Big Gymnastics

Very dirty place. At the end of an hour of being there, most kids are coughing due to the lack of ventilation and the chalk. My eyes were affected by all of the chalk dust and my kid (along with others) was coughing. The bathrooms are disgustingly dirty. Pee all over the seat, no toilet paper. What IS good is the open gym on Sundays for 2 hours at $ 10. Can’t beat that but the filth is pretty unbearable.

I heard about this place from a friend. trusting her opinion, I immediately signed up my daughter for classes. As i watched I was sorely dissapointed as i watched the instructor texting during the whole practice and hardly watching the group of 4 – 5 year olds.

Balance Institute of Gymnastics, or «BIG» as it has become known, is a fantastic place to take your children for gymnastics instruction. They offer recreational classes from preschool on up, and classes for boys and girls. They have a clean, beautifully equipped facility, and their coaches are friendly, and happy (something I look for when deciding upon a program for my children, as happy coaches are far less likely to take out their personal frustrations on my kids!). Something else I noted when I first came to BIG is that their recreational coaches are not 17 year old girls they pulled out of class to teach. (This is something I saw a lot of in other gyms.) The coaches at BIG, are all adults, so as a parent, you can feel comfortable that your children are being well spotted in their activities. Having mentioned the whole adults-​as-​coaches thing, I should probably say that although their coaching staff at BIG are not «kids pulled off the floor to coach», there is still a very young, hip vibe at the gym. They often play fun, upbeat music, and there is always a young, energetic buzz around the gym. The waiting area for parents is comfortable, and climate controlled (as is the gym, itself!) and you may view your child in class from the windows. You are close enough to observe, but not so close as to distract. It is perfect. They have a nice «pro shop» of sorts, with healthy snacks and drinks, as well as leotards and BIG merchandise for sale.
If you are interested in a gym for more than recreational gymnastics, BIG is definitely the place to be, in my opinion. Of course, as the parent of a competitive gymnast, I am a BIG believer (no pun intended) of parents choosing the RIGHT place for THEIR child. Not every gymnast responds in the same way to the same style of coaching. BIG is definitely the RIGHT place for MY child. The Team Coaches, lead by Owner/​Head Coach Ben Hardy, are attentive, caring, and competent coaches. They expect hard work, but they also seem to always remember that these are children, and not machines. This IS NOT the kind of gym where the coaches sit on the sidelines sipping diet coke and screaming at the gymnasts! They are hands-​on, involved, active coaches. I believe in them and their abilities, and I trust them to spot my child on dangerous equipment. I think that says a lot. BIG is a relatively new gym. However, in their short time since opening, (I think 2006… I may be wrong — we moved to Illinois at the end of 2007, and joined then) they have had major successes with their competitive teams, including (but in no way limited to) the State Championship Teams in 2008 for Level 5 AND Level 6, as well as numerous Individual State Champions. When we moved to Illinois and we were looking for a gym for my daughter to compete at, we looked at every gym within a reasonable drive from our home, and there were many to choose from. No one offered what BIG could offer, and having made that decision back in December of 2007, I haven’t had a moment of regret, since. My daughter is thriving in the sport she loves, and she is loving her gymnastics life at BIG.
So, If you are in the market for a new gym for your recreational or competitive gymnast, I recommend Balance Institute of Gymnastics, and also, if you are looking for an active and creative outlet for your tiny tot, I also highly recommend Balance Institute of Gymnastics. When my daughter was 2−½ and so active that she was literally FLYING OFF of furniture at every opportunity, I decided to enroll her into a gymnastics class. Soon it was clear gymnastics would be a major part of her life. I never saw her so joyful, so free, so absolutey exhilerated, as when she was inside a gym. She had found her second home, and she found it before she was 3 years old! I didn’t know then, that it would grow to become such a major part of all of our lives. As they say with USA Gymnastics, «Begin Here, and Go Anywhere.» It’s true, so true, so very, very true.