TEMPLE, Texas — A Temple cheer gym reopened its doors for the first time after the devastating tornado that tore it apart. It was an emotional open house for the family business that treats each athlete like they're family too.
There are still signs of the storm surrounding Extreme Cheer & Tumble in Temple. Piles of debris and brush show the hard work that has been underway for more than five months.
But their sign of strength is much brighter.
"When I asked my mom, I was like what are we going to do. She said, what we always do. We're going to overcome adversity," said Bailey Preddy.
Bailey's parents did more than overcome, they built back better.
"This is our original sign we had for a little over ten yeas that my dad was able to save and refurbish. A pretty special memento and remember not only what we went through but what our town survived too," said Bailey.
The roof of the cheer gym was completely ripped away from the May 22, 2024 tornado.
Now, it's been replaced by resilience and a determination to rebuild.
"The emotions are a little bit hard to describe," said Gym Owner Bridget Preddy. "It's overwhelming to see the kids. The happy tears. To say I'm so glad I'm home. The kids that have their pictures on the wall. David, my husband has worked really hard for the last five months. 15 hour days to make this happen for the kiddos...blood, sweat and tears. Every second was worth it," said Preddy.
"I just think it's a big difference. I did not expect this at all, it's really cool," said athletes Claire & Kait Kopriva.
"I do tumbling and she does competitive cheer," said Kait. "She'll be back tomorrow."
There will be a lot more tomorrows for the gym and Coach Jasmine Robertson says, they were built for this moment.
"We survived and preserved and made it through this storm literally and figurately," said Robertson.
"We feel like this is a brand new start for everyone. No one has to feel like the memory is dark but like a rainbow at the end of the tunnel. We're excited to have this new journey and new era of extreme. We can't wait for ten more years of memories and fun," said Robertson.
And if they were looking for another sign, the Preddy's got one, on the night before they reopened the gym from a neighboring church.
"Last night when we were finishing up, we walked around the building and our old van, our original van is in the back and you look above the trees and the cross on the church is lit up and it was like, we were supposed to do this. You always question after a tragedy like this, is this what we're supposed to do? Are we supposed to build back better? Every turn, the answer was yes," said Bailey.
The classes, competitive cheer and all after school programs have resumed. You can reach out to Extreme Cheer & Tumble for more information.
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