La’Travion Agu practices his freestyle jump rope outside of his Huntsville home on Tuesday afternoon. After less than a year of jumping rope, Agu has put up strong performances in regional and national tournaments with The Palpitations Jump Rope Team.

To many people, jumping rope is an exercise people do to stay in shape or something athletes do to train for an upcoming season.

For 11-year-old La’Travion Agu of Huntsville, Texas, it’s a competitive sport that allows him to show off his creativity, coordination and skills.

“It’s fun and it’s got cool tricks,” Agu said.

Agu recently returned from Kissimmee, Florida, where he competed in the USA Jump Rope National Age Division Championships with a local jump roping team called the Palpitations Jump Rope Team.

Agu performed well at nationals, finishing eighth in both the male single rope speed and male three-minute speed categories and ninth in the male 30-second speed category.

What makes Agu’s journey to nationals all the more impressive is that he has only been jumping rope since last October.

“I didn’t know how to jump rope (before) then,” Agu said. “I tried a lot of times.”

The Palpitations coaches have been surprised by how quickly Agu has been able to pick up the sport.

“In three categories, he placed in his age division, which is amazing for a first-time jumper,” Palpitations coach Carly Woods said. “That is a great accomplishment that not many first-time jumpers get to achieve.”

Agu became interested in joining Palpitations after seeing them perform at Huntsville Intermediate School back in October.

After noticing a Palpitations flyer in one of the school’s trash cans, Agu pulled it out of the garbage and brought it home.

“He came home and said, ‘Mom, I want to join this,’” La’Travion’s mother Alicia Agu said.

In short order, he went from a beginner to competing with the best rope jumpers in the country at Walt Disney World.

“Ever since he started, he gave 110 percent and was always wanting to learn something new every time at practice,” Woods said. “We only practice twice a week during the school year, but he progressed by practicing at home and he attended workshops that bettered his performance skills. He also learned more tricks that way.”

La’Travion Agu has also benefited from having coaches who have competed at the U.S. National Jump Rope Championship many times, as well as set jump roping records.

His coach, Brandon Harrison, helped him put together his competitive routine, which features some tough-looking, one-foot hops and handstands, for the freestyle event.

“(He has been) teaching me cool tricks,” Agu said.

Woods said La’Travion Agu’s own creativity is what makes his routine so much fun to watch.

“We have the kids show us their routines and what they come up with because there are certain requirements they have to have in a routine,” Woods said. “But ultimately the kids get to make them up themselves.”

McBride writes for The Huntsville (Texas) Item