Carolina Gymnastics Academy

Where Kids Come First and Learning is Important

CGA is thriving in it's tenth year of business. The gymnastics school opened in September 2000 and has since carved a niche for itself in the Wilmington recreational and competitive gymnastics world. "We thought about what was important to us as parents - a clean, safe environment with the most up-to-date equipment, combined with a staff that cares about our children," says Michele Zapple.

Owners Rebecca Bishop and Michele Zapple (both competitive artistic gymnasts and springboard divers) wanted to bring the concept of educational preschool gymnastics to the forefront. "All parents want the best for their child, and we found a way to incorporate the fun physical activity of gymnastics with the educational process of a young child's development. In the preschool program, children learn the basics of gymnastics, while reinforcing the concepts of numbers, shapes, and colors in our weekly, structured lessons. All children go home with coloring paper or a sticker on their hand to remind them of what they were taught in gymnastics that day," says Coach Becky, as the children call her. "We have broken down all gymnastics skills, from beginner to advanced, into a series of achievable small steps, so that each child can experience success in the gym, whether it's as simple as a cartwheel or as complicated as a full twisting back layout" says Coach Michele.

The introduction of Rhythmic Gymnastics to Wilmington coincides nicely with the educational uses of apparatus such as ribbons, balls, hoops, clubs, and ropes, while doing acrobatic moves. All classes at Carolina Gymnastics Academy are exposed to rhythmic gymnastics, and studies have shown that the patterns and directional concepts that are required for rhythmic gymnastics encourage both sides of the brain to develop.

In the Preschool program, Mom & Tot Classes for ages 18 months - 3 years, and a Baby Gym Class for babies crawling to 17 months, plus many Preschool age classes are available throughout the week, with morning, afternoon, and evening times available to accomodate every family's unique schedule.
All instructors have previous teaching and competitive experience, most are CPR and First Aid certified, and all of them are trained by the owners to follow the philosophy of the gym. All team coaches have undergone background checks required by USA Gymnastics, so parents have peace of mind regarding their children's coaches. "It's different when you have kids of your own. We know how much parents want for their children and we can understand when they have a concern about their child's progress or behavior" says Coach Becky. Coach Michele adds, "We try to put it in perspective for the parent, and also consider what's best for the child and what's developmentally appropriate. We love kids, and we love gymnastics, and when we can make our living teaching other kids to love gymnastics, then we consider ourselves lucky people.

Coaches:  Carey Hynds, Christina Jordan, Emi Valine, Ashley Blackman, Dee Winkler, Caroline Forton, Vandon Shields, Michelle Todd, Carrigan Creech, Hannah Conklin, Kevin Shea, Jack Zapple, Zoey Zapple  Office Staff:  Mary Ingle, Melissa Cliver, Stephanie Cioffi