National Elite Gymnastics

Coach Alden is very good to interact with, but a majority of interactions we've had here has just not been good. My kid, who started out eager to learn gymnastics has felt discouraged because a couple of the coaches she's dealt with, don't seem to know how to properly teach and motivate a child. Most recently, she had a makeup class during evaluations week (which I hadn't realized was happening) and after about 10~15 mins, came out crying, confidence a little shattered, and didn't want to go back in, because the coach showed her something new she hadn't been taught in her usual class yet, asked her to do it and then proceeded to repeatedly tell her she did it wrong when she attempted to do it. No gentle guidance that would allow my kid to learn and succeed and feel good about herself. I understand you don't have the time to do it during evaluations week, but the alternative of just telling a child she's wrong is so demoralizing and not what a good coach should be doing. When I brought up this issue to the girl sitting in the front office, Michella or something like that, she was cold and completely devoid of compassion for the distress my kid and I were in and merely stated this was evaluations week, like that was justification enough. After I pressed her on the lack of support, she offered to pass on my contact to the head coach. This lack of warmth and capacity to truly see and encourage people seems to permeate this space and neither my daughter nor I have experienced a lot of positive interactions at this place. We'll try to find a better place/people to encourage my kid in learning gymnastics.

We started up at National Elite last year with my 10 year old twins doing the homeschool gymnastics class. First off, I really appreciate the ability to bring my kids during the week to a class with a small number of kids. The class unfortunately didn't go through the summer due to camps, but now that it's back for this school year they're extremely excited to come every week. My 12 year old also did the backflip intensives over the summer as he attempts to land one for his taekwondo demo team. The progress he made in those 2-3 days of intensives plus a couple of private lessons with Alden is quite amazing; he's so close!

We decided to register our daughter for a different after school and summer program next year and we won’t be back. We really wanted to do NEG because she loves gymnastics but the people here really took the joy out of it for her. She was crying daily when we picked her up. She was always “in trouble” simply for being a kid. She and her friends would say things like “camp is supposed to be fun” and sharing how they get yelled at constantly by Coaches Angel and Lexi. Everyone we know has stopped attending for the same reason and she doesn’t have any friends here anymore. I hope they fix the culture and climate so this can someday again be an engaging, fun and appropriate gymnastics facility for kids.

UPDATE: I have lowered my review to 1 star based on the owner's response. I suggest that NEG address the issues raised below with the coach re: the water bottles rather than calling my child and others campers who were there liars. My daughter did not make up the story about Coach Angel's behavior. I find her behavior and the owner's response to be unprofessional. And as for the open gym situation, the coaches were standing around talking to one another and I didn't see anyone helping the campers with any skills. If that is an option, it wasn't relayed to the kiddos. Do better. I agree with other reviews that communication isn’t great with NEG coaches or staff, but my daughter does enjoy the gymnastics. That’s why we decided to sign up for summer camp drop-in days. I’m extremely disappointed in the way the camp is run, esp for the amount of money it costs to attend. Coach counselors speak unnecessarily sternly to the children in an effort to keep everyone quiet and behaved. There were only 28 kids in total - the same as in an elementary classroom - so we’re not talking large numbers. Furthermore, there isn’t any gymnastics going on - no learning fun skills - just open gym time where the kids run around. After a long hot field trip day where they didn’t have access to their water bottles for a couple of hours, Coach Angel threw the water bottles of those that weren’t labeled onto the ground beside the bus/van… in front of the kiddos. I teach my daughter to be a good steward of her things, but she can’t really do that when an adult throws it on the ground and dents it. It would be easy to pass it off as a bad day, but my daughter and I both had uncomfortable interactions during the week. None of this is a recipe for fun summer camp vibes. I do not plan to ever book an NEG camp again.

We recently started tumbling classes for my daughter for her cheer team. We have been very impressed with the coaches who are working with her. They are knowledgeable and very encouraging. We like how they divide out the girls with those that know more than others in the class. The facility is clean and well-equipped, and the class sizes are small enough to ensure every student gets personal attention. What I appreciate most is how the instructors balance structure with fun—they push the kids to improve, but always in a supportive way that builds confidence. My daughter always leaves in a great mood and is smiling throughout the class.