WAG Best club for WAG in Sacramento, California (Roseville, Elk Grove, Davis etc..)

[RangerDad]

Hello,

I am a new parent to the forum and have been reading as much as I can in the last two weeks. We are a military family station in Oklahoma and will be moving to Sacramento, CA in August 2014. As part of the process, I am researching and learning for the best options for my daughter's future training facility. She is 6 yrs. old currently training 8 hrs. a week (1 hr private and 1 hr tumbling). She is motivated and excited about gymnastics, and I want to provide her with the best training environment to help her develop as a competitive gymnast.

According to the websites, Facebook, Yelp, trainer's biography, etc... the best gyms in the area are:

1. International Gymnastics Centre (West Sacramento)
2. Byers Gymnastics (Elk Grove and Roseville)
3. Rodina Elite Gymnastics Academy (Sacramento)

In your opinion and experience could you answer the following questions?

- Best established program from Level 3 to Level 10?

- Best pre-TOPS or TOPS program from early age?

- Best trainers, according to personal and current students' achievements?

- Cleanest, best customer service, community participation, etc..?

- Additional programs (Tumbling, dance, summer camps, etc...) and prices?

I know is a lot to ask but with the vast experience I have seen in this website, I know someone can give me the best advice to choose the right gym (club) for us. Thank you for all the help!

Sincerely,
RangerDad

 

[fuzi]

Feel free to PM me. I am a coach and judge in the area and can provide you insider insight, but would rather do some privately.

 

[fuzi]

Also, if you can tell me her level, that would help.

 

[RangerDad]

She is Level 2, working on Level 3 techniques. The goal is for her to be level 3 by the time we move to Sacramento, so she can become part of the team. She talks about gymnastics, and about competing in the Olympics. I understand that is a long way to go, but we will like to provide her with the necessary tools at this moment.

 

[happychaos]

I have no idea about gyms, but THANK YOU for your service to our country!!!! I'll bet your family values hard work and perseverance, and those qualities will serve your daughter well in the gym. Thank you for your sacrifice!

 

[RangerDad]

What are the best TOPs programs in Region 1?


"Strive for perfection, achieve excellence".

 

[BlairBob]

No idea who Fuzi is and I'm not nearly as politically correct so I'll just put it out there. I just left Sacto in March and I've been in Norcal/Sacto pretty much since 2000 besides some wandering off. Fortunately I keep up through all the people I know at other gyms and gym gossip

Do you know where you intend to move to? This will play a lot on commute time since all those gyms are in different areas of Sacto. West Sac, Roseville, ElkGrove, Natomas, and you didn't mention Technique, but it's in RanchoCordova.

1. It sure ain't IGC! There not a bad gym and they have a nice complex. Basically the girl's team is run by 2 Russian coaches and maybe Svetlana is there or Technique.

2. ByersElkGrove has Mas Watanabe and Eli. Byers Roseville has sent a variety of girls off to college but there gym isn't equipped like ElkGrove and it's smaller. They're alright. Byers Elkgrove can have wait lists but it's a pretty sweet gym. In case you don't know, Mas is one of the big name coaches in the US. Came to this country and revamped both the women and men's JO programs years back.

3. REGA is the new gym. My buddy works there and his daughters train there but they are small right now. The owners have a good pedigree and are Russian as well. Small team is good for more hands on time.

4. You didn't mentioned Technique but I might as well. Probably equal to Byers Roseville. I've got another buddy who has daughter who is a L8 there. He lives pretty close to there so it's doubtful he'll go to REGA.

My choices would be:

1. ByersElkGrove
2. Rega
3. Byers Roseville/Technique either/or
4. IGC

Byers ElkGrove beats them all but they have an army of kids. Technique used to but has been slowly dwindling down. Roseville has a fair amount and it's 25 miles from ElkGrove and that traffic would be an easy hour commute.

At the compulsory level, most of the gyms cycle their coaches in and out because many are in college. REGA obviously doesn't have that problem nor does IGC because they are smaller. IGC.

I've heard Joe from Pozsar's/Capitol Flyers is coaching somewhere but I haven't figured out where but I haven't put much effort into it.

