VIDALIA — Regan Cobb got her interest in the sport of gymnastics in not an ordinary fashion.

Cobb and her brother older, Ryan, would spend time outside on the family trampoline, where Ryan showed his younger sister how to properly pull off front flips and cartwheels.

Cobb has taken the rest from there.

The Vidalia native recently traveled to New Orleans where she competed in Junior Olympic Championships, placing fifth out of 12 competitors in her age group, 12-14 years old.

The strong showing is a glowing testament to the hard work and dedication Cobb has put into her craft she started in December 2014.

“I’m very proud of her,” said mother Stephanie. “This is her first year to compete, and she’s excelled. She started out her training watching YouTube videos. She taught herself how to do cartwheels.”

Yet, cartwheels aren’t the only thing Cobb has taught herself on her own, as she has perfected her handspring routine and much more.

“I can do back flips and front flips and stuff like that,” Cobb said. “I learned to do a front flip on the ground in my gym.”

Cobb trains at a gymnastics gym in Pineville twice a week, an hour drive from their home in Vidalia.

It hasn’t come easy, however, as Cobb noted the difficulty in taking on a sport like gymnastics.

“(The training) is really hard, especially the conditioning,” Cobb said. “We do a lot of push-ups and jumping jacks, and we really work hard on that.”

Despite her dedication to her favorite sport, Cobb still manages to put her academics ahead of her athletic prowess as she is a member of her school’s honor roll.

This summer, Cobb plans to rev up her training to three times a week for fours a day, and the extra drive is no problem for mom.

“I’m very proud of her,” Stephanie said.

Cobb is the daughter of Raymond Cobb.