World Class Gymnastics Named Virginia Gymnastics' Optional Club of the Year

Virginia USA Gymnastics recently named World Class Gymnastics the Optional Club of the Year for 2005.

Newport News, Virginia (PRWEB) October 23, 2005 -- World Class Gymnastics was recently named Virginia Gymnastics’ Optional Club of the Year by Virginia USA Gymnastics. “The 2005 season was far more than the culmination of a lot of hard work by our athletes and coaching staff, it's something the entire organization has been building towards for the past 5 years,” said Tami Elliott-Harrison, Head Coach and Owner of World Class Gymnastics which is located in the Hampton Roads community of Newport News, Virginia. “Many of our optional gymnasts and coaches have been with us since the gym first opened and that says a lot about the program and the staff,” added Ms. Elliott-Harrison.

When the facility opened in 2000, the coaching staff, gymnasts and parents wanted to build the premier gymnastics training center in Hampton Roads. Over the past two years, that vision, along with the dedication to a mission, and a lot of hard work, has begun to pay off. World Class Gymnastics has earned the designation of National Training Center from the sport’s sanctioning body, USA Gymnastics, and has seen the number of team gymnasts increase from sixty to almost one hundred.

The World Class training philosophy is fundamentally different than most gymnastics programs. The coaches focus on both the mental and physical fitness of the athletes. The coaching staff takes great pride in teaching each athlete how to use gymnastics and cheerleading to develop the confidence, determination, control and dedication that allows them to prosper in all of life’s endeavors. It also teaches each child the importance of stepping up their performance at each subsequent level. As a result, athlete’s who start and finish at World Class are mentally prepared for life’s challenges and opportunities, whether they are an Olympic caliber gymnast or not.

That philosophy is definitely working. To date, each of World Class Gymnastics’ graduating seniors has continued their education and their gymnastics career at the college level and most have earned scholarships along the way and next years graduating class is already shaping up as a good one. Two of this years graduating seniors have already secured scholarship commitments from top-flight NCAA Division I-A colleges.

“This is a demanding sport and it is very easy to get caught up in the gymnastics grist mill if you are not balancing your priorities as a coach,” states Elliott-Harrison. “Our training program has been designed to start with recreational gymnasts and encourages a competitive gymnast to go far as he or she wants to go. The Head Coach emphasizes that the World Class coaching staff is concerned with the mental and physical health of each gymnast. “As our success demonstrates, we are concerned with results, but not at the expense of our athlete’s mental and physical well-being.

Concern for the athlete’s physical health resulted in another innovation…a volunteer team physician. Dr. Jeffrey Carlson of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Specialists of Hampton Roads works closely with the staff so that coaches, parents and athletes can get medical guidance before a minor injury turns into a significant problem. “Dr. Carlson is kind enough to provide an evaluation whenever the coaching staff asks so that any corrective action can be taken quickly,” stated the head coach. “We feel this proactive approach keeps our gymnasts healthier and improves their performance in the long-run by reducing the severity and duration of training strains and pulls,” she added.

In addition to the medical support, World Class Gymnastics competitive athletes are supported financially by a very active sponsorship association. “Our coaching staff asks our sponsors to support the team’s athletes by enabling our gymnasts to compete at the most competitive venues possible,” said the Head Coach. “Gymnasts competing at the top meets are asked to bring something of that experience back to their teammates. In that manner, we’ve accelerated our development as a top flight program. It also underscores the importance of sending our gymnasts to compete in programs like the Talent Opportunity Program (TOPs) for the girls, Future Stars for the boys and the College Bound Invitational for those who will graduate in the next two years”, added Elliott-Harrison. For our organization, it’s all about getting each gymnast to the most competitive venues in which they are qualified to compete and having them bring the value of that experience back to the entire team.

To do so is very expensive, however. The booster association is always looking for corporate and individual sponsors that can help the athletes travel to the top national and international competitions. The organization is made up of parents, community-minded individuals, businesses and corporations that are dedicated to the success of the entire World Class Team. Anyone interested in a tax-deductible sponsorship of World Class Gymnastics’ athletes can contribute online at www.wcgpa.com.

What are Ms. Elliott-Harrison’s goals for the next 5 years? “We have Child Elite and International Elite gymnasts, TOPs Team members and Future Star program participants that have the potential to compete as a member of the National Team,” says Tami, “but our goal is still the same: help as many gymnasts as possible achieve their full potential, both in gymnastics, and in life itself.”

For Additional Information, contact:
Robert Dynan, President
World Class Gymnastics Parents Association
Ph: 757-890-0190
Fx: 757-890-0589
http://worldclassgym.com

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