Having moved here to Scottsdale recently from Texas, where I was used to having a dozen gyms with strong programs all within a 10 mile radius of our last home, I knew that our gym options would be a little bit more limited in Arizona. I should preface my kids are not on a competitive team, and we are just a one class a week kind of family. The last gym we came from has trained three Olympic gold medalists, and when asking them for Phoenix gym recommendations, the few gym names they could recommend me (meaning, that they were familiar with by name, and were the closest caliber to what we were used to) were all in Chandler. That should have been my first clue before I tried Xtreme.
This is the closest gym to our home. We signed up for a trial class. We arrived, and although the gym is a decent size, the waiting area is small and cramped with two sets of double benches that serve as the viewing area. My 5 year old tried the preschool class. No introduction to the coach, and no evaluation of her prior skills whatsoever- the office staff whisked my kid onto the gym floor to join a preschool group. She was placed in a class with 8 other kids, to make an overcrowded class of 9 kids. If you are familiar with USA Gymnastics protocol in regards to safety, the max teacher:student ratio for a recreational class is 1:8, and preschool age classes are 1:6. The group did a couple of runs on the long trampoline/tumble track. Since there were 9 kids in the class, there was a lot of standing around and waiting. Then the group went onto the floor and did a circuit on the floor. Again with 9 kids, there was a lot of standing around and waiting, and the kids were essentially expected to go through the circuit like an obstacle course. The circuit had very little emphasis on actual gymnastics skills progression...just a couple of mats set up to jump on and off from, and the coach seemed to be going through the motions of just keeping the kids moving than actually spotting the children on actual skills, or giving any correction about form. My kid was clearly bored, and I can't say I blame her because the quality of the instruction was clearly lacking, since she had come from a far superior gym environment before. The gymnastics class, which I use that term loosely for what I had witnessed, was 55 minutes of my life I will never get back. I was close to pulling my kid off the floor in the middle of class, but didn't. At the end of class, there was absolutely no follow up from the coach or the office staff, as in not even a "hi, I'm the coach", or "this class would be a great fit". After my kid put on her shoes, we left the gym unnoticed and were glad to get out of there. As expected, no follow up from the office, and no effort made by the gym to contact us to ask how our trial class was, or want our business.
Needless to say, we currently make the 30+ minute drive south on the 101 to a far better gym now, and it is a drive that is well worth it for us. If you have nothing to compare this gym to, and have minimal expectations, I'm sure Xtreme is great and will fit your needs. But, my 5 year old could tell the difference. If you value a gym that teaches your kid actual gymnastics skill progression, and offers genuine customer service where you will be recognized as a paying client, you're better off finding another gym elsewhere. read more
