UPG 6 Months Later!

So today, Sunday, August 19, 2012, is exactly 6 months since UPG opened its doors. WOW! How time flies! As I reflect back to the Opening Day, worried that no one would come to the Grand Opening, since we didn’t do any paid advertising, just word of mouth from the people that knew Carly, Missy and myself, a Facebook page & our website. Then they came, they saw and they believed in our mission. They saw & learned what we are all about, how we love the sport of Gymnastics and how we want to pass it on to the next generation. Not just with mediocrity, but with excellence! This sport has taught us a lot about life in general; that if you really work hard at something you will be successful! There is no easy way!

So when I sit back and reflect, I see the 6 year old little girl who was doing bridges up the steps in her house that her mom signed her up for gymnastics and then became a member of Team UP in just 4 months to the 13 year old who told me she wanted to be a college gymnast & was willing to work hard to do that and she does everyday, it brings tears to my eyes because this is a huge reason why UPG exists! For the children who really want to be great at this sport & reach their potential. There’s a story for each child that walks though the door of UPG, a story of wanting to be the best they can be! I will share them all one day!

Now I’m going to be frank. This wasn’t easy. What it took to get to this point was a ton of convincing my husband that it was a worthwhile venture, a 5-year wait! Five years is a very long time, especially in the life of a gymnast. At first we had a handshake agreement on a suitable, but small space, until the rug was pulled out from under us in the most unethical way. A lesson learned, but God really does work in mysterious ways, because the perfect building fell into our lap the very next day.
“Oh wait, you can’t put a commercial business in an industrial park,” said the property manager. So the 3 month long process began to change the laws, and with unanimous support the ordinances were changed! But none of this was easy. It was quite frankly hard-fought.

So now Ultimate Performance Gymnastics exists, it’s here to stay, it’s not a novelty like some may think, but a real and awesome place to learn gymnastics, with awesome coaches who love and lived the sport of gymnastics their whole lives and want to pass it on to the younger generation. To teach children how to be the BEST they can be!

Thank you to all that have supported us and continue to do so. We look forward to a bright future!

TEAM what it really means…

As Destiny Baughman & I walked into the gym one day last week for an extra training session for TOPs, she turns to me & says, “Do you know what “TEAM” means to me Lynn? I said, “No Des, what does it mean to you?”  Her reply, and this is from an 8 yr old who for the last 2 months has trained by herself for TOPs, “Together Everyone Achieves More!” 

WOW! They really do get it, even one of the youngest members of Team UP!  It’s not about beating your teammate in a competition or having more skills than the rest, but everyone working hard to be successful as a TEAM!  Being the best you can be for the TEAM!

I learned this from all my coaches as a gymnast growing up as a Parkette.  It was never about one individual, but always about everyone being successful!  Some might have been better on one event than another, but it always came down to everyone being a contributor to the team.  That’s what mattered the most to everyone, the gymnasts, the coaches and the parents.  I truly thank my coaches for instilling in each one of us this philosophy!  That is what Ultimate Performance Gymnastics is all about, that’s one of the most important reasons I built this gym!

As I watch the women’s team finals of the 2012 Olympics, USA young ladies truly get it too!  I know one had a horrible disappointment during qualifications, a heartbreaking one!  Though she’s a strong person and did not let it affect her when it mattered the most for the TEAM!  Together they put forth their best effort & went all out to accomplish a goal and they were successful!  Congratulations to TEAM USA on being the 2012 OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS!!

When the Rubber Meets the Road

The euphoria of watching your plan come together has lifted and you are facing the harsh reality of logistics. You find yourself standing in the middle of a large warehouse overwhelmed with truckload after truckload of gymnastics equipment, pallets stacked high with boxes you can't lift, everything with major assembly required, and suddenly you realize that you need help from your friends, all the help you can get! But people have busy lives and responsibilities of their own. Who can find the time to help you, to be there when the rubber meets the road, when it really counts? Tracy Lawrence wrote a great country song about it:

"...Somebody's gonna drop everything, Run out and crank up their car, hit the gas, get there fast, never stop to think, 'What's in it for me?' or 'It's way too far!' They just show on up with their big old heart..." Tracy Lawrence, Find Out Who Your Friends Are

In building my own gymnastics school from scratch, I've discovered that people will come through for you. They will help you meet the challenge and ask for nothing in return. The amount of help I have received during the past week and continue to receive daily is a testament to that truth. It reaffirms how I feel about this area and its children. If you want to build a gymnastics facility and have it last, you first have to love your community and want to make it better. When the community sees your true motivation and understands why you are doing it, not for financial gain or to one-up someone else, but to provide something wonderful for children, something of the highest quality because their children are worth it, they will understand, just as your friends already do.  And they will be there too, when the rubber meets the road!

Getting Hooked on Gymnastics!

