Gymnastic Center Recommendations...

Monkey Business Gymnastics 21092 Bake Pky (Bake & Trabuco), Lake Forest. ###-###-####. This is a great starter gymnastics program. Miss Lynn not only gently teaches the children gymnastics, she does so in a way that helps them build confidence and self-esteem. She treats the children with respect and they all have a great time. B.

J. B.
I am a gymnastics teacher for the SVUSD school district. I have a depth of experience, being a former competitive gymnast myself and having taught several competitive teams in both Pennsylvania and California. I have experienced quite a bit of frustration, too, with my own daughter, with the huge time commitment gyms demand of students. That is one reason I opened my own classes last year thru the school district. My philosophy is very progressive, in other words, if the gymnast has strengths in one area, let her move along quickly, while working on any weaknesses in other areas. Safety is always first, and I spot kids way more than most coaches will these days. They just seem to stand there and tell the kids what to do and how to do it. I will take the child thru the move itself so they can feel how to do it.
I offer tumbling and mini tramp and stress "control" so kids can learn how to actually use their core strength to control a skill instead of just "throwing" the skill.
Please check me out at Portola Hills Elementary in early October. The registration number is ###-###-####.
What school is your daughter in? I will personally be handing out flyers at many schools, so please look for that.
Email with any questions.
M. C.
____@____.com

Olympic Gymnastics on Cabot in Mission Viejo is great. My daughter is in the 6 year old class right now. She has only been in it for 2 months and I already see a difference in her balance and strength. It's not just tumbling, it actual gymnastics where they teach the core of gymnastics and develop them from there. My son also takes there and he loves it. They keep his attention and I also notice a difference in his agility. Gymnastics is great for confidence, strength, doing other sports, etc. Regarding the money, it's not that bad. For the both of them it's $127 a month and that's for two. It's a little pricey for me but it's worth it. I hope that helps!

Hi J.,
Did the olympics spur this interest? My 3 year old has been going around the house doing "gymnastics" since the olympics.

I placed my older 2 in gymnastics for years, approx. 7 years I believe. What frustrated me is that most of the schools will only place your child in an advanced program if they show very, very early on that they have tremendous natural ability. I'm not saying that I wanted my kids to go to the olympics, but for the expense, I wanted them to do a little more than "just have fun." I wanted to make sure if I'm spending that kind of money, they're going to improve.

And, with some of the schools, I didn't see this. If a child is going to a gymnastics program for more than 3 years, that kid should be learning how to do a back-hand-spring at least. It's not like doing a triple, axle, flip, blah blah blah.

I originally had my girls in Scats in HB, after a couple of years there, they started letting the girs bounce on this thing that hung from the ceiling. Although the girls thought it was really fun, I didn't see it helping them to improve their skill. So, I pulled them out (I had 2 in the program at the time, so you can imagine how the expense really helped me with my decisions)

Then, I moved them to South Coast in S.A. now in Irvine. It was much better. But, they didn't seem to have much flexibility in classes. So, I ended up paying a coach for private lessons for my 2, it didn't cost very much more than having the 2 in their group lessons. That really helped them improve much quicker.

But we moved and it made it difficult to keep them there. I then put them into Scats in Anaheim and realized I should have had them there all along. Even at tween ages, they were placing girls on teams. They seemed to show much more motivation to make sure most of the girls get to a competitive level.

So, what I'm saying is, really shop around. If you just want her to have fun, you almost may as well just take her to the local park or playground for free. Once you start paying for something, you want to make sure she's getting something out of it.

I think gymnastics is a great sport for giving our children a foundation for any sport they want to pursue in their future. My 12 YO is now in cheerleading and my 14 YO is in track as well as golf. They're both very physically fit and athletic and this helps them in anything they choose to do.

Good luck!

S.

Monkey Business in Lake Forest!! ###-###-####. They're on Bake near Trabuco. Ms. Lynn and Mr. Mike are awesome. It's a great way to introduce your kids to gymnastics and if she decides to stick with it, they have advanced classes too.