From balance beams to trampolines, that’s what sophomore Heidi Jett has done. For the past 14 years, she has participated gymnastics and even dancing for a period of time.

At 2 years old, Jett’s love for gymnastics started at Mommy and Me, a class for little kids in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She started doing artistic gymnastics, where participants perform with bars, beams and vaults, as well as doing forwards. She later participated in trampoline and tumbling, where she performed on a double mini, a long flat trampoline and mini trampoline. Other than gymnastics, Jett also did dancing for seven years.

“My favorite part about gymnastics is tumbling,” Jett said. “I’ve done gymnastics for a long time; I think of it as an interesting way to express myself. I enjoyed dance too, and I actually found a thing where I can do both. It’s called silk acro.”

When Jett was 5 years old, she and her family moved to Germany and the Netherlands for three months. When she was overseas, she didn’t get to do gymnastics that much besides practicing at home. When she came back to the states, she began practicing at Tumbling Elite in Hobbs, New Mexico. She and her family later moved to Amarillo when she was 13. Now, she practices at All American Gymnastics.

“I was used to cold weather when I lived in Europe,” Jett said. “But when I came to Hobbs, it was like a desert. Then when I moved to Amarillo, it was a big difference since there are more things to do here.”

Through it all, Jett has been able to balance school and gymnastics. Jett said that her parents’ have a rule, which is that school always comes first. Because of this, she knows that in order to practice, she must first earn good grades in the classroom.

“Sometimes (school) can be hard,” Jett said. “But, I come home from school, do my homework and then I go to practice. (Practice gives me) kind of a break from it all.”