Cleanest? Both Byers gyms are pretty clean as is Technique. REGA is new so it lacks the "dirty socks smell" as my friend likes to call it.

All of them offer tumbling. Dunno about dance though. Trick's generally has the market cornerned for gymnastics&dance under one roof but they are a recreational gym as is their split off, Funtastic. They are in Granite Bay, Carmichael-ish, and Folsom.

I don't know prices but they are all roughly the same. Technique used to have pretty much their entire competitive season funded through Bingo and it hurt when they lost it.

1. International Gymnastics Centre (West Sacramento)
2. Byers Gymnastics (Elk Grove and Roseville)
3. Rodina Elite Gymnastics Academy (Sacramento)

I think ByersElkGrove and Technique are probably the only ones who might do TOP's. Maybe Roseville but doubtful. REGA maybe as they only have a handful of kids. Dunno about IGC.

The Region1 TOP's director is out of the bay area, south of SanFrancisco. EastBay probably has the best gymnastics in the bay area, but Champions down south of SanJose is pretty good and Champions or something similar in Stockton is established as well. NorthBay is not a gymnastics power and probably won't be due to the culture. SanFrancisco only has a few gyms, besides a few gyms south of it that are generally stronger. SouthBay is pretty much dominated by CalSportsCenter and there half dozen to dozen gyms in San Jose. WestValley and Airborne were good and are rebuilding. Twistars in MountainView is a pretty good gym just like the gyms in East Bay or over towards Livermore.

In your opinion and experience could you answer the following questions?

- Best established program from Level 3 to Level 10?

- Best pre-TOPS or TOPS program from early age?

- Best trainers, according to personal and current students' achievements?

- Cleanest, best customer service, community participation, etc..?

- Additional programs (Tumbling, dance, summer camps, etc...) and prices?

 

[RangerDad]

BlairBob,

Thank you for the information! Byers Roseville and Techniques are scratched out. I understand that TOPs is not a must for a gym to train successful athletes. As a parent and customer I see a gym with a clear and concise USA Gymnastics program as well manage. Also customer service and cleanness shows how dedicated the owners and staff are to their business (school). We think at this stage we will focus on gym time, one-on-one coaching, and more hand-ons experience. Current list:

1. Davis Diamond Gymnastics
2. Byers ElkGrove
3. REGA

Next is to call the gym, and schedule a class for July-August time frame.

 

[Committed]

Byers roseville does have TOPS, BTW.
I'd say a lot depends on what area you move to, these gyms really aren't very close.

 

[Empowered]

To the original poster, this link might help to see where these Sacramento area teams rank in NorCal.

http://norcalgym.org/results/team_point_talley_2013-14.htm

And I really don't want to be a butthead here, but this paragraph is so bizarre to me I can't not comment.

"The Region1 TOP's director is out of the bay area, south of San Francisco. East Bay probably has the best gymnastics in the bay area, but Champions down south of San Jose is pretty good and Champions or something similar in Stockton is established as well. North Bay is not a gymnastics power and probably won't be due to the culture. San Francisco only has a few gyms, besides a few gyms south of it that are generally stronger. South Bay is pretty much dominated by Cal Sports Center and there half dozen to dozen gyms in San Jose. West Valley and Airborne were good and are rebuilding. Twistars in Mountain View is a pretty good gym just like the gyms in East Bay or over towards Livermore."

Airborne was good but is rebuilding? I don't see how anyone in Norcal could say that with a straight face. Airborne has won the perpetual trophy every single year but 1 since 1996/1997. They may have had some coaching changes, but they remain the largest and strongest team in NorCal. The only program currently in the ballpark of Airborne in terms of size and strength is San Mateo who is breathing down their neck. They have an amazingly strong level 10 team and have some absolutely fantastic little dynamos coming down the pipe right now.

If Airborne, who won levels 5, 7 & 9, placed second in levels 6 & 8 and third in levels 4 & 10 is "rebuilding", God help us all in NorCal when they're built.

Secondly Champions south of San Jose doesn't even have a program anymore for girls.

Third, and this is not meant to disrespect Cal Sports or their coaches in anyway, but the statement that they have dominated the South Bay is axiomatically false, at least for girls gymnastics. Airborne is the power in the South Bay and barring a sinkhole swallowing their gym, they aren't going anywhere.

