Tampa Gyms?

[Peppermint]

We are moving to Tampa in the summer and would like some gym recommendations. If anyone has been part of a team at La Fleurs, Tampa Bay Twisters, ACE, etc we would love some general feelings. Laid back, competitive, equipment, on the rise, etc? My dd would be L7. Thank you so much. Google is so helpful but its hard to get the personal perspective.

 

[Gymnasticgrandkids]

My DGD's go to ACE and that is in Longwood/Lake Mary, quite a distance from Tampa...Tampa Bay Turners is an excellent gym and quite competitive.....check out mymeetscores.com and see who gets top spots...it varies from year to year, but LaFleurs (Largo, not Tampa), ACE, TBT *Tampa Bay Turners), and Orlando Metro seem to be the places to go....I wouldn't call any of these "laid back" as they are all very competitive, but my grandaughters wouldn't have it any other way. From what I have seen all the gyms seem to have the standard equipment and are usually quite large facilities with pits, etc. but the best way to find out is to take some trial classes. Oh, also check out their websites, usually they will show if their gymnasts get college schlarships, etc. (which I believe all of the above do)...Hope this helps.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

My DGD's go to ACE and that is in Longwood/Lake Mary, quite a distance from Tampa...Tampa Bay Turners is an excellent gym and quite competitive.....check out mymeetscores.com and see who gets top spots...it varies from year to year, but LaFleurs (Largo, not Tampa), ACE, TBT *Tampa Bay Turners), and Orlando Metro seem to be the places to go....I wouldn't call any of these "laid back" as they are all very competitive, but my grandaughters wouldn't have it any other way. From what I have seen all the gyms seem to have the standard equipment and are usually quite large facilities with pits, etc. but the best way to find out is to take some trial classes. Oh, also check out their websites, usually they will show if their gymnasts get college schlarships, etc. (which I believe all of the above do)...Hope this helps.

ray and joan's (ace) is kinda far, no? tampa to orlando during gym//rush hours? yikes!! same with jeff at metro. and any of the others you listed are all great gyms.

 

[Gymnasticgrandkids]

My point exactly...although ACE and Orlando Metro are two fine gyms, the Tampa Bay Turners are also a wonderful gym and they are in that area...so that is the one I think I would check out first...if you were in Largo, I'd say LaFleurs but not in Tampa...that is the secondary gym for them. I was just throwing out the gyms in the central florida area that are good gyms.

 

[clrmom]

My son competed at Lefleur's in Tampa and we were very happy there. I do not actually think they are owned by the same person (same family, I think, but not same person) They actually had quite a large girl's team when we were there (about 3-4 years ago). We aren't there with my daughter only because it is too far from where we currently live. If you actually are going to live in Tampa, TBT and Lefleur's Largo could be pretty far depending on what area of Tampa you are going to live. There are other smaller gyms in various parts of Tampa also but I do not know as much about them.

 

[Peppermint]

Getting more details from my husband, the new position is actually in south Bradenton. Does that bring up any more recommendations?

 

[clrmom]

That is in Manatee county which is pretty far south for the gyms recommended so far (either Lefleurs or TBT) You might look more in Sarasota area. I am not as familiar with the gyms down that way. Tampa Bay Turners would probably be the closest to that area, of the gyms mentioned so far. I actually think TBT hosts one of their meets in Manatee county.

 

[fuzi]

South Florida Gymnastics is in Bradenton. They aren't one of the biggest or most recognized Florida gyms, but it might be worth talking to them.

 

[knoxfinley]

If you are moving to Bradenton I would look into LaFleur's Largo. Their site says a satellite is opening in Lakewood Ranch/Sarasota in 2011.

 

[kimmy4]

Lakewood Ranch is an new(er) master planned community. It will be an excellent location for a satellite gym location for LaFluer's!!

 

[Christine.]

Bayside Gymnastics is an amazing gym, the coaches are very supportive and helpful. The coaches are also excellent spotters and have many years of experience.

 

[Peppermint]

Thank you for all the info. We are still up north but the move is still lurking out there. We'll see what happens.

 

[JBS]

Link Removed

History of LaFleur's Gymnastics

LaFleur's Gymnastics in Largo, the original "LaFleur's", opened in December of 1980 and is owned and operated by Mike and Melody LaFleur. The gym remained in it's original location for 24 years before moving just 1/2 mile away into it's newly built 20,000 sq. ft. facility in the summer of 2004.

The original business was actually started by brother Jeff LaFleur and wife Julie, along with sister Toni LaFleur (Rand) and Mike's parents, Barb and Tony. Mike's parents and grandparents were also gymnasts, coaches,and judges all from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, making daughter Kaley the 4th generation of competing gymnasts! Toni now owns "American Twisters" in south Florida with husband Tim Rand, and Jeff owns "LaFleur's Tampa" in Tampa, Florida. However, those are not the only gyms in the family! Brother Greg owns "LaFleur's Wisconsin" in Menomonee Falls, and Aunt Lynn, Barb's sister, co-owns "Salto", both in the Milwaukee area.

The only sibling still not directly involved in gymnastics, Tim, Nissen award winner from Minnesota, was actually the most successful gymnast in the family, competing in 2 World Championships (1978 & 1979) and alternate for the boycotted 1980 Olympic Games. Toni and Greg competed for The U. of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Tim and Jeff for Minnesota, Mike for Indiana, and Melody for Alabama.

With gymnastics being such a big part of our family's history, we strive to bring this history and experience into all our gyms in hopes of building and developing a "family" type atmosphere for all our gymnasts.

Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Mike LaFleur

The LaFeur's run great gyms.

 

[Jennemmy]

Thanks for all the info on the gyms in Tampa. As of now, my husband is going to do a long distance commute and we are staying put. (Apologies for the alias, I didn't want talk about the move with friends until things were confirmed.)

Jennemmy aka Peppermint