr. Olympics in his first year of

eligibility.

Competing in Class 3, he became the all-around champion at the

State competition held in Bakersfield in March. In April, he went on

to the Regional competition held in Las Vegas and finished seventh

overall among 56 competitors.

Those showings earned Kerry a spot as an alternate on the Region 1

All-Star team and a trip to the Jr. Olympics.

“I’m just looking to have a great time there,” he said of the

three-day event that will run May 9 through 11. “I’m there for my

team and competing for myself. It’s going to be a great, learning

experience.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at [email protected].