Though the OP asked about Sacramento area gyms, you will be competing against these Bay Area gyms. You will get to know Airborne, San Mateo, Head Over Heels, CGA and Pac West very well.

 

[BlairBob]

Empowered, I'm a bit rusty and not exactly up to date on the bay area anymore.

CalSports has an army of kids but I never said they were the best. They just are dominated by their gyms and numbers.

Pac West is the gym with a few Romanians I believe. HeadOverHeels has an established program.

San Mateo has been powerful in MAG and WAG for quite some time.

As for Airborne, I'm pretty sure lots of non Airborne gyms get sick of them routing everyone else. I have no idea who they got to replace Justin.

Guess, I will use my contacts to find out who is heading them up these days. I'm curious.

 

[RangerDad]

I learned that Byers ElkGrove has a TOPS program and they trained multiple L10 gymnasts. IGC has good facilities and availability but we have not found specifics about elite training path, competitions won or coaches biography. Byers Roseville is to far! We like Davis Diamonds prices, future facilities, location but we will need to visit to decide.

I don't understand why most GYMS/CLUBS (small business) do not have an updated, clear, and concise websites. It seems that management and organization is not a priority, which makes it hard for an new parent (customer) make the proper decision.


"Strive for perfection, achieve excellence".

 

[BlairBob]

Byers or IGC. One of the concerns about the IGC coaches is that they are getting old.

Davis doesn't really do well, they are a bit sloppy and rough.

Byers Elk Grove is the gym to go IF you can get in. What level is your daughter? If she isn't already in a competitive level, you may have trouble if they are full in their capacity for the lower level development levels.

Id pick REGA over IGC in that case. Small teams often mean competitive season costs are more expensive. National level Russian coaches.

 

[RangerDad]

5 days before we get to Sacramento!!!

After so much research the two options at this time are:

1. REGA

+ Smaller and newer gym equipment
+ Team practice times (4:30-6:30) everyday
+ Coach experience
+ Dance classes

- No TOPS
- Location (North of Downtown area and we are staying SE)
- Established team for future levels

2. Byers Elk grove
+ TOPS program
+ Location
+ Reputation and team meet results

- Team practice 3x a wk
- Maybe waiting list
- No dance

My DD did great this summer! Learning all level 3 skills, in accordance to USAG test (I know it may differ with the actual gym). She is in an amazing shape, so fingers crossed for the try-out and hopefully she can make one of the teams.

 

[my4buffaloes]

Good luck with your decision! I think I would lean towards #2 and just sign her up for a dance class and only have gym 3 days a week. Young kids need days off to just be kids, and practicing every day would be hard!

 

[BlairBob]

I'd test out that commute to Byers. From SE, traffic might be nil but it will be ugly going southbound on the 99 or 5. You might have to go down PowerInn.

Getting to Natomas from SE through downtown will require a Helicopter or streets.

Otoh, from SE, Technique should be easy to get to.

 

[Committed]

100% agree with Blairbob. I'm not quite sure about the commutes, but I would definitely test out the drive to Technique.

 

[twinmomma]

There's been changes at IGC and the coaching staff isn't the same folks it used to be. If you're interested at all in insight feel free to PM me.

**Edited to add my daughter is a level 3 at IGC so if you're interested in insight from someone going there I'm happy to provide that - we like the gym and the coaches.

 

[BlairBob]

Interesting, just noticed the coaching changes on IGC's web page and this is where Trudi ended up.

 

[RangerDad]

Thank you to all of you that provided me with information about the gyms in the area.

After visiting several gyms we decided to go to Techniques.

Why?

We loved the professionalism of their staff compare to the other gyms. The manner in which the instructors interact with parents and the athletes is also great. The training hours are great and the prices are fair. The open floor plan in which I can see DD's training is better than the other gyms. She tested and was placed in LV3 and will try-out for the team in December. Also driving from EastSac is pretty easy with minimum traffic after the Sunrise exit.

We are so lucky! The time spent researching and planning was worth it.


"Strive for perfection, achieve excellence".