WATCH: Bea and the Balance Beam

MANILA, Philippines – Point your toes. Pull up. Stay tight. Jump high.

It doesn’t seem so difficult to do these things one at a time, but all at once? That’s a different story.

Bea Sta. Maria is 12 years young and a gymnast at heart. She trains 3 hours every other day after school, almost everyday when nearing a competition, and has proven that hard work and hours spent in training instead of sleepovers pay off.

She studies before classes start, in the car on the way to the gym and reviews her notes before training starts. She says that her mom reminds her to keep her grades up and balance academics with gymnastics.

Her passion for the sport is undeniable. Her dreams are big and her love for the twists and turns, the splits, the handstands and the back bends only push her to become better and stronger than her last training session.

But Bea still finds time to have fun and to bond with family and friends, and well, still be a kid.

That first cartwheel 

Bea’s parents noticed her trying to do cartwheels the time she used to play ice hockey. Seeing her interest at such a young age, as well as to prevent any injuries, they decided to enroll her in a MILO gymnastics clinic in the summer of 2008 when she was just 5 and half years old.

The balance beam, her favorite, is what she aims to conquer every single training day. She sees it as her ticket to make it to the Olympics. She says, “Even though you’re good, you can still fall from the beam.”

It has been 7 years since she first got up on the balance beam and tumbled to the floor but now Bea is at the top of her game. She has won numerous competitions in the past years, including the Palarong Pambansa and MILO Little Olympics. You could say that she’s a champion in the making.

With support from her parents, especially her mother who left her day job to focus more on her kids, and her uniquely headstrong and wise-beyond-her-age attitude, Bea will go places.

She knows that she has what it takes to become great. She understands that with every win, there might be a loss. But that doesn’t stop her from training harder and doing better – a true champion’s spirit. – Rappler.com