THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 22, 1997 TAG: 9701220593
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 38 lines
Imagine Barry Bonds spending a season taking his cuts against Triple-A pitching, and you've got a pretty good picture of how Tami Harris of Ocean Lakes has fared in her debut as a Beach District gymnast.
In fact, a solid case can be made for Salem's Maria Eisenbraun for Athlete of the Week, for when she finished first to Harris' third on the beam last week, it marked the only time in any of the four disciplines at an Ocean Lakes meet Harris hasn't finished first.
Then again, Harris should be winning. She is one of roughly 50 gymnasts nationally at the junior international elite stage, one notch below the level at which U.S. Olympians like Dominique Dawes perform. In fact, Harris, 14, will compete alongside Dawes and several other members of the gold medal-winning Olympic team - all except Kerri Strug - during an exhibition Thursday at the Richmond Coliseum.
``She's definitely at another level,'' Ocean Lakes coach Joanna Felts said.
Three other junior international elite gymnasts reside in Hampton Roads, but only Harris competes in high school meets.
``I wanted to do this just for fun,'' said Harris, an eight-year gymnastics veteran who trains 30 hours a week at Ocean Tumblers in Chesapeake. ``I really enjoy practicing with the team.''
Her practice schedule allows Harris to train only twice a week with the Dolphins. And because of an elite zone qualifying meet, Harris will not take part in the Beach District, Eastern Region or Group AAA state events.
``Some coaches might have a problem with this, but Tami's been very sincere and she really wants to do it,'' Felts said. ``A lot of kids would be so burned out they wouldn't want to come to an extra practice. But Tami's very dedicated and very hard-working. She's been a great role model.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Tami Harris]