Sounds like the PP is in Maryland, but for those in Virginia here are the usual suspects:

Fairfax
Chantilly
Dulles
Apex (Leesburg)
Capital (Burke)
Cardinal (Burke)
Arlington Angels (YMCA)
Arlington Aerials (Arlington County, Barcroft Rec)
Apollo (Woodbridge)

At the intro / rec levels it can really be hit/miss w/ each coach at any gym. At that stage look for places that emphasize safety and whole body fitness. As your child gets older and may be more interested in the team track either Excel or Junior Olympic...then you can shop gyms. Our DC is in optionals at Arlington Aerials now and we are incredibly impressed by the coaching and administration of the program. They will be updating the Barcroft Rec building beginning in January for two gymnastics gyms (taking/renovating the basketball gym) due to the demand. Hard for non-county residents to register because of county resident preference unless an upper level gymnast.

Does anyone here have recent experience with Fairfax Gymnastics on Pickett Road?

We had pretty bad experiences at Dynamite. Not that we thought any of our three kids were Olympic material -- far from it -- the kids have a cousin who is very competitive at the regional level and specifically declined an Olympic training track, so she *only* practices 4-5 hours a day. Not for us!

But even with just wanting fun classes to build fitness, coordination, etc. -- Dynamite seemed not to care about our kids given that they were not team track. Non-team-track kids are there to pay the bills, and there was so little attention to safety it was scary. We finally quit after one child had multiple injuries that Dynamite didn't even call us about when they happened -- sprained both wrists and both ankles at different times, necessitating orthopedic surgeon visits, x-rays, and time-consuming physical therapy.

The real icing on the cake though was finding out from the same child that she had experienced what in all likelihood was a concussion -- she fell off the beam, hitting her head on something on the way down, and experiencing loss of memory. A clear indicator for a concussion. The instructor was not trained to ask the right questions that would have indicated the need for follow-up monitoring for concussion, and nobody called us to even let us know it had happened.

Neither concussions nor sprains are minor injuries or any kind of joke. I would never, ever go to Dynamite again because I think there's not nearly enough attention to safety, particularly in an extremely overcrowded and chaotic setting.

Capital has Olympic caliber power tumblers, but power tumbling is not an Olympic Sport. They are starting up a Trampoline program, I believe.

My son is at Hills and we are very happy with the quality of instruction. It's a friendly, casual, but goal oriented environment.

Capital is in Burke. Hills is in Gaithersburg by the airpark. If anything, Capital is more DC area than Hills. Although if you live in MoCo, Hills is the obvious choice--anything to avoid going over the bridge.

It is not unusual for upper level gymnasts at Capital to homeschool. Hills really encourages their kids, even Olympic-track, to attend school, and has a good working relationship with MCPS for their elite athletes to attend on a slightly modified schedule and still graduate on time.

But if you're just getting started, none of this matters. Find a gym that is close to you with instructors who are really enthusiastic and excited to be working with younger children and beginners. If they offer a trial lesson, even better.

If you are talking about which program produces the most Olympians hands down that's Hills. They have a sought out Elite level program and a ton of kids that go through their team on any given year. They have a ton of experience getting kids to the top of the sport for women's gymnastics.

That said 99% of us won't have a kid with the physical and mental abilities to make it to that level, so it really depends on the kid. If mom and dad are both super tall and not exactly flexible then it might be a better investment to go someplace more recreational (like SS) where the focus will not be so much producing champions but what you as an individual kid can accomplish while playing up your own strengths. They will still gain a lot of confidence from a program like that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've coached gymnastics in the area for many years. It really depends on what you are looking for. Plus, the caliber of the competitive team normally means that is where the coaching talent is also. If you can find a place that is convenient for you ask if they recommend a certain teacher that might be better than others. This can also vary depending on the class. Younger kids might do better with young energetic coaches whereas older ish kids (10-12+) will to better with someone who is a little more methodical and has more experience. What are your goals OP? Just to try it out and see if your DC likes it?

If your goal is a college scholarship then yes Hills is your gym, but they also burn out a lot of kids there so the chances of them actually still doing gymnastics at 18.

Why Hills over Capital?

Capital is quite far out, not really in the DC area. Also while both gyms are high-pressure environments, the coaching is more positive and healthy at Hills IMO. This is for the girls team - for boys Capital is top notch clearly.

Anonymous wrote:I've coached gymnastics in the area for many years. It really depends on what you are looking for. Plus, the caliber of the competitive team normally means that is where the coaching talent is also. If you can find a place that is convenient for you ask if they recommend a certain teacher that might be better than others. This can also vary depending on the class. Younger kids might do better with young energetic coaches whereas older ish kids (10-12+) will to better with someone who is a little more methodical and has more experience. What are your goals OP? Just to try it out and see if your DC likes it?

If your goal is a college scholarship then yes Hills is your gym, but they also burn out a lot of kids there so the chances of them actually still doing gymnastics at 18.

Why Hills over Capital?

Our experience is that Dynamite is really chaotic and mostly just like open fun play, with an instructor sort of there.

I'm the poster with the toddler who loves (as she calls it), "BOOM!"

We decided to take her to open gym when we could. She's going through a not-listening phase, so we thought we'd wait until the winter for formal classes.

I wish we liked SS more, but overall, I haven't been impressed by the staff. I also really hate the toy store in the lobby. We've been to Marvatots in Rockville, though, and it's been an amazing experience. There's one staff member in particular whom my DD loves.

Anonymous wrote:Hills in Gaithersburg has produced Olympians.

+1 My daughter loves Hills although she is not on a competition team. I'm amazed by most of the older girls.

We go to Dynamite and DD really likes it. But it is quite pricey. I have thought about moving her, but she really likes it, has her friends, likes the instructors, etc. She's showing some promise so I don't know if we'll consider moving her in the future.

I have friends who are doing and have done Hills and say good things.

I believe it is. She and her husband have had several gyms in the area (over the years) that have gone up and down with various names.

Slightly off topic but is Dobre Academy run by Aurelia Dobre? She was an amazing gymnast.