Good gyms in Northern Virginia

[gym_girls_mom]

Hi everyone! Our family is possibly moving from Texas to Northern Virginia (the ashburn, Dulles area). My question is about competitive gyms in that area. I have not lived out of Texas since I was a kid and have absolutely no idea about anything in that area at all! My daughter is a level 5 and currently goes to a big gym with a huge competitive team, including elites. I am looking for something similar with a reputation of having good coaches who stick around, and a gym that is fairly established.

Thanks so much for any and all advice for gyms in that area. I have already found many online but I am looking more for personal knowledge.

 

[gymdog]

There are a lot of established gyms in that general area. It may depend on where you live as far as how close to the highway to which gyms would be a close drive. Depending on what neighborhood you live in some will be farther than others. Chantilly Academy might be close, and there are two newer gyms in Loudoun...basically I think if you know where your house would be, you should google map and see what the viable options are as far as distance then try them out once you're here, since the area can be quite spread out.

There are also some gyms that have more than one facility, but I would avoid this if my daughter was already L5 and try to go to a "main" facility that has all the levels practicing.

 

[vagymmomma]

Your specific location in Northern Virginia is key because traffic tends to be so bad. I know there are a couple of newer gyms in the Loudoun area(NVGA, et al west of town), but I'm listing the major gyms in the metro Northern VA area:

Arlington Aerials (Arlington)
Capital Gymnastics (Burke/Fairfax)
Cardinal Gymnastics (Burke/Fairfax)
Chantilly Academy (Chantilly/Dulles)
Fairfax Gymnastics (Fairfax)
(Apollo and Youth Sports are in Woodbridge so I bit of a trek depending upon your location).

You'll be fine with any of these. The only one I would generally recommend staying away from is Capital (unless you have a superstar DD). My DD wasn't on the team there, but it has a bit of a reputation (our gym has gained a number of girls who left their program) and I've seen too many girls left in tears by coaches there.

I highly recommend going to open gyms to the extent they have them. The equipment quality at one of the above is not as good as other locations (I won't name because that can change over time). Some of the gyms have penalties for missing practices and require new uniforms every year. Just get as much information as you can before making a decision.

Also, expect higher costs in this area.

Good luck!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

how about aerial east? where is that in relationship to the others??

 

[gymdog]

Your specific location in Northern Virginia is key because traffic tends to be so bad. I know there are a couple of newer gyms in the Loudoun area(NVGA, et al west of town), but I'm listing the major gyms in the metro Northern VA area:

Arlington Aerials (Arlington)
Capital Gymnastics (Burke/Fairfax)
Cardinal Gymnastics (Burke/Fairfax)
Chantilly Academy (Chantilly/Dulles)
Fairfax Gymnastics (Fairfax)
(Apollo and Youth Sports are in Woodbridge so I bit of a trek depending upon your location).

You'll be fine with any of these. The only one I would generally recommend staying away from is Capital (unless you have a superstar DD). My DD wasn't on the team there, but it has a bit of a reputation (our gym has gained a number of girls who left their program) and I've seen too many girls left in tears by coaches there.

I highly recommend going to open gyms to the extent they have them. The equipment quality at one of the above is not as good as other locations (I won't name because that can change over time). Some of the gyms have penalties for missing practices and require new uniforms every year. Just get as much information as you can before making a decision.

Also, expect higher costs in this area.

Good luck!

Fairfax doesn't have much of a team beyond L4/5. I do not really know anyone there, but they don't really have a consistent high level program. NVGA is pretty old but also doesn't really have much of a higher level team. Arlington will be very far though I would highly recommend if for some reason it is near work or something. Personally if I was living in the OP's area with a L5 I would go to many gyms in the western part of NoVa, though, and not go so far towards the city.

But again it really depends on the neighborhood. Ashburn is north of Chantilly and actually getting pretty close to Leesburg in which care you should look at Apex, solid program, all levels, nice new facility. Good owners/head coaches.

Capital is fine for some, it really depends, people tend to do a lot of private lessons there if they want their kid to move up. Really big teams especially because of more than one location. But I wouldn't consider them overly harsh with not moving girls up. Not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion although granted most of the girls who stay past L4/5 are relatively young and talented. When you have such a big program it is going to be tough for some kids who need more time or attention due to fear issues, that atmosphere isn't for everyone but I know some girls who were there forever and loved it. The main location is really not that close to Ashburn at all imo. Capital West probably is closer but I'd really be looking to going to a "main" team location with a kid already in L5.

Based on location and the qualities you described, I'd probably be looking at Apex (Leesburg), Chantilly Academy (Chantilly), and Gymini (Herndon). In opposite directions but probably not too far. When you move, call and ask to try a team practice at your daughter's level. Then you can see how the fit is.

