AGA Northwest Gig Harbor

"If you have older athletes who are moving (or hoping to move) beyond level 4 - this is not the gym for you. We were on the competitive team for 4 years at this gym and endured 3 complete changes of coaching, each time going through a "rebuilding phase." One of the changes in coaching was due to an abusive coach who would routinely scream at the children, belittle them, and while one child was having an asthma attack - yell "see (insert your kids name here) this is what happens when you can't do a back hip circle. Now keep running!" The owner should have known about this but was too disconnected to be at the gym to supervise/provide guidance, and when we brought this to the owner's attention she denied it was even happening and then with substantial proof it took months to get resolved. The owner of the gym will promise you all kinds of things at the pre-season meeting (i.e., what coach you'll have, that she will coach your child's level 1x per week, your level coach is new but will be mentored by another more experienced coach 2x per week, times for your level practice etc.) Then about 4 weeks before the season begins, you have paid your dues, purchased your competition leotard, and it's too late to change gyms, everything will change. Coaches will quit or be fired, and your level 3 will practice with the 2's for the next few weeks - or worse yet practice on their own. Mentorship between coaches won't take place because there aren't enough of them to go around. The owner will not coach as promised due to "scheduling conflicts" but you will then see the owner coaching her child's pre-team practice that same day. Practice times/days will change due to lack of coaches at the last min and communication regarding this is shotty at best, typically sent out with a post to FB (sometimes buried in the comments), but not Messenger, text, or an urgent email that is directed directly at you. Final meet details are not published until the week of the event often leaving families scrambling for accommodations at higher rates or time off from work to attend because you found out the day before that their daughter was competing on Friday and not Sunday. Bring these issues up to the owner and she will ridicule you. Not in a direct conversation mind you, but to other team families and always behind your back. Try out for a different gym and she will contact the owners of that gym and slander you and even worse, your children. All this while sending you a form email telling you that you've been kicked out of the gym for not "being loyal" and goes on talking about how to be a good sportsman and that your daughter should be respectful to them at meets should they cross paths. If evaluating this gym for your child/athlete, ask yourself why there are no high-level optional athletes? Why do they not have equipment needed for optional training. Why are the overwhelming number of coaches late teens with very little experience and largely unsupervised? Why are athletes spotting other athletes during complex skills? Why do all the girls who make it to level 5/6 tend to quit and go elsewhere? Why do the employees at the front desk keep quitting? Ask how many of the higher compulsory level athletes made the podium at State? Three are many other gyms in the area that will not put you through any of the above. I would suggest checking them out before you commit your hard-earned money to AGA."

"I should have read the Yelp reviews and acted accordingly. My daughter had been on the team for 3 years and was a level 5. The owner stated that she was going to coach a few days a week, as the current optionals coach has an injured back and cannot spot certain skills. 3 weeks before the season starts the owner quits coming to practice and my daughter is no longer attempting skills that need a spot - the owner has purchased another gym and is spending all her time getting that one up and running. Literally this exact same thing happened when the owner said she would be coaching a few years back and then purchased a gym in Marysville and never came back to Tacoma/Gig Harbor. We went looking for another gym that could help my daughter achieve her potential and have coaches that can spot her. The new gym called for a reference and the owner (Nