Published: January 05, 2009 08:22 pm      

Y looks for more young gymnasts

DANVILLE — From the tips of her red, nail-polished toes to her bouncy, curly pigtails, Sophia Stormer looked every inch the gymnast.

The 6-year-old Danville girl waited her turn along with the other eight members of the Dynamite Gymnastics team at the Danville Family YMCA. They were about to present a one-hour exhibition, which would be followed by an open session for anyone interested in joining the gymnastics program.

Sophia has been enrolled in the YMCA’s gymnastics for the past 1½ years, According to her mother, Angela Fitz, Sophia has “Olympic dreams.

“She really enjoys it,” Fitz said. “She pushes herself.”

Sophia’s mom and her dad, Josh Stormer, have six children in their family. As YMCA family members, the parents have all the children involved in different activities there.

Gymnastics appeals most to Sophia, but she also enjoys swimming at the Y. Her favorite gymnastics are done on the bars, the floor and the vault.

“I guess you could say I like it all,” she said.

Yasmine Morgan, an 8-year-old gymnast from Georgetown, just joined the Y’s gymnastics team this summer.

“She always has so much energy,” Yasmine’s grandmother, Liz Wright, said. “She’d always be jumping around the front room.

“Now she does gymnastics in the front room,” Wright said. “It helps her get that energy out.”

Angie Hack, the Y’s gymnastics director, said students can follow one of two paths to make the team.

“They can actually try out (for Dynamite Gymnastics,)” she said, “or they can work their way up through the program, learning the routines as they go.”

Team members range in age from 5-16, while students in the regular classes can be as young as toddlers accompanied by their parents to 16-year-olds.

One youngster came to observe the Y’s gymnastics program and try some of the equipment.

Dawson Craft, 9-years-old, has played soccer for the past four years. Now, inspired by this summer’s Olympic games, he wants to explore another option.

“I have friends who can do back flips,” Dawson said. “I’d like to learn how.”

There’s more to the YMCA’s gymnastics program than equipment and routines.

“Our program is family oriented and Christian-based,” Hack said. “That’s part of the appeal.

“We have the space for gymnastics here and we have the staff,” she said, referring to the other three instructors. “We don’t have all the students we’d like to have yet.”



FYI

To learn more about the Danville Family YMCA’s programs, call 442-0563.