Peoria Elite Gymnastics Academy — Local services in Peoria

My daughter did three sessions in a row at Elite. She was 3 years old for the first two sessions, then turned 4 so moved up to the next level class. The student/teacher ratio for these classes were 4:1 and then 6:1. I do not feel my expectations for a toddler/young child class were unrealistic. I am an elementary education teacher. I know what can be expected of young children. I was not looking for perfect technique. I wanted her to work on following directions, balance, and coordination. The first session went very well. They worked on following directions, simple technique for tumbling, balance, coordination, etc. I saw huge improvements throughout the 10 weeks. My daughter loved gymnastics and coming home to practice skills. The second and third sessions, we had a different instructor. The directions given in class are always multi-step.. and we are not talking 2-3 steps, sometimes 9 or 10 skills are briefly explained at a time and then the students are asked to go through a sequence of those skills, completely unsupported and independently. The instructor helped at one station, so she was not monitoring or giving directives to the other several stations during that time. Technique was never shown or assisted. 3-4 year olds are being told "do a cartwheel." The steps for a cartwheel were never broken down, no visuals were shown, etc. Throughout the entire class, parents are shouting directions from the waiting area so their students do not feel lost or frustrated. For example, the teacher gave brief directions for 7 or 8 stations at a time, including very mature vocabulary such as arabesque or pivot. The skills were shown one time and then students were set free to attempt to remember all the directions given and skills that were briefly described. Anyone who works closely with 3-5 year olds, knows that you cannot give multi-step directions without visuals or assistance, especially more than 5 steps. Also when 4-5 year olds have that much freedom and time, they tend to wander and stop following the directions. I was disappointed in the amount of money we paid for these sessions, and the lack of support, attention, assistance, and behavior management in these classes. My daughter came home throughout these last two sessions very frustrated and not enjoying it anymore. This makes me sad because I saw great potential in her technique during her first session, she was just very confused by the chaos of the multi-step directions. I am hoping after some time off, we can find another gym and she will find joy in gymnastics again. If Elite is going to offer classes for younger students, they need to work on training their instructors for giving effective directions to each age group, behavior management, and provide more visuals and technique for...

All gymnast were taken care of by instructors who seemed to care. Clean, well taken care of facility. Safety equipment and procedures seemed to be very thorough and accurate. The older students on the balance beam are always scary to watch but staff and safety equipment are right there. The younger one tumble, vault, climb ropes and do all manor of things and they appear to just love it. Adequate seating for parents and family members, not a bleacher fan myself but can tolerate it for a while. A couple of vending machines on site for drinks and snacks. Update, not much has changed, instructors still patient and thorough with the gymnasts. Mostly comfortable and clean environment. They could use some more comfortable chairs for those of us that have to wait for 3 hours. The little plastic ones aren't adequate for a mature adult and the bleachers are definitely out for Grandpa. Update, parking lot is too small at peak times but usually can park somewhere...

Today was my daughter's 1st day. She was nervous but the kind teacher and small class size put her at ease. We signed up for a free class and halfway through I paid for the next 9wks. With the smaller class size they can learn as a group no waiting in line everyone has a beam and the teacher is able to see each student and correct their techniques if needed for safety. My daughter has taught herself a lot on her own as she has a beam uneven bars and gymnastics mat but today I realized how Elite is going to help her grown technically as a gymnist. I highly recommend trying a free class I promise your child will love it just...