Anon Airborne Gymnastics? Gold Star Gymnastics? (California Bay Area gyms)

[Anonymous Post]

My high school aged daughter is wanting to start xcel gymnastics (gold or platinum). Anyone know which gym would be better for xcel gymnastics? Pros and cons for each?

P.S. These are in the Santa Clara/Sunnyvale area in (bay area) California.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

My knowledge of the area is about 6 years out of date, but I used to work at California Sports Center.

I definitely recommend checking out Cal Sports Center. I'm a fan of their general philosophy, and all of the coaches I worked with who I know are still there are all excellent.

Twisters is definitely worth checking out. If Alan is still running things then it would be hard to do better. Great guy, great philosophy, excellent technical eye.

My old roommate coached at Airborne. Their DP program is a bit intense for my tastes, but produces some fantastic gymnasts. I don't know much about their xcel program. I just texted the roomie to get his thoughts on Airborne Xcel, will update when I hear back.

As for Gold Star, I have no idea. Don't know the coaches, don't know much about the program.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Alright, my old roomie says Airborne's xcel program is pretty good, and "not quite as hardcore as their compulsory program." I'm not sure what that means, since their compulsory program is definitely what you might call hard core.

 

[Anonymous Post]

Airborne Xcel girls typically score very well. Many of them were in their intense DP and switched over. Gold Star scores can be a hit or miss, but the gym philosophy is much more laid back - possibly similar to CSC. Twisters has a very good reputation. I would recommend watching a full practice at each gym you are considering, talking with the coaches to understand their approach and goals, and trying out before committing to any gym.