How important is diversity for you personally?
I think the most important element is our diversity in our jump rope team. When I first set out as a jumping rope coach, the majority of the jumpers that were out there were white, and that was a big issue for me. But today, it’s so huge. There are a lot of people in the gym who are African-American, who are Asian-American, who are Hispanic.
I think I’m working so much better with people from all cultures. I feel like I could be in any part of this world. Maybe I’m a little too optimistic, because it could be like a different culture, where it’s very tough and very competitive, but I’m just too optimistic to believe in that. Are you more comfortable with a diverse jump rope team? When you first come to the gym, I am a little bit more of a team guy. I have a lot of friends that are men, and they are always telling me, “Coach, I’m a team guy. I like to jump for a team.” I want to work with the best rope jumpers I can get.
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But every day, I’m so happy when I get to go the gym and string together some jumps for my teammates and see them easy to go into a practice and watch all the guys that you’re jumping with, and go, “That’s a nice technique!"