My daughter earned her spot in the Advanced Tumbling class through hard work and dedication, having already mastered the required skills, including her unassisted back handspring. However, our family's experience with Gymnastics Counts ended in immediate withdrawal due to management's complete lack of support when a real safety issue arose.
During a recent class with a new instructor, my daughter experienced a common mental block, causing her to hesitate mid-skill and land repeatedly on her head and neck. Because neck landings pose a severe, immediate injury risk, I stepped briefly onto the floor perimeter to inform the instructor that my child is shy and was afraid to ask for assistance.
Rather than addressing the physical safety concern or working with a young athlete to build trust with a new teacher, the owner sent a cold, delayed email days later focusing strictly on facility liability policies. When I explained that my daughter physically possesses the skill and simply had a temporary confidence hurdle with a new coach, the gym offered zero coaching solutions--no brief spotting, no safety check-ins, and no encouragement. Instead, their sole response was an ultimatum: demote her to an Intermediate class or leave.
A quality gymnastics program understands that mental blocks are a standard part of tumbling and knows how to safely guide athletes through them. By forcing a demotion on a child who earned her placement--rather than providing basic coaching support--Gymnastics Counts failed my daughter's self-esteem, stalled her progress, and prioritized rigid bureaucracy over student safety and care.
We have withdrawn both of our children immediately and will be taking our business to a facility that values athlete safety, proper coaching, and basic empathy. read more