It happened to me when I was young, and it may happen to your child as well. The first symptom is the enthusiasm that young gymnasts feel towards the sport of gymnastics. You see it in the faces of gymnasts who finally make that new skill they've worked so hard to accomplish. It's what helped me develop from an eager little girl attempting her first back handspring into an accomplished college gymnast and eventually into a successful gymnastics coach. It starts with drills and techniques taught by dedicated coaches who simply love the sport of gymnastics like no other. Young gymnasts begin with "basics" to learn body position and develop muscle memory, and repeat those skills over and over and over with each workout until it practically becomes a lifestyle. Their little muscles learn what to do, when to pull, when to push, how to become flexible and how to get stronger. With each success comes an enthusiasm that makes them want to do more, to get that first kip or round-off back handspring. Suddenly your child is begging for more time in the gym to work on skills and you can feel the excitement and the commitment that starts to bubble up as the child progresses. As they notice more advanced gymnasts working out and perfecting that giant or flyaway, the sparkle in their eyes intensifies and they picture themselves achieving that same degree of perfection one day. It becomes a mission, a devotion, and an incentive to work harder until they eventually find themselves like me, hooked on the sport of gymnastics, always looking towards their next workout, skill or competition and transferring that intensity to everything in their lives. Look out world, another gymnast has arrived!

Learning to Plan with Purpose

As I reflect back on this experience as a whole, I'd like to share what I've learned about planning a gym. Like running a marathon, building a gymnastics school from scratch takes a tremendous amount of strategy and preparation, planning for both the easy stretches when you are full of energy, and the long arduous miles, which make up the bulk of the race. There are two kinds of runners, and for that matter, business owners: those who have a plan and those who plan with purpose. The first type knows what they should be doing (or should have done) but stumble along hoping to finish the race, while the second type takes the proper steps one-by-one to accomplish the plan and win the race. When I first started this endeavor 5 years ago, I knew what I wanted and formulated my plan, but I learned it takes a lot more than that. You can't pursue any plan haphazardly and expect good results. You can't just sprint to the finish line in the fastest way possible. You'll trip, stumble or just run out of gas and others will pass you by. I've learned that a plan with purpose does not take any shortcuts. I could have cut corners, purchased old equipment, saved money upfront and settled for a lot less, but where would I be down the road? Planning without purpose leaves you running a race without a finish line. In short, I've learned that opening a gymnastic school the right way has a steep learning curve, but there is only one way to do it for long term success. It means planning harder, thinking further, and going the extra mile in every step of the process. I've learned that it's not important what is easiest, what someone else has done, or what others think you should be doing. It's essentially choosing to prepare with purpose for what can only be described as a marathon.

The Gymnast Phenomenon

It's a fact that children who become gymnasts do better in school. Studies have shown that gymnasts as a whole, get better grades than other athletic groups from elementary to high school and throughout college. A college gymnast is three times more likely to win an NCAA academic award or post-graduate scholarship than an athlete from any other sport. In fact, the NCAA awards more post-graduate scholarships to gymnasts than to any other female sport (source: http://www.mit.edu/~fog/stats.htm). But why? What makes gymnasts so special? How can a competitive student gymnast spend 15-20 hours a week, year-round in a gym and still excel academically, get homework done and make the honor roll? The answer lies in what they learn from gymnastics: self-discipline, dedication, and commitment to the sport. It translates into success in the classroom and beyond. If you've met a few gymnasts, you already know they are some of the brightest, sweetest, most gifted children on the planet. However, it didn't happen overnight or by accident. Their parents first persuaded them to try it, and then they learned from their coaches and teammates. What motivates them? They want to grow and get better with each practice. Every day they strive to become a little bit better than they were the day before. With that attitude it's no wonder that children who become gymnasts do better in school. Now imagine spending your time as a parent, coach or teacher with that wonderful group of hard workers, helping them learn, watching them grow into the best that our world has to offer. It makes you want to be better as well, and do everything you can to help them. It might even inspire you to build your own gymnastics school from scratch!

Selling A Dream

Selling a dream to someone else isn't easy, especially when you are asking for a large financial commitment and the prospect of years before you see a return on your investment. Starting a gymnastics school from scratch requires help from a lot of different people including your spouse. My husband is a shrewd investor by nature, who takes his time with any decision that involves money. From the start, he insisted that I go very slowly, research the market, learn the area, take business courses and develop a business plan that looks at least 5 years ahead. I would also have to start small in whatever suitable space I could afford to rent. While it's disappointing not to break ground on a new building (we all want instant gratification), I also understand my husband's points about trade-offs, cost-to-benefit, and time to profitability. His motto is, "You can have whatever you want once you've earned it." It's hard to wait when you are so committed to bringing something so badly needed in this area right now. However, you have to sell it, even to those closest to you. You can't forget that. It's not enough to have a passion for something you want without a detailed plan. You have to bring others on board, even if it means bringing yourself down to earth, starting where you can, and waiting for that dream groundbreaking one day -- after you've earned it.