Oberlin jump-ropers leap into Macy's Thanksgiving parade (VIDEO)

OBERLIN — Zoe Stephens could barely contain her excitement Friday as she got ready for the biggest leap of her life. She's literally jumping with teammates Saya Miyazawa, Helen Levy and Aarohi Mehta into the 95th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. The four Oberlin teens are members of OBJUMP, the competitive jump rope team of athletes from Oberlin Schools. Stephens recalls what went through her mind when she found out she'd be in the world's largest parade, which will be shown live from starting at 9 a.m. Thursday on NBC and CBS. "I was like, 'Macy's? That's a really big deal.' That's a thing that everybody knows," she said. The Heartbeats Jump Rope Team in Cleveland is organizing the jump rope exhibition in the parade, which will feature members from 25 teams in 21 states. The Oberlin girls will join forces with more than 100 other jumpers under the acronym JUMP, which stands for Jumpers United for Macy's Parade. Jump-ropers have appeared in five Macy's parades — the last time was in 2015 — but this is the first time Oberlin has sent an envoy, coach Jenny Mentzer said. Her athletes are no strangers to the spotlight, though. They've appeared in front of giant crowds and on television before. "We've competed against people from other countries," she said. "They've done a lot of performances, many of them are seven or eight years with me." OBJUMP has 11 members and a couple of recruits in the wings. Mentzer said Stephens, Miyazawa, Levy and Mehta were chosen because, even as freshmen and sophomores, they are the best jumpers she's ever coached. The gang got emotional Friday when they heard Mentzer's praise. Wearing Macy's T-shirts, they gathered for a quick run-through of their footwork for the camera before getting ready to head east Monday. In the Big Apple, the few days before Thanksgiving will be packed with practices with other jumpers from across the country. They'll work up a sweat together along the 2.8-mile parade route, starting from Central Park and winding through Manhattan. That's no easy feat. Just walking in a parade is exercise, but jumping and pulling off high-skill tricks the whole time requires extreme conditioning. "You have to say, yes, they're in good enough shape to jump 2.8 miles without stopping," Mentzer said. To build up endurance, the girls have hit the North Coast Inland Trail bike path that runs through Oberlin, twirling ropes on 2-mile training sessions in addition to regular practices. The toughest training came Labor Day weekend, when the foursome put in 13 hours of hard work over a two-day stretch. "It's really tiring, but it's going to be so worth it," Miyazawa said. "I just think about how it will mean I get to be in the parade, and everyone will be able to see us." Add the weight of the ropes to the equation. The team will use jump ropes decorated in red and white to look like candy canes, which are much thicker than normal gear. "They're actually heavy, heavy ropes, thick ropes they're not used to jumping with," Mentzer said. "So it will be even more challenging, but it will look good on camera." When the team reaches Herald Square, it will stop to perform a routine set to holiday music in front of the NBC cameras. Mentzer wasn't allowed to say which song due to confidentiality rules. She said that the team will all wear red and black uniforms and no personal insignia such as school logos or pins are allowed, so it may be hard to pick out the local athletes. That doesn't bother Stephens, who said just being in the parade her family has watched together for years will be recognition enough. "When I've watched it, I've said that could be me," she said. "Now it is." The Oberlin Schools Endowment Fund contributed $380 to help make the trip possible, Mentzer said. The jump rope team has to cover all its own expenses, from lodging and food to transportation and uniforms. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.