Toxic Culture at North Stars 

After my first team Alpha Omega fell apart, I was searching for a new gym to join. I decided to join the gym North Stars. It is an extremely competitive gym that has trained some of the best gymnasts in the country. I originally joined North Stars’s excel team. This was a less competitive program. After a year I hoped I would be able to join the national team at the gym. There were so many red flags from the minute I joined the gym. I knew I should not have joined from the first day, but I was young and I loved the idea of going to a very prestigious gym.  

My second day training at North Stars, I injured myself. A substitute coach for the day forced me to do back handspring step-outs on my opposite leg. I was extremely uncomfortable doing this skill but she told me I had to or I would have to condition. As I was going for the skill my left knee dislocated. I screamed as I fell to the ground and pushed my knee back in. My sister was the only one who saw I got hurt. I fell on the ground as I screamed in pain and the owner of the gym came over and screamed at me. She did not believe me when I said I was injured. She grabbed my arm and said to me “you may have been able to act like this at your old gym but you can’t act like this here!” She made me feel like I did something wrong. The coach forced me to walk on my hurt knee and sit against the wall until my mom came to pick me up. My mom took me directly to the hospital. It turns out I tore part of my ACL. Luckily, I did not need surgery, but I was out of gymnastics for three months and I needed physical therapy two days a week for six weeks.  

The next day I went to the gym the owner did not even apologize. She pretended like nothing ever happened. I do not know why, but I decided to stay at North Stars. I worked extremely hard on conditioning while I was injured. I was determined to get stronger. As time went on, I started to become very close with my excel coach Jackie. She was a college student that coached to make money for her college tuition. She became a mentor that I am happy to say I am still very close with.  

After a year on the excel team I decided I was going to try to join the national team at North Stars. My excel coach Jackie was leaving because she got into PA school so I thought it was a good time to transition. I was very scared my first day on the national team. The coaches yelled a lot and were very manipulative, but at the time I thought that was normal. My coaches often made fun of me because I was not as strong or gifted as the other gymnasts in my group. I really liked my teammates but the coaches often sent me home crying.  

My final straw was one day when the owner of the gym was leading warmups. I fell on a standing tuck and she screamed at me in front of the entire gym. I started tearing up but I refused to let her see me cry. I got in the car with my mom and told her I would never go back to that gym.  

For gymnasts a healthy environment is extremely important. Gymnasts can be in the gym from the time they are 4 years old. Their coaches create a huge impression on them. If you or your child is in an unhealthy environment, I beg you to find a new gym before they lose their love for the amazing sport of gymnastics.