College Club Gymnastics 

After graduating high school some gymnasts choose to do division one, two, or three gymnastics for NCAA in college. Some gymnasts choose to go into different sports including diving, track, or acro. Most gymnasts decide to either retire or join club gymnastics for fun.   

When deciding on a college, I looked at all the decisions open to me. The main thing I was looking for in a school was academics. After I narrowed down my colleges based on academics, I researched sports. I had the option to do division three gymnastics, division one acro, division two diving, or club gymnastics. When I thought about college, I did not want to have to commit a large amount of time to a sport. I wanted to be able to join any club I wanted and I wanted to have some free time to hang out with friends.  

I decided to go to Penn State University and do club gymnastics. My coach from home, Kenny, wanted me to do club gymnastics in college and was pushing for me to do it. My first practice was the third week of this semester. There were around seventy to eighty people at practice. I was nervous because I have not done gymnastics in a while. I was shocked about the difference in levels between the people there. Some students have never done gymnastics before while others have trained level ten.  

As the weeks went on less and less people came to practice. Now we have a club gymnastics competitive team and another team that just practices. We practice four days a week for two and a half hours. While training I realized that I loved gymnastics, but I liked coaching better than doing it. The club team did not have a coach. Most gymnasts were willing to help if someone asked them but there was no dedicated coach.  

I talked to the club president about being the coach and we came to an agreement. I would coach the competitive team on Wednesday and Thursday and at competitions, and I would be able to practice on Sunday and Monday. I was happy I was able to coach! I had to get CPR, AED, and first-aid certified and I also needed to get USAG coaching certification.  

Every Wednesday and Thursday I lead the girls in a warm-up, give them conditioning, and give them assignments on each event. Coaching club gymnastics is very different from coaching USAG gymnastics. In USAG gymnastics coaches are very strict and expect every assignment to be completed. In club gymnastics I give assignments as an outline. If the girls get the assignments, I give them done that is great, but if they don’t that is okay too.  

It is nice going to a school with a division one gymnastics team because we are able to train in the same facility as the varsity team. I am excited for next semester to begin because we will be going to competitions! We plan to compete in four to five meets next semester and one of them will be at Penn State.  

Club gymnastics is a great way to continue doing the sport in a less competitive way. Club gymnastics also introduces you into a great community. I love club gymnastics because you can get as involved as you want, and you can also join other clubs. I would recommend joining to any gymnasts.  

Randolph gymnastics  

After leaving my previous gym Northern Elite, I went to join the gym my younger sister went to, Randolph Gymnastics. For several years I had already been doing private lessons with the coach Kenny because it was cheaper for my mom for me to do private lessons there. I really liked the coach and some of the girls on the team, so I was so excited to join Randolph! For the first year at the gym when I was a sophomore in high school, I did not go to practice a lot. I wanted to enjoy high school without worrying about gymnastics. I really liked my coach Kenny because he cared about me as a person before a gymnast which most coaches didn’t do. I could always go to Kenny with any issue whether it was in the gym or not and he would offer advice.    

Kenny is my favorite coach I have ever had. As I stayed at Randolph longer, I began falling in love with the sport again. My pervious gyms made me dislike gymnastics, so I was extremely excited that Kenny was able to help guide me into loving the sport again.  

Life was not always easy at Randolph gymnastics. Kenny’s favorite event to coach was bars. We went to bars almost every practice. That event was my least favorite! I have cried countless times because of the frustration bars caused me. After months of Kenny telling me the only way I would improve was to condition (work-out) I finally listened. I conditioned double the time ever single girl did on the team. I finally got a cast handstand which took me five years to get! As I started getting better at gymnastics and more dedicated the other girls started to resent me. My teammates did not like that I was getting better than them and that Kenny was giving me more attention because I listened to him. This conflict on the team caused me to go home crying many nights. It got to the point where Kenny yelled at the entire team for bullying. I finally decided I would go to different practice hours than the rest of the girls.  

Even though I was having trouble with my teammates I was still enjoying my time training. I loved getting better at the sport and I was shocked at how much better I was getting.  

My sister ended up quitting club gymnastics. I was really upset but Kenny said she was welcome to come in and train whenever she wanted. I was sad Alexis would not be in the gym as much but I was still excited to go to the gym every day. During my senior year of high school, I was the strongest I have ever been. I was a level 9 USAG gymnast. I struggled to qualify to states and I was upset. I trained in the gym 25 hours a week. I was only supposed to train 20 but my coach let me come in on the weekends so I could train extra.  

