Trial of a lifetime

The third in a continuing series on South Philadelphia native Tia Orlando’s pursuit of a spot on the 2004 U.S. Gymnastics Team, which will compete in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece.

Tia Orlando raises her hand, signaling that she is ready. Within seconds, the 16-year-old sprints down the blue runway and leaps off the springboard into a Yurchenko double twist.

The judges — in this case, her coaches — are ready to award the gymnast the gold.

"That one was the best one," coach Bill Strauss said. "That was excellent."

If Orlando, originally of the 2800 block of South 10th Street, can land the same high-scoring vault tomorrow and Sunday, she will be in the running for a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Team.

The gymnast, who trains at Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center in Allentown, is one of 14 Americans competing in the 2004 U.S. Team Trials taking place at the Arrowhead Pond in California. The Women’s All-Around Preliminaries will be held tomorrow at 7 p.m. Pacific Time, with the finals following on Sunday 3 p.m. Pacific. NBC Sports will televise the event.

Orlando left for the West Coast Monday night and has spent the week practicing with the other Olympic hopefuls. There are no day trips planned for Disneyland, as this week is all about practice.

Orlando, now an Allentown resident, qualified for the event by finishing eighth at this month’s U.S. Championships in Nashville — after which, she said, she kept waking up at night and realizing, "Wow, I’m going to the Olympic Trials!"

"I couldn’t get back to sleep," said Orlando after last Thursday’s practice session. "I was thinking about how far I’ve come."

Proud father Joe Orlando, a cameraman for the NFL, attends Tia’s daily practices at Parkettes. He quietly watches his daughter go from apparatus to apparatus, fine-tuning every skill.

"I can remember us watching the 2000 Summer Olympics and we said [the 2004 Games] are a long way away," Joe said. "Now it’s here. Now it’s really exciting."

The NFL season usually involves constant travel, so the summer provides an opportunity for father and daughter to spend quality time together.

"It’s really special," said the gymnast, while relaxing on the mats. "Now he knows how hard I work, and it’s nice to have him around."

The moral support will be present again tomorrow night. Joe Orlando said he is expecting 17 people to make the trip out West, including Tia’s mom Tina and 13-year-old sister Taylor, who is Tia’s biggest fan and supporter.

The two gymnasts who place at the top of the all-around competition will be automatically nominated to the Olympic Committee pending their demonstration of readiness at the final selection camp.

National Team coordinator Marta Karolyi (famous coach Bela Karolyi’s wife), who has coached several world and national champions including former Olympic gold medallist Mary Lou Retton, will be among those selecting the Olympic participants.

Orlando’s coach, Donna Strauss, who was named Coach of the Year three times by the United States Gymnastics Federation, is confident her gold-medal-winning gymnast has what it takes to make the cut.

"She is not weak in any area, which gives her an advantage," Strauss said. "She has the best floor-exercise routine in the country."

The South Philly native also is scoring high marks with the judges. In May, Orlando finished first in the all-around competition at the U.S. Classic Gymnastics Senior Championships. She finished with a 37.424 in the all-around and a gold medal. Orlando also won gold in the floor exercise (9.575) and bronze in the vault (9.3).

More importantly, it qualified her for the Visa U.S. Gymnastics Championships, which took place earlier this month. The Olympic hopeful finished eighth in the all-around competition with an overall score of 74.275, and qualified for the Trials.

"It was a very difficult meet," said Donna Strauss. "She went from 13th the first day to eighth the next day. That was a big accomplishment because it’s not easy to shift places like that."

Orlando, who is home-schooled, is also one of 14 athletes to be named to the 2004-05 Senior National Team, allowing her to get corporate sponsors. Her good friend and Parkettes teammate, Nicole Harris, also qualified for the Olympic Trials, but was questionable with a sprained ankle. The popularity of the two gymnasts has spread to the southbound side of the Northeast Extension with their own Parkettes billboard.

And it’s not too hard to figure out which car belongs to the Orlando family when pulling into the Parkettes lot. The back windshield of a red Audi displays the colorful message, "Honk to wish me luck." A back passenger window reads, "Athens here I come."

Orlando also is being showered with media attention and good-luck gifts.

Last Wednesday, at least 20 television cameras captured her on the uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise and vault. The next day, the gymnast was all smiles when pal Harris presented her with a white T-shirt depicting a computer image of Tia on the front and, on the back, the inspiration: "When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go."

Battling for one of seven spots on the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team will be like a typical day at the gym for Orlando. Well, maybe not quite — but the teen said she’ll handle it that way. Her three keys: Stay positive, be confident, always smile.

Her dad already requested a vacation from work starting Aug. 11 — when the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens officially begin.

What once was considered a dream could very soon become a reality.

"It’s crazy," Orlando said. "I remember when I was younger I would be training for the Olympics; now it’s here. It’s so exciting."

Stay tuned.