I often wonder why people leave such harsh reviews of this place. From Eddie, to Coach Iwona, Michael, Coach Gerald, and all the front desk staff, I have never experienced anyone being rude (or overheard) rudeness from any of the staff.
Obviously, I can only speak to the coaches I've personally interacted with - Coach Iwona and Coach Gerald are simply FANTASTIC. We even had a party there and the party planners were excellent, the kids had a blast!!!!!
So a little about my daughter, she started Gymnastics at 3 years old at a studio in Georgia. I noticed her love expand when she was 4, we've been to four studios and US Gym Leonia has by far the most professional, skilled, instructors (again I can only speak to ones I've worked with). Coach Iwona and Coach Gerald are excellent and Courtney and Meredith are great too. Coach Iwona takes the time to really develop and grow her students, and she's HONEST. She's not the kind of coach who lie about your child's talent to take money from you (I've had this happen in the past) with no intention of advancing your child.
Reading from some of the reviews it seems like people want their children to advance in this sport not fully understanding the physical/mental/emotional investment it requires from the child. Everyone's child is not going to be a Junior Olympian, and if this is what you want, expect the coaches to be a little tough.
Management of expectations is also important, people are complaining about the restrooms, really!? It's a gymnastics facility, kids are the predominate users of the bathrooms. What do you expect!? As long as the equipment is clean and safe why does it matter if the bathrooms are not up to date. I've had private's at 7AM in the morning on Saturday and the place is cleaned from top to bottom (bathrooms included).
I can't explain some of the reviews and I'm certain in any establishment there are plus and negatives but nothing will be perfect. For price, experience, and talent, I think US Gym fulfills the criteria for really ensuring the success of the child. I also like that the bulk of their coaches are trained in gymnastics and/or have experience working with children in some capacity.
One last thing I'd like to mention: keep in mind a good bit of their coaches are from other countries. From a cultural perspective, people in other countries tend to be more direct concerning children then others, I've heard some of the coaches be a little more direct than others, I'm the kind of parent that prefers the honesty. As long as you don't yell at or berate my child, I'm perfectly comfortable with you telling my child to work harder. If it bothers you - stay and watch the class. I have never dropped my child off and left, if you show you care about your children, most likely, coaches will see this and be cautious with your children.
If your child wants to compete this is a great gym, they hold several titles and rank high in their division, if you want the coaches to sell you a dream and play favorites, take them to somewhere else. Simple.
Regarding pricing: any gymnastics studio you go to will charge annual fees, there are also different prices per month depending on the number of days in the month. US Gym is definitely on the higher end in terms of pricing, however, the facility is huge. What I spend at US Gym I've spent at other USAG/USAIGC gym holding titles - the price varies depending on coaches, location, offerings, etc. the pricing is posted outside for the world to see so it's not like their being shady, you either can pay or you choose to go somewhere else, it's no sense in trying to negotiate prices at an establishment when the price is set. It's different when your child is on a team and your investing thousands in this sport, people will be more flexible, but when you first walk in for classes, having the expectation that folks will scale their fees for you is insane. Sounds like a lot of privileged parents to me!
The ONE complaint I have - I don't understand why they charge a building fee for private's, this is something I've never had to pay for in the past. It would be the only thing I would change, other than that, I'm 100% satisfied. read more