In order to qualify to states I needed an all-around score of 32.00. (There are four events and on each event a gymnast can get up to 10. An all-around score is a gymnast’s score on each event all added up). Bars was always the event that held me back from getting a 32. I trained with Kenny for months and I even did a private lesson with him every week to get better on bars. Finally, at the last meet I had a chance to qualify to states at, I made my bar routine! I connected ever skill and I did not fall. This was the best routine of my life. It was the best moment I had in my gymnastics career. Kenny said it was one of the best moments he has ever had as a coach. I qualified to states at that meet! Unfortunately, COVID did end up cancelling states but I will never forget that moment.  

I recommend to any parent or gymnast to find a gym that makes you love gymnastics. Too many coached steal young girls love of the sport.  

Beginning at Northern Elite 

My best friend Nicole was a gymnast at Northern Elite. She has wanted me to join Northern Elite for years. Before I joined my last gym North Stars I tried out at Northern Elite. I really liked the gym but I ended up deciding on North Stars.  

After leaving North Stars I knew I had to join Northern Elite. I did not even consider joining another gym. After trying out the gym said they wanted me to join the level 6 USAG team. I was excited to join this new team. The girls seemed really nice and I liked the coaches. Two of the coaches were married to each other and the third only coached part time. This gym was different than the previous gyms I went to. For example, this gym hosted a lot of competitions so it was required that each parent volunteered at a minimum of two meets to set up and take down. Northern Elite also hosted Miracles every year which was a show the gymnasts would participate in to raise money for childhood cancer research.  

Norther Elite also did a unique program called bootcamp with their gymnasts. It was an 80-hour training program in 2 weeks. We would eat, sleep, and breath gymnastics those two weeks. Each day we would be in the gym 8 hours and only had one half-hour break for lunch and one fifteen-minute break for snack. Most of the day consisted of conditioning. Those two weeks were extremely challenging, but it was a great bonding experience with the other girls on the team.  

For the first couple of weeks, I really liked the gym, but then my opinion began to change. I began feeling really excluded from the team. The girls in my group did not include me much and would often make plans without me to hangout outside of the gym. I also began to realize the coaches would shame me for not being able to do something. I kept trying to push through because I did not want to have to start over at another gym again.  

I went through my first competition season as a level 6 and my second season as a level 7. Each year I began to make more friends. My final year at Northern Elite I competed in USAIGC as a Gold level gymnast. This program was less competitive than the USAG program.  

I trained extremely hard. I was working on a flipping vault called a Tsuk. My coach told me I would never be able to flip it and land it. I was determined to prove him wrong. I ended up getting my flipping vault! 

At states in my age division, I was one of the best girls there. Consistently throughout the season I was placing in the top three for vault, floor, beam, and all-around. I had a really good meet during states. I did not fall on any event and I was extremely powerful and clean. I was shocked when I went to awards. I ended up winning first place in the state for my age division on beam and all-around! 

I am very glad I got all the experiences I did at Northern Elite. It shaped the person I am today.  

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.  

Coach and Counselor at Woodward Camp  

The summer of 2019 was my last year of being a junior counselor at Woodward Camp. Most of my friends were already on staff as counselors and coaches by that year. I was so excited to be a counselor and coach during the summer of 2020. I would finally be able to do all the staff activities I heard so much about. I was most excited to coach and learn how to spot when I was on staff. Best of all, I would get paid to go to my favorite place on earth! 

I applied to coach and counsel at Woodward in January of 2020. Two months later everything was shut down by COVID-19. I was so sad. COVID took my senior prom, graduation, my senior gymnastics state meet, and now it was going to take Woodward too. Woodward cancelled their first six weeks of camp. I was sure camp was going to get cancelled. As the date approached, I was shocked Woodward said nothing. Finally, a week before camp starts, they officially announce camp will still happen! I was so excited! Of course, I was nervous to go. We were in the middle of a pandemic! 

Woodward put in place extreme safety precautions that made me feel better. They cut down camp to 30% capacity. I only had five kids in my cabin. Masks were required everywhere except in the cabin and while the campers were working out.There is still always a chance of getting COVID so I got tested before I went to camp and right before I went home. Thankfully I did not get COVID.  

