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Now, the 11-year-old is on the fast track toward a promising gymnastics career.
Last month, Carlee won the USA Gymnastics Level 8 all-around and balance beam state championship titles. She won her age group and posted the highest all-around score of any Level 8 in the state.
She will lead Connecticut’s “Super 7” team into USA Gymnastics Region 6 Championships in Providence, R.I., on May 2 to take on the “Super 7” teams from New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
Arena Gymnastics head coach Laurie DeFrancesco, who trains Carlee along with JC Ligi and Lorraine Galow, feels that Carlee has no physical limitations for gymnastics.
“Carlee has an abundance of natural talent,’’ DeFrancesco said. “She is powerful and quick, yet also has the flexibility to achieve beautiful lines and great form. She has everything she needs to go as far as she wants to go in this sport.”
“I have high expectations for Carlee,’’ the coach said. “I expect that she will move to Level 9 next year, and hopefully Level 10 soon after that."
Level 10 is the highest level in the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic program. “Her gymnastics is big and exciting, it commands attention, and that will make her a standout collegiate gymnast one day,'' DeFrancesco said.
Reid is taking her evolution one step at a time. She remembers getting involved in the sport as a toddler because she was “rambunctious” around the house.
“I liked being somewhere I could be rambunctious and not have people tell me ‘Carlee, be careful,’’’ said Reid “I was bouncing off walls and doing cartwheels in the living room.”
Carlee — a high honors student in sixth grade at Dolan Middle School, is able to maintain straight A’s along with her rigorous training schedule. Her mom Nadene, is often asked how she does it all.
“I tell them, gymnastics has actually attributed to her academic success. She is organized, disciplined and has great time management skills.”
Reid watched alongside her teammates as the 2012 Olympics was streamed in to the lobby at Arena Gymnastics. Seeing Gabby Douglas win the Olympic All-Around title provided inspiration.
“She showed me that you can be successful no matter what color you are, or where you come from,’’ said Reid, whose parents are natives of Jamaica. “Her story of leaving home to follow her dreams stuck with me. You have to put 100 percent into something that you really want.”
DeFrancesco believes Reid has made huge strides in the past year.
Last summer, she was named to the Region 6 Developmental Team, a hand-selected group of 73 young gymnasts from New York and New England who show the ability to one day represent Region 6 on the national stage.
Reid knows she has sometimes struggled to believe in her abilities. “Conquering my nerves is one of my biggest challenges,’’ she said. “Sometimes I get in my own way and psych myself out. My mom helps me keep my head in the game. She keeps saying I know what I’m capable of, and she’ll love me no matter what happens. That’s a big help.”
DeFrancesco said Reid’s personality is quiet and reserved. “She’s a very deep child emotionally, and she processes everything,’’ DeFrancesco said. “She cares a great deal about her teammates and her coaches, and can pick up on someone’s mood quickly. She’s well-rooted that way.''
“The sky is the limit for Carlee” adds Ligi. “She has come a long way from the timid toddler who walked into her very first preschool class almost nine years ago. I know she can do anything she sets her mind to.”
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