Bill Roth of Chichester was a gymnastics Olympic hopeful who now trains the next generation of local young gymnasts using lessons he learned from 1998 to 2011 as Hip Hop, the Sixers’ rabbit mascot.

To succeed in his role as a rabbit, Roth drew on his experience as a five-time national champion gymnast.

The then 27-year-old got through his first game and was impressive enough to be hired full-time for a job that lasted more than a decade.

The mascot role was perfect for a gymnast who had competed for Temple University from 1988 to 1993, setting school records, taking two world championships with the U.S. national team, and competing in the Pan Am Games and the Olympic trials in the early 1990s.

These days, he and his wife, Christina, run CrossPoint Gymnastics in Chichester, training children 18 months to 18 years.

“This is a sport where in order to succeed, you have to fail,” Roth said.

“When we were creating Hip Hop, there were a ton of mistakes. But I also had such a support staff there, that they were OK with it. That, in itself, is a gift.”

Read more about Roth’s time with the Sixers and about his gymnastics career in The Philadelphia Inquirer.