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Event though she was a competitive gymnast for seven years, instructor Suzy Wade is all about having fun with gymnastics.
"The most fun I had in gymnastics was recreationally," said Wade, the owner of Tahoe Flips Gymnastics, formally Little Stars Gymnastics. "I've found being competitive can be hard on kids. They spend 22 hours per week in a dark gym."
For Wade, recreational gymnastics means weekly themes - like Wild West or outer space week - for her younger students or the Handstand Club for older students. It also helps the youngsters gain self-esteem, she said.
"I had kids who couldn't even hop and now they're doing beautiful cartwheels," she said. "Gymnastics isn't just for little, thin, tight bodies - it's for everyone. Everyone needs to move."
The clubs and theme weeks are fun for the students, but Wade still maintains a traditional structured environment typically found in gyms.
Her recreational philosophy has been popular for parents in Truckee and surrounding areas - parents drive from Kings Beach, Tahoe City and Sierraville so their children can be in her program.
It's been so well received that after two and a half years at her Glenshire Clubhouse location, Wade expanded to a 1,600 square-foot facility in the Sierra Nevada Dance studio in the Pioneer Commerce Center in March. Since the move, her numbers have increased from 52 to 180 students. She also expanded the age range - now 18 months to 12 years old - and signed on two coaches, so the class sizes remain small at six students per instructor.
However, if the program sounds like something parents want their children to be involved in, don't plan on them perfecting their cartwheels any time soon: Tahoe Flips has a 100-student waiting list.
"I need to expand and I've only been open for two months," Wade said.
Tahoe Flips has been successful, Wade said, because gymnastics does so much to contribute to other sports through balance, coordination and strength.
For her younger students, age 18 months to 3 years old, parents must attend the class with their children, which the adults also see as a benefit, Wade said.
"[Parents] see the progress and they enjoy it. It's also time [parents] get to sit with their kids in a learning environment before it's just their child and the teacher," Wade said. "They can tell their kids, 'OK, it's time to listen to coach Suzy.'"
As Wade's students continue to improve - with more entering the Handstand and Splits clubs - she wants to get the young gymnasts to the point where they're executing back handsprings and backflips. However, more importantly, she wants her students to gain confidence in physical activity.
"There are a lot of kids who are lethargic out there," she said. "We just want to get them moving."
Courses with Tahoe Flips Gymnastics cost $35 for preschool children and younger, and $45 for school-aged children. Tahoe Flips also offers birthday parties.
For more information call 587-4880.
"The most fun I had in gymnastics was recreationally," said Wade, the owner of Tahoe Flips Gymnastics, formally Little Stars Gymnastics. "I've found being competitive can be hard on kids. They spend 22 hours per week in a dark gym."
For Wade, recreational gymnastics means weekly themes - like Wild West or outer space week - for her younger students or the Handstand Club for older students. It also helps the youngsters gain self-esteem, she said.
"I had kids who couldn't even hop and now they're doing beautiful cartwheels," she said. "Gymnastics isn't just for little, thin, tight bodies - it's for everyone. Everyone needs to move."
The clubs and theme weeks are fun for the students, but Wade still maintains a traditional structured environment typically found in gyms.
Her recreational philosophy has been popular for parents in Truckee and surrounding areas - parents drive from Kings Beach, Tahoe City and Sierraville so their children can be in her program.
It's been so well received that after two and a half years at her Glenshire Clubhouse location, Wade expanded to a 1,600 square-foot facility in the Sierra Nevada Dance studio in the Pioneer Commerce Center in March. Since the move, her numbers have increased from 52 to 180 students. She also expanded the age range - now 18 months to 12 years old - and signed on two coaches, so the class sizes remain small at six students per instructor.
However, if the program sounds like something parents want their children to be involved in, don't plan on them perfecting their cartwheels any time soon: Tahoe Flips has a 100-student waiting list.
"I need to expand and I've only been open for two months," Wade said.
Tahoe Flips has been successful, Wade said, because gymnastics does so much to contribute to other sports through balance, coordination and strength.
For her younger students, age 18 months to 3 years old, parents must attend the class with their children, which the adults also see as a benefit, Wade said.
"[Parents] see the progress and they enjoy it. It's also time [parents] get to sit with their kids in a learning environment before it's just their child and the teacher," Wade said. "They can tell their kids, 'OK, it's time to listen to coach Suzy.'"
As Wade's students continue to improve - with more entering the Handstand and Splits clubs - she wants to get the young gymnasts to the point where they're executing back handsprings and backflips. However, more importantly, she wants her students to gain confidence in physical activity.
"There are a lot of kids who are lethargic out there," she said. "We just want to get them moving."
Courses with Tahoe Flips Gymnastics cost $35 for preschool children and younger, and $45 for school-aged children. Tahoe Flips also offers birthday parties.
For more information call 587-4880.