2020 was definitely not the staff experience I expected. Most of my friends did not come to camp that year because of COVID. I met almost a whole new group of people. Even though it was my first year on staff I was treated like veteran staff because I have been going to the camp since I was 10 years old and I knew how everything worked.  

Each week I was at camp I was assigned a mandatory group to coach. I would get a different level to coach each week. I loved it! I loved being able to push kids and motivate them to be the best they could be. Gymnastics can be a very toxic spot. I was so happy to create a happy, heathy, and fun environment for these kids to train in like my camp coaches did for me in the past.  

On staff we are required to do weekly spotting clinics. I have had some previous spotting experience from working at my home gym so I was ahead. I did learn how to spot a lot of know skills. I ended the summer of 2020 with the ability to spot level 9 and I ended the summer of 2021 with the ability to spot level 10! Not only did I learn how to spot but I was also the person people learned how to spot on. I did all sorts of flips so my fellow coaches could learn. 

Counseling was one of the highlights of my Woodward staff experience. I was in-charge of a cabin full of kids. I made sure they woke up in the morning, fell asleep at night, and most importantly, were having fun! It could get exhausting being with kids 24/7, but it was definitely worth it.  

Whenever my friends and I were off from work we would leave camp and do fun activities. We went to a rope swing, went floating on a natural lazy river, went camping, and went out to eat.  

Woodward has been such an amazing experience and I hope my experience gave you more insight to what the camp really is. Everyone on staff is happy to be there and wants to make sure campers are having the best time they can.  

Junior Counselor at Woodward Camp 

My favorite summer was the summer of 2017. That was the summer I became a junior counselor at Woodward Camp, my favorite place on earth. This position included greeting nervous parents dropping their children off at sleep-away camp, ensuring the gyms would be ready for the campers to train in, and helping the young campers feel welcomed in this new setting. Junior counselors were normal campers with these extra responsibilities. They still trained and were able to participate in camp recreational activities.  

In order to be eligible for the position I needed to sign up and pay for one week of camp as a camper, then I would work for two additional weeks at camp. To become a junior counselor, I needed to go through an application process. I gave them my resume and answered several required questions, but because the camp has known me for years, and knows who I am, I was not required to do a phone interview.

I was so happy to become a junior counselor because after all this camp had given me, I was excited to give back. I highly recommend that anyone who has the opportunity to goto Woodward to do it!  

2017 was the first year I was going to Woodward without anyone! Originally, I was supposed to go earlier in the summer with friends, but I injured myself and could not go until a later week in the summer. I was scared to go even though I knew the camp like the back of my hand. This was the first time I would have to make all new friends.  

Right when I got to camp, I had junior counselor orientation. That’s when I made my first friend. It is so easy making friends at Woodward. Everyone is extremely warm and welcoming. I met my group of fellow junior counselors that included gymnasts, cheerleaders, and guys who did parkour. This was the first time I had ever talked to a boy at Woodward. In the past I would only talk to girl gymnastics.  

It was very interesting talking to everyone. Every person had a different background. I met junior counselors from Canada, England, the Cayman Islands, Denmark, and Germany.

I could not believe how far these kids travelled to go to a camp in Pennsylvania!  

Being a junior counselor at Woodward allowed me to experience extreme diversity. I am very thankful for that. I now know how to interact with all types of people. Woodward taught me valuable life lessons without me even knowing it. 

People I was a junior counselor with became my best friends. They helped me decide what college I should go to. They gave me motivation to get through the school year so I could return for another fun filled summer at camp. I am happy to say I still talk to most people I was a junior counselor with. 

If you or your child has the ability to be a junior counselor at Woodward camp do it! Camp changed my life for the better and I know it will do the same for you.  

Woodward Gymnastics Camp

Gymnastics has brought so many amazing things to my life. I have met life-long friends, been to amazing places, and learned essential skills including time management. Out of all of the thing’s gymnastics has given me, I am most grateful that it brought me to my second home, Woodward Camp. Woodward camp is a week-long sleep-away summer camp program designed to better gymnasts, cheerleaders, parkour athletes, and ac

tion sports campers’ skill while also allowing them to have fun in separate recreational programs. It is located in Pennsylvania. I spent my first summer at Woodward when I was 10 years old. It changed my life.  

My best friend on my gymnastics team went to Woodward the summer before I did and told me about the amazing experience she had. She described in great detail the amazing training facilities, fantastic coaches, the petrifying ropes course, Olympic sized pool, and so much more. I begged my parents to let me go the following summer and they did. I went with a group of five girls. One of the girl’s mom came with us for the week and was the cabin mom. This was my first experience ever being away from my parents. It was all extremely strange but exciting. I had to do chores every morning, make my bed, and be back in my cabin by 9pm each night because I was a mini camper (10 and under). Maxi camper (11 and older) got to stay out till 10pm. 

I had one mandatory gymnastics training session I had to go to in the morning and that was the only thing required of me. There were two open gyms after mandatory throughout the day I could go and train at. In total there were seven possible hours I could train each day. Most days I went to every session. I was obsessed with being in the gym and trying to improve my gymnastics. Although, I did miss open gym several times to just be a kid. I went on the 50-foot-tall rope course, down the insane waterslide, horseback riding, and on the go carts. By Wednesday I was so tired I did not know how I would make it to Friday.   

Woodward camp gave me an experience of a lifetime. I met lifelong friends at this camp that I still keep in touch with to this day. There is such a diverse group of people at camp tat I never would have met. I met people from different countries, people with different interests (the other programs at Woodward), and even Olympians. I have now been going to camp for ten total summers. The idea of going to camp got me through tough years at school where I was bullied or felt I did not belong. I had this level of confidence and happiness that I was never able to find anywhere apart from Woodward. I started going to Woodward as a camper, then as a junior counselor, and since I have turned 18 I have gone as a coach. You will hear about my junior counselor and coaching experience in a later blog post. 

Overall, Woodward has changed my life for the better. It made me more confident, independent, and strong. I highly recommend sending any young athlete to camp. Woodward has become my safe space and my second home.  

My Experience on My First Team  

My first competitive team Alpha Omega left a hug impact on me. I was on that team from ages 10 to 13 years old. (If you want to know how I ended up on my first competitive team please refer to my last blog post.) This was definitely the closest I have ever gotten with a team. I became best friends with these girls. We did not only see each other in the gym 12 to 15 hours a week, we also carpooled, hung out outside the gym, had birthday parties, and traveled to meets together. Although our coach Judy was crazy, and had some questionable coaching styles, I do give her credit for creating the tight knit atmosphere of the team. She would not put up with exclusivity or bullying. I am very grateful to say I am still extremely close with some of my old teammates from Alpha Omega.  

Alpha Omega was very unique. We did not have our own gym. We rented out space from Gym Inc because we had a much smaller team size then normal. Typically, most teams would have different practice times for each level but because we were such a small team, we all practiced together. I loved this! This gave me an opportunity to watch the upper levels on my team and ask them for advice.  

Alpha Omega introduced me to one of my best friends Kendra. We created a handshake the first day we met and still have it memorized to this day. Some of the fondest memories I have from my childhood were the team bonding events Alpha Omega created. I vividly remember after practice on a hot summer day my coach bought us all ice cream. Instead of conditioning for the last half an hour like we normally did we got to sit, eat ice cream together, and bond.  

On a typical team girls would only go to the session time of a competition they were competing. My teammates went above and beyond that standard. I remember the upper level and lower-level girls all coming to my session to cheer me on and I would do the same for them.  

Due to disagreements with my coach and the owner of Gym Inc they would no longer allow us to rent out space in the gym. We were a team without a gym. For the next year we ended up going to three different gyms to train. Unfortunately, our team ended up splitting up. All the girls ended up quitting gymnastics or moving to a different team. Although I was sad this chapter of my gymnastics career came to an end, I was exhilarated to start my next.  

Joining a new team can be very scary. It is extremely important to look for the culture of the coach and the girls. I have experienced many gyms. I have been in environments I loved and I have been in environments I hated. Your gymnastics will only excel if you are happy. I hope you can use my experiences from my blogs to determine a good gym for you.  

My Transition into Competitive Gymnastics 

There are kids that have no fear. They will flip, toss, and throw themselves in the air without a second thought. Those are the kids coaches want on their gymnastics teams! Those are the kids pulled out of classes and put on a competitive team! Once these young gymnasts learn body control with a mix of their natural fearlessness, they are unstoppable. I was one of those kids. I enjoyed throwing myself through the air. I was willing to try anything a coach told me I could do.  

After the Little Gym I moved to Gym Inc for older kid classes. It was a tiny gym with bright colors, below average equipment, and was mostly for class kids. There were also two different competitive teams that trained there. One team was connected with the gym and the other privately rented out space. I was about eight years old when I moved to this gym. I did classes there twice a week until I was 9. I began getting tired of classes and I started to look at the competitive team. I thought it was amazing the things the older girls could do. They made gymnastics look so effortless to a nine-year-old that knew nothing about the competitive world. I was petrified when I saw coaches yell at their team but I was also intrigued. 

I was finally bored of being in classes. I wanted to be challenged. I wanted to know what the competitive world was like. I wanted to know what it was like to have a real coach instead of a class coach high school student. After months of begging my mother to allow me to join competitive gymnastics she finally caved. I tried out both competitive teams at the gym but I knew which team I wanted to join before I even tried out. I wanted to join the team that rented out space. That team had the best girls in the gym and the craziest coach I had ever seen.  

The first day of practice on my new team named Alpha Omega I got five new skills. This proved that the young classes were holding me back from my true potential. I loved the girls on the team. It was nice having older teammates who could help me and I could look up to. I began training four days a week from 5pm to 9pm. At the time I joined competitive gymnastics I was doing soccer and figure skating. Unfortunately, I did have to quit soccer for gymnastics and a couple years later I had to quit figure skating. Overall, I did not mind quitting the others sports because I was so infatuated with gymnastics.  

Although I loved my new team, my new coach was insane. She was not able to spot many skills and she gave bizarre punishments. If a girl on the team was not trying or not doing well, she would send them into the bathroom with the older girls so they could talk to you.  

Even though some stuff my coach did was questionable she did make my team very close. We had team Christmas parties, banquets, and we would travel to far competitions together and stay in hotels together. I was very nervous my first meet but all I had to do was remember was turn my nerves into something positive. Overall, I am extremely thankful for the community competitive gymnastics introduced me to.  

 The Little Gym

The freest feeling is flipping through the air. Nailing that new skill is like no other feeling in the world. Gymnastics has been a part of my life since I can remember. It has not only been a sport to me, gymnastics has become a part of my identity.  

I have done many different programs within gymnastics. I have competed in the most common organization; USAG. I have also competed in USAIGC, Excel, and high school gymnastics. USAG by far is the most competitive of all the organizations.  

Along with the many different programs I was in, I have also been to many different training facilities and have had many different coaches.  

My love for gymnastics began when I was only 9 months old. My mom began taking me to mommy and me classes at the Little Gym. My mom told me whenever we would drive into the parking lot, I would begin uncontrollably kicking my feet and smiling from excitement.  

During mommy and me classes the parents walk with their children around the gym helping them through the fun obstacles. When I was older, I even taught a mommy and me class. My mom told me my favorite thing to do was swing on the bar.  

Soon I was old enough to start going to classes on my own. I took a ballet class and gymnastics practice at the little gym. My parents would sit on the outside of the gym and look through the big window to watch me.  

I loved ballet because my teachers would lift me in the air like I was flying, but gymnastics was always my favorite. I did have some trouble in the beginning following directions. I was always so excited to jump on the bars! I couldn’t stand still! At this age I had no fear so I jumped on the bar and tried to roll off on my own. I fell right on my head; I refused to cry though. They sent me to my mom and I begged my mom to let me go back to practice. After a couple of minutes my mom finally gave in. “Its gymnastics, injuries come with the sport” is what thousands of athletes and coached say across the world. This was my first injury in the sport.  

I started at one practice a week. My mom realized how much I loved it so she took me 3 days a week. I began improving at a much faster rate than the other kids. I had very good body control. When I was 5 years old my coaches went to my mom to discuss moving me to a better gym, so I could begin real practices. My mom refused. She knew gymnastics was not only a sport, it was a lifestyle. She did not want to make the decision for me on what sport I would do when I was older. I didn’t begin competitive gymnastics until I was 10 years old.  

It took me years to realize my mom made the right choice for me in that moment. Until I was 14 years old, I always gave my mom a hard time for putting me in competitive gymnastics “too late.” All the really good gymnasts I knew started at 6 or 7. When I was older, I realized I was glad my mom gave me the choice. I was still able to be a kid and try others sports and when I was older, I got to a level I was happy with.  

Overall, mommy and me classes are a great way to see if children have an interest in the sport. It is also a great bonding experience and I hope to do it with my future kid one day.