Gymnastics Academy of Rockford — Local services in Rockford Township

My daughter attended GAR off and on for a couple years, then committed to classes long term and was very happy. In the past year there were significant changes in staff, some new instructors for recreational students came in and there was a new coach that did not interact with my child, just the team gymnasts. My daughter went from being challenged in a variety of ways to only working on a few skills. Attention to individual students dropped as instructors would stand by and watch students complete tasks in general, as opposed to last fall when kids were given individual feedback and physical assistance learning new skills. While watching my daughter class, I was also struck by how harsh and unforgiving the new coach was behaving. She scared children around her, and was frequently seen verbally reprimanding team gymnasts instead of offering constructive criticism. Please remember, even though they are skilled gymnasts they are elementary school children often seen crying because they weren’t capable of meeting the standards of their new coach. My daughter was approached to try out for team after a mass exit of team families. I spoke to still current team moms about time commitment and financial expectations. They expressed frustration with the lack of communication ahead of time, schedule changes, and the secretive nature of team expenses before payment was declared and due. After talking with coaches and an office administrator, I felt even more uncomfortable about the lack of information they were willing to give me regarding what I would be expected to spend. We have left the gym, as my child will not get the attention she needs to improve if she is not planning to join the team, and I would not feel comfortable allowing current GAR coaches to train my child. We hope the new program sorts itself out and that coaches take into consideration the seriousness of their attitude towards team families, and take responsibility for the changes that need to happen to create a proper environment for the...

For a place that once was an absolutely amazing organization it and has gone down hill extremely fast for the gymnastics program. To cancel a program about a month before competition season started and not offer any additional support or answer any questions if absolutely ridiculous. For a place that had been so well respected within the gymnastics community across the country has now became one of the worst ran programs in the area. While I understand business decisions have to be made but you MUST think of the athletes that are in your gym and that definitely was not the case. You left many athletes and their families to scramble to find a gym that would take them and struggle to get them into competitions. Had this been done in a professional manner there would not have been as many upset people but the new owners acted with less maturity then I've ever seen from a sports program. The former athletes are now striving in other gyms across the area and they are mending from the serious mental abuse that took place within the doors of GAR after the fired the coaches. They should definitely be ashamed how they handled the entire situation and i would warn against anyone signing up for this establishment. There is many places in the area that are...

Where to start. From being one of the best Gymnastics gyms in the Rockford area, GAR was a mecca full of talented and amazing Gymnast ranging from all types of levels to also having gymnast receiving Scholarships from all school around the country. And I say WAS for a reason. For the last couple of months the gym has been under poor management from a new owner taking upon herself the action of firing two of our gymnastics coaching staff because of PERSONAL reasons that has nothing to do with our coaches teachings. When all of us (parents) wanted answers and demanded a meeting of why she took the actions of firing our kids coaches, she would completely and deliberately lie to all of us telling us that our coaches had Quit. The gym that our kids have called “home” and a safe place all of their lives have made the choice to leave GAR to keep their integrity in tacked since this place has sadly become a hostile environment for all them. They do not care about your kids, is the reason why I would recommend you to stay away. You are just another customer at the...