Jumping at the chance to serve
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After becoming a world champion, U.S. Grand National champion and winning multiple gold medals in several different age groups by perfecting his life's passion, Jeff Mauss of the White Oak Ward, Cypress Texas Stake, still remembers the moment he first became infatuated with that passion: jumping rope.
When he was in the third grade, his gym teacher assembled a group of young jump rope protégés to perform for the entire school. As Jeff watched earnestly, one trick stood out: the "subway." In the trick, which begins with ropes in Double Dutch formation, two people lying perpendicular to each other do simultaneous push-ups as the ropes whizz by.
"After the assembly, the coach offered a workshop," said Brother Mauss, now 23. "I fell in love the first time I picked up the rope."
Over 16 years, that love has taken him to countries around the world: Germany, Cyprus and Brazil, just to name a few. His skill also took him to Toronto, Canada, where he rose to the top of the world ranks at the International Rope Skipping Federation's World Jump Rope Championships in 2006.
In recent years, he and his comrades have become frequent halftime performers for the NBA's Houston Rockets and even had the opportunity to perform during the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas this past February. He has even turned his love into a business: Jumpin' Sports Industries.
During the past few months, however, Brother Mauss' love for another important part of his life has taken over. On Sept. 22, he will enter the Missionary Training Center to prepare to serve in the Washington Tacoma Mission.
Having attended and graduated from Texas A&M, he recently felt inspired to make the sacrifice of putting his career on hold through the example of close friends.
"This past December, a lot of my friends who had served missions came back, and I felt an urge to go," he said.
He was completing an internship with the Rockets earlier this year when Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve attended LDS Friends and Family Night at a game March 13 (see Church News, March 20, 2010, p. 5). Besides Elder Perry's "firm and authoritative handshake," Brother Mauss has another lasting memory of that night.
"[Elder Perry's] car was parked close to mine, so we walked to our cars together and we chatted a bit," he said. "Then, a little boy about age 5 came up and shook his hand. Elder Perry asked him if he was preparing to go on a mission. That question resounded like an alarm in my mind, and I answered to myself, 'Yes.' And even though I already was preparing to go on a mission, that moment really sealed the deal for me."
The 16-year process of becoming a top rope jumper, according to Brother Mauss, is good preparation for his missionary service.
"To be a good rope jumper, I had to learn to practice, to be on time and to have discipline," he said. "I always want to be faster, better, stronger."
Brother Mauss said he isn't giving up his passion entirely over the next two years. He plans to take his jump rope with him to Tacoma and use his story as a tool to find and connect with people.
