On July 12, 2002, at 0930 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172P, N54119, registered to a private individual and operated by the student pilot landed hard during a practice short field landing at the Merritt Island Airport, in Cocoa, Florida. The instructional flight was operated under the provision of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the student pilot was not injured. The flight departed Merritt Island, Florida, at 0900 on July 12, 2002. According to the student pilot, while practicing a short field landing, the airplane bounced hard on the runway. When the student pilot did not add power to recover from the first bounce, the airplane bounced hard on the runway again. The subsequent examination of the airplane revealed damage to the engine firewall and the cabin floor. The landing gear system did not collapse. The student pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane.