UPDATE AUGUST 2024

Proceed carefully, and take time to find out who's in charge.

As of summer 2024, social media still mentions Coach Damien being associated with BCG. We knew him for 15 years. He's wonderful with children and is kind, caring, and trustworthy.

BUT if the competitive team is still run by the previous owners, beware. One of those owners was accused of molesting young gymnasts, and USAG found the evidence compelling enough to ban him from the sport. You'd think a little humility would be in order after that, but instead, BCG is currently trying to sue another local gym out of existence.

ORIGINAL REVIEW from 2019

This review is about the competitive gymnastics team, not the classes.

Bottom line: Proceed with caution.

Our daughter did competitive gymnastics for seven years: two at Chapel Hill Gymnastics (which is owned by Bull City Gymnastics) followed by five at BCG. Her experience, and ours, can be divided into three categories.

THE GOOD Our daughter developed resiliency, persistence in the face of failure, and a tremendous work ethic. She also learned how to take coaching and counsel.

The families at BCG are solid people, as are most of the gymnasts. Our daughter made good friends, and we were on good terms with the other gym parents.

Head coach Amanda is a gem. She has high expectations but is consistently supportive and upbeat. Most of the other coaches are quite good, though no one is as good as Amanda.

The gym school was outstanding. Low price tag for a private school, and the instruction was excellent. Our daughter learned quickly and genuinely enjoyed going to school.

THE BAD Competitive gymnastics makes serious demands on your time and money, no matter which gym your child attends. BCG is probably just following directives and suggestions from USA Gymnastics. Then again, USA Gymnastics is a corrupt organization, so perhaps BCG shouldn’t be listening so closely to them.

Between gym fees, school fees, and travel/hotel/food associated with meets, the cost can be excessive, even prohibitive.

The number of practice hours increases significantly from level to level. By age 11 (level 7), our daughter was expected to practice 20-22 hours a week. Gym school made this time commitment possible—school 7:30-12 followed by practice until 5—but it’s still too many hours dedicated to one activity.

Even beyond the hours of practice, BCG makes significant demands on your time. By level 8, gymnasts at BCG practice 6 days a week. There is no time off in summer and very little at holidays—practice is typically held the day before Christmas and the day after Christmas, for example. Family vacations are actively discouraged. Meets, many of them out of town or out of state, take up multiple weekends late fall through late winter.

THE UGLY Parents are not included in decision-making, and there is no parent advisory board.

Coaches do not know parents’ names, at least not obviously, and do not greet parents at the gym.

In the wake of the USA Gymnastics child abuse scandal, BCG made no statements and no policy changes.

Certain coaches can be emotionally and verbally abusive. A coach once threw a water bottle at my daughter. She said she couldn’t tell whether the coach was joking or not—and the mere fact that she couldn’t tell makes it inexcusable for the coach to have done so. On more than one occasion, I heard this same coach speaking in unkind terms to other gymnasts.

Nearly all of the coaches are strict and stern, which can be emotionally difficult for the gymnasts. This behavior also runs counter to research that has shown athletes do better in a supportive environment.

THE UPSHOT Would we do it again? Possibly. I would certainly be more vocal about establishing a parent board that could bring problems and shortcomings to the attention of...

Our daughter has been in classes here from age 3-7. Nearly all the instructors are quite good, and seem to be well-matched with the ages of the students in their classes. The preschoolers mainly work on very fundamental physical skills (somersaults, balance) with a lot of care given to keep it "fun" (jumping into the foam block pit, musical games). As the kids move up in the classes, the instructors begin to emphasize good form as well as teaching specific skills, and sometimes a day's class can be a bit more "work" than some kids seem to enjoy. Our kid really does love it, though, and has asked to keep attending even when offered other options instead like dance class. BCG has just about every piece of equipment you can imagine, some of which I'd only ever seen before when watching the Olympics. I regularly see older teens practicing some extremely advanced moves there. I don't know what they would be like for adult instruction or for a teen who had never done gymnastics previously, but that does not seem to be their emphasis. They aren't a fitness center, they are...

The white receptionist, with graying-reddish hair, is the most unprofessional, and rude associate I’ve ever encountered at any gymnastic establishment. She does not greet people. Today, she helped the person in front of me and when I stepped to the counter, she simply walked away. No “hello, how may I assist you.” Not even a “Ma’am the next associate will be right with you.” As the first face of your business, she needs training in etiquette. People will begin to take their business elsewhere. I’m also slightly inclined to believe her attitude and approach are racially motivated; only in part due to the way I’ve noticed her polite interactions with other customers. I would love to see attention to this matter and have...