Coach Tyler here.

Contrary to what our culture is telling us, boys are different than girls! That's how God made us! 

We need action.

Courage.

Focus.

Discipline.

We REALLY need good friends.

And good role models. 

These are EVEN MORE important than the strength, flexibility, and flips that we teach. 

And we know that. Which is why we created our Ninja class. 

See some of our Ninjas in action! 

Takes you to the private Apex Gym Secrets Facebook Group

We know your kids will change the world one day. And want them to be ready to handle whatever life throws their way.

Thank you for letting us be a part of the honing of these arrows! 

Psalm 127:4-5 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man (or woman!) whose quiver is full of them.

Meet Caroline...

This is Caroline.

Two weeks ago, she came into practice and immediately I could tell that something was “off”. She wasn’t her usual cheerful self. And when I say cheerful, I mean singing and skipping - that kind of cheerful self.

5 minutes into practice she came over to me and said she was stressed. Then she broke down.

After a few minutes, we were able to discuss the workload that she was under at school in addition to her other activities.

She had deadlines. A lot of them. And spending time at gym in practice meant she would be up until midnight AGAIN, just trying to keep her head above water.

The stress was pouring out from her, in the form of fear, frustration, and tears.

We talked.

We breathed.

We decided that nothing could be compromised on - it all had to be done.

So what she needed was a plan. A way to decide. To prioritize.

Just like she does in practice. She keeps a journal. She lists every skill, drill and routine that she does every practice.

Now she was going to do that for her whole week.

So we got her journal, and pulled out a back page.

She blocked out her daily schedule, and prioritized her tasks.

Once it was all down on paper she said she felt better. A lot better. Especially because, she said, she wouldn’t forget anything this way.

We agreed that it was a good plan, and also agreed that it could be changed as needed.

She returned to practice and had a good day.

I checked in with her the next day and asked if she had stuck with the plan.

She said that she had. And that she was already ahead of schedule because she could give her attention to one thing at a time, rather than feeling stressed about everything at once.

By the end of that week, she was nearly a week ahead in every subject at school.

And she was able to go to bed around 10 instead of midnight. She was sleeping better. She woke up rested, and excited for the day.

She feels like a new girl.

Caroline, this is how we do everything. Not just gymnastics. You’re going to make a lot of people proud. Not just me.

Go get ‘em, girl!

Alexa, 13

This past weekend Team Apex and the Advanced Training Group (ATG) competed in the 2019 Dallas Cup, the first  competition of the new year for our athletes.  Hosted by Eagles Wing’s Athletics, the Dallas Cup is the largest Tumbling and Trampoline Invitational meet in the US, and is comprised of approximately 1,000 athletes from all over the United States and Canada competing from Level 1 to Elite in Trampoline, Double Mini Trampoline, and Tumbling.

Apex started 2019 off strong and took home a total of 21 gold medals, 9 silver medals, and 3 bronze medals, along with numerous flight awards. 

Though we’re proud of the hard work from every member of Team Apex and ATG, we wanted to spotlight a few athletes whose hard work and dedication especially paid off at this competition.

Garrett, far left, saluting with his first place flight award.

Gunnar Ramos, age 10 from Aubrey, TX, eagerly anticipated the Dallas Cup as it was to be his first ever competition experience. Gunnar joined ATG this past summer, and was very happy taking home two first place overall medals in Level 3 Double Mini and Trampoline.

Also competing for the first time as a member of Team Apex, Samantha Taylor, age 13 from Prosper, TX, performed beautifully and snagged a first place overall medal in Level 4 Trampoline, Level 4 Tumbling, and a second place overall in Level 5 Double Mini. With previous artistic gymnastics experience, Samantha joined Team this past summer as well, and has since fallen in love with tumbling and trampoline.

Julia Parker, age 14 from Pilot Point, TX, and the 2018 Level 6 National Champion in Trampoline, took home a gold in Level 7 Trampoline - her first time competing this level. She had hoped to place just as strong in Double Mini and Tumbling, but incurred a minor strain in her forearm during tumbling warm-ups and was unable to compete. Even still, we are proud of Julia for competing #apexstrong. This will be her seventh season with Team Apex, and she plans to be healed and ready to compete at our upcoming competitions in February.

Coach Tyler (middle), with Ana Grace (L), and Sabella (R)

Another Team Apex veteran, Sabella Smith, age 13 from Pilot Point, TX, took home first place overall medals in Level 7 Double Mini, and Level 7 Trampoline. Sabella is also a committed dancer, and has seen the benefit at working hard in both sports. This will also be her seventh season with Team Apex.

Miranda Adams, age 14 from Oak Point, TX, gave a standout performance in all three events. She took home gold in Level 6 Trampoline, Level 4 Tumbling, and silver in Double Mini. Miranda has been a strong performing member of Team Apex for three years, and has her eye on a national championship this July in Palm Beach, FL.

To view the total results of all the members of Team Apex and ATG, click here. Team Apex and ATG are currently preparing for WOGA classic 2019 in February, a competition held at the Cowboy’s Stadium in Frisco, TX.

At Apex, we love kids! And we know how good gymnastics is for our minds and bodies. Let us share with you our top reasons… 
 
Why We Believe Your Child Should Be Involved In Gymnastics 

1. Exercise 
   With our media-saturated culture and busy schedules, it’s difficult to find the time to exercise. Even P.E. is being cut in some cases. Exercise should be FUN and PRODUCTIVE. Gymnastics is both, which is why we believe it’s perfect for children! Our desire is to instill a love for health, fitness, and an active lifestyle—all in a fun and safe environment. 

2. Following Instructions 
   Our instructors are trained to be specific and detailed in their instruction of gymnastic skills. This encourages students to listen and follow carefully and correctly, even when the gym is busy. This is a key life skill! 

3. Focus 
   Students are often surprised to learn what they can accomplish when they can focus well. We believe that the ability to stay on task for a set period of time, without getting sidetracked or distracted, is incredibly important. 

4. Coordination 
   Spending time learning gymnastics will benefit every sport your child plays. Nothing teaches coordination like needing to control your body while upside down in a flip! Body inversion and the trampoline are tremendous training tools that develop coordination as well as gross, and fine motor skills.   

5. Patience 
   Gymnastics takes time. We love seeing students who are comfortable with being patient, both with themselves and with others.  

6. Asking For Help 
   It has been shown that one of the hardest things for people to admit is, “I don’t know,” or “I need help.” We want our students to overcome this obstacle. It’s okay to not know, and it’s okay to need help—and we believe gymnastics provides the opportunity for instructors to teach this lesson. 

7. Learning How To Handle Failure 
   Students WILL fail in gymnastics. Many times, gymnastics is the first time that a young child comes face to face with their own failure. “I tried that skill and I fell.” “I couldn’t finish the conditioning drills in time.” “I lost the game of ‘Stick It’.” What matters most to us is that our athletes learn that failure does not mean defeat. Instead, we coach that failure means a chance to learn from mistakes, and to get another step closer to success. 

8. Grit 
   Defined as strength in resolve, or, as the ability to stick with something over a long period of time without giving up. Gymnastics students must have grit to succeed. What a crucial ability to have! 

9. Ambition and Drive 
   We often tell children to dream big. Gymnastics provides the opportunity to dream—along with the ability to directly affect that dream now!  

10. Courage 
    Gymnastics requires students to step outside of their comfort zones. Though the drills to be accomplished, the mats, and the instructor all make putting whole skills together safe, it can often still be a somewhat scary and uncertain experience at times. We want our students to get lots of experience in knowing their limits, and encourage them to be ready to try hard things. Courage is acknowledging the “scary,” but doing your best anyways. 

11. Respect 
    To maintain order in class respect must be given to rules, classmates, the equipment, and of course, the instructor. Gymnasts have ample time and opportunity to learn respect. 

12. Appropriate Levels of Confidence 
    Being overly confident in one’s abilities is not good. However, students can and should learn that society’s expectations are often limiting, and something that they can far exceed. Children can accomplish many difficult things. We coach students to know the difference between the difficult, and the dangerous.  In other words, our goal is to help students understand which skills simply require hard work and training to attain, and which skills that are out of reach for their ability levels. Students should know their limits, but also push themselves to do their best. 

What are your favorite benefits of gymnastics? 

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See you in the gym!