 

[gym_girls_mom]

Thank you all for your replies. If we make this move I'm sure I will have many more questions to come. From what we know now, my husbands job would be in Ashburn and just mapping it, the closest gyms to that area are Apex, Loundoun, and Dulles. Because we have already heard horror stories about the traffic we would like to live close to this area as well, and obviously having the gym nearby b/c right now my daughter goes 4 times/week.

So I guess of those three gyms do you have any personal knowledge, or any reason to say "stay away". I will definitely be making visits to several when we make it out there, but I would like to know that the few that we visit will not be total wastes of time. I would like a gym with experience coaching higher levels because at this point (and since she was 3) gymnastics is the only thing my daughter has an interest in.

Oh one more question, do any of these gyms have day programs? (programs where they practice during the day and either homeschool or go to charter school?) It's pretty common at some of the gyms here and my daughter is supposed to start the day program here in Aug.

Thanks again so much for all the info.

 

[gymdog]

how about aerial east? where is that in relationship to the others??

Aerial East is in the Richmond metro area which is about 2.5 hours away from the northern VA area. However the coaches certainly are superbly knowledgable.

 

[gymdog]

Oh one more question, do any of these gyms have day programs? (programs where they practice during the day and either homeschool or go to charter school?) It's pretty common at some of the gyms here and my daughter is supposed to start the day program here in Aug.

Thanks again so much for all the info.

It is not very common around here. I do not think any of the three have anything like that. I think what most people would say is it would be very difficult to sell a program like that around here. That is not to pass judgement on it but in northern VA you have people sending their kids to private school to try and gain an edge despite having some of the best public schools in the country available to them...so it's just a very hard sell when you get into education here. Even for people who might do it, knowing the public schools are of such good quality will probably deter them when they look around and see so many L10s who are going to public school.

The second two are newer (Dulles just opened). The owner has owned gyms around here before, so has worked with higher levels just not at this gym. I don't know about the compulsory coaches. The Loudoun coaches also are experienced however the gym is still only maybe 4 years old, so they are building. Both are doing the whole TOPs thing.

Apex is the most established and moved into a new facility about, hmm, 5 years ago? Not too long ago. Personally Apex would be my choice, but people are looking for different things. Might be worth it to try all of them. For example Apex does not have TOPs. This wouldn't deter me at all...they have good L9s and 10s. I respect the owner and coaches and think they put effort into a quality program. Host meets, etc, they are in it for everything. But some people might be looking for different programs like TOPs or something, so there's that, or might not click with the coaches at L5 so it's important to try a practice or two.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Congrats on the potential move to Ashburn. This is a wonderful area with lots to do, easy access to DC, great schools (no need to homeschool at all, but some do), etc. I have lived in Northern Virginia all of my life.

You will have a lot of gymnastics clubs to choose from. Chantilly Academy, Gymini, Capital (Burke), Apex, NVGA, Loudoun Gymnastics, Dulles Gymnastics.... not to mention gyms that don't participate in USAG levels. At Level 5... I would NOT even worry about optinal levels yet. She needs to have fun, learn basics and continue to just LOVE the sport.... the rest will take care of itself, and if you need to switch gyms, well, you have lots to choose from. Each gym in the area has its strengths and weaknesses. Our own personal gym journey has included Capital (West), Loudoun Gymnastics, Apex and now Dulles Gymnastics. Just a quick snapshot of our experiences:

Capital West is now closed. Everyone from that facility has gone to other local gyms rather than make the commute to Burke. Burke has a fantastic reputation, but they are HARSH over there. It is a HUGE program, esp. in the lower levels... BUT unless you're an extremely talented gymnast over there, most quit the sport entirely before they even get to L8. It's just very difficult to progress unless you become part of Tatiana's training group. The coaching IS harsh .... I'm not just talking about disciplined either. Girls are called "stupid", "Lazy", etc. If your daughter is not impacted by that type of coaching, and you don't mind that awful commute, then go for it. However, most girls from this area go to the much closer gyms.

Someone had mentioned NVGA... but I would not go there. They have a small team, have never had higher level girls (L9 - 10) and the facility is tiny, dark, etc. My DD occasionally would go over there for open gyms (the owner was her high school assistant coach). The gym has been in existence for 22 years and I've recently heard that they lost their lease... it's supposedly in negotiation, but who knows....

I wouldn't even touch Loudoun with a ten foot pole. Too much for print here!!!

Apex has a great program as well, but they have grown SO HUGE in the last year. They inherited a lot of the Capital West girls as well as from another gym in the area. They've had to break their training levels into 2 different groups (2 groups of L5, 2 groups of L7) just to make sure the girls get enough time of each apparatus, but the groups are still overlapping. Last year there were 40 somethihg L5's and about 30 Level 7's.... that's a LOT of girls for one coach on each event. They are planning an expansion tho. . .

Katy is now at Dulles Gymnastics Academy. The owner has owned several gyms in the area over the last 20 + years. She has had several national team members in the past. She is a tough coach, but is very fair and positive. It's a very small group of L4 through L8 right now.... (only 11 L7's)

PM me if you want more info. and more specifics.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Yeah, I wouldn't let the presence of absence of a TOPs program deter my choice of gym either. Capital Burke is a National Training center and they firmly do not believe in a TOPs program, yet they manage to send girls to the National team every so often. And some gym who DO advertise the TOPs program do it absolutely horrendously!! One local gym in particular is known as a joke for their so-called Tops program, and most parents have pulled their kids from it. Except, of course, the ones who still believe that their girls will be going to the Olympics (or, as we all say, don't know what a TOPs program is supposed to be emphasizing.)

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

...I'd probably be looking at Apex (Leesburg)...

I'm going to second this recommendation. I know a few of the coaches and I even considered working there a couple years ago. Great gym, knowledgeable coaches, and I agree wholeheartedly with their philosophy.

 

[Pickle's Mom]

I don't have much to offer about gyms, but I lived in NVA briefly during my formative years and it is a great area to raise a family. There is so much to do and being close to DC means that there are a lot of great opportunities for your kids.

Good luck.

 

[superflipgirl]

In the loudoun area that you might move to, I know there is Apex, which is really good, loudoun, but I think a lot of people have switched gyms from there, and a new gym, dulles

 

[gymjoy]

I don't have much to offer about gyms, but I lived in NVA briefly during my formative years and it is a great area to raise a family. There is so much to do and being close to DC means that there are a lot of great opportunities for your kids.

I'd agree that there is a lot to do in the area. More now than when I was growing up there. Back then there was not much to do except go into DC, which we did about once a month. Ashburn, then, was a general store on a semi-backroad with cow fields all around; now it is a huge planned community.
It is hard for me to recognize Loudoun County when we get back there (My parents are still in the house I grew up in). The traffic is crazy. It use to take us 40 min to get into the city, rt.7 had one stop light between Leesburg and Sterling! There was 4 high schools for the whole county. I think they have tripled that number.

Oh, and most importantly - there were NO gyms! None. You could not have done competitive gymnastics unless you were really willing to travel.

So, I have been no help at all
Best of luck with your move and choosing a gym.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Things have DEFINITELY changed out here! I grew up in a neighboring county and my high school would sometimes travel to Broad Run for sports events.... I remember driving down a little two lane row, with corn fields on both sides of the road!!! When we looked out here in the early 1990's, there wasn't much at all!!! A new housing development was going in.. .you could see the building from route 7... and they still had some of the cow farms. Now here 15 years later... WOW.... traffic is horrible along the main road going to Ashburn, but at least they've gotten rid of all the stop lights along Route 28!! But still . . it's a trade off, like everything else.... where else would you have 7 grocery stores (yes, SEVEN) within a 2 mile radius?? And GymJoy... that little general store is still there... except how it's a BBQ place, and not "Parlow Bros." But at least they kept the building!!

 

[gymjoy]

Glad to hear it is still there. My sister and I occasionally stopped there after riding our bikes from Leesburg on the bike trail (which was not fully paved yet).
It really does blow my mind driving around there. I now get lost!! I use to know just about every road. Ah, well, the good old days

 

[gym_girls_mom]

Thank you all for your replies, I expected to get great responses from reading others questions on the site. You have all been a great help. This area sounds very nice, and from what I have seen it is beautiful! Hoping to hear something soon!

 

[virginiacoach]

I echo those above.. APEX or Chantilly

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Yeah, I wouldn't let the presence of absence of a TOPs program deter my choice of gym either. Capital Burke is a National Training center and they firmly do not believe in a TOPs program, yet they manage to send girls to the National team every so often. And some gym who DO advertise the TOPs program do it absolutely horrendously!! .)

Just revisited this thread. Did you ever make the move from Texas? And I needed to post an update: Capital IS now beginning a TOPs program. Big departure from their previous philosophy!

 

[Beekeeper]

Capital, National training Center does very high level gymnastics and competes at tough meets .New gym in the area is Dulles Gymnastics academy and hearing great things about this gym. Team is small but lots of one on one attention. Some gyms are very large and hard to get on the equipment. Just depends what one is looking for.