March 4, 2010 | Story by: Hal Goodtree | Categories: Business
Sh'ay Perez at Tri-Force jump rope gym. Photos by Hal Goodtree.
Morrisville, NC -Tucked behind some buildings off Dominion Road in Morrisville is a small gym that’s making a big impression across America. It’s Tri-Force Jump Rope, the home of Saltare.
In case you missed our previous coverage, Saltare is the first jump rope crew to compete on MTV’s hit show America’s Best Dance Crew.
How did a small gym in an industrial park leap onto the big stage?
Tri-Force and Impact
Meet Sh’ay Perez. Her son Tyler is a founding member of Saltare, the dance crew.
Sh’ay began her career at SuperSkippers. Five years ago, she started her own program as part of the original Impact in Apex.
She moved with Impact to the new facility in Cary. Things were basically okay – she ran her own program. But everything changed when the fitness center switched ownership and Frank D’Alonzo took over.
“I got this funny feeling in about April,” Sh’ay said.
By June, the situation at Impact had become so troubling that she pulled her program. Her season wasn’t over and she did not have her own gym.
Neighbors to the Rescue
Sh’ay was able to get floor time for her program at Carolina Legacy, a cheer gym owned by Rachel Lee.
“Rachel couldn’t have been more supportive. She offered [her gym] very willingly.”
Carolina Legacy had also been born of trouble at Impact. In the summer of 2007, Impact’s cheer program was abruptly canceled, leaving more than fifty young athletes without a home. Rachel, who had a daughter in the program, decided to open her own gym.
Sh’ay contemplated taking her jump rope program to another big facility. In the end, she decided to control her own destiny and open Tri-Force in Morrisville.
Tri-Force Today
Tri-Force opened their doors in September of 2009. The have about 25 kids on the jump rope competition team and 50 children in the recreational program.
Tri-Force is unusual in that theirs is a year-round program. They also have track out and summer camps. From their website:
Tri-Force Precision jump rope team competes in both USA Jump Rope and AAU Jump Rope Competitions. The 2009/10 team, led by Coaches Sh’ay and Tyler Perez, consists of athletes ranging in age from 9 to 20, with jump rope experience ranging from first year athlete to seasoned veteran.
Coach Sh’ay has been coaching jump rope for ten years, is a certified jump rope instructor, judge, and the USA Jump Rope representative for Region 2 (North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee). Coach Tyler has jumped for 15 years and is a former member of the US All Star Jump Rope Team and 2006 Team USA that competed at the Worlds Championship in Toronto Canada.
Wall of Pain
When kids go to Tri-Force, they jump rope for hours. Sometimes all day. As if that’s not painful enough, the rope can leave nasty welts on hard tricks or a loss of concentration.
But the kids are pretty tough. They have a “Wall of Pain” with pictures of their worst rope bruises. Apparently, it’s some kind of a badge of honor to make the wall. Even Coach Tyler has his painful picture on the wall.
Toughness, stamina and a sense of humor. If those traits count for anything, Saltare should do very well on ABDC. And Tri-Force will continue to prosper in Morrisville.
Wall of Pain at Tri-Force.
