By Eric Meany – The Baltimore Sun
Deana Parris had a decision to make.
A year after she joined the trampoline team at the Fairland Sports and Aquatics Center in Laurel, her parents declared that she and her brother had to pare down their many extracurricular activities to two each.
Choir would make the cut, Parris decided, leaving one spot open for sports. After thinking it over, she eventually chose to continue with trampoline even though she had been playing soccer longer.
“My dad asked me why,” Parris said. “And I was like, ‘I just love to be in the air.'”
Seven years later, the 18-year-old Maryland freshman traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, for the World Trampoline and Tumbling Championships in November as a member of the U.S. national team. It was the first time competing in the senior world championships for Parris, whose ultimate goal is a trip to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics.