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.

Morrisville, NC – Saltare lit up TVs across the nation on Thursday night with their latest performance on “America’s Best Dance Crew.”

The jump-robing team includes Tyler Perez and Brittany Fortier of Tri Force gym in Morrisville. Saltare is the first jump-rope team to compete on the dance show, demonstrating a unique combination of athleticism and hip hop.

The judges seem to like what they see. But, in this round, it’s the audience who will determine which teams move on in the competition.

Watch the entire episode online (Saltare’s performance comes at about minute 38:15 if you want to skip ahead).

VOTE FOR SALTARE

According to info on the Saltare Facebook page, you can vote for Saltare two ways:

Call 1-877-96-CREW-2 (1-877-962-7396)

Text 6 to 22444

FIRST TIME FOR JUMP ROPE

This is the first time a jump-rope team has competed on ABDC.

“Our whole crew is made up of world champion jump ropers and we just decided we wanted to bring our stuff to ABCD and show you want we’ve got,” said Saltare leader Tyler Perez.

All the crew members have more than a decade each of jump-roping experience. Some have dance training as well. “A lot of moves cross-over into the dance world,” said Lisa Brown, another team member. “So you’re gonna see some jump rope, you’re gona see some dance and you’re gonna see some stuff you’ve never seen before.”

The crew was interviewed by Pacific Rim Television prior to their performance on MTV.

SALTARE MEANS JUMP

Saltare comes the Latin “to jump.” In Spanish, it means “I will jump.”

The crew is representing the Raleigh region in the Eastern U.S. part of the competition. Tyler Perez is a coach and one of the founders of Tri Force Jump Rope in Morrisville. Teammate Brittany Fortier is also a local. The other team members are from Ohio, Idaho and Indiana.

FIRST CREW “SAVED”

Saturday morning, we read on the Saltare site that they are the first crew “saved” in this season’s competition. That means they move on to the next level of competition.

Stay tuned for further updates or become a fan of Saltare on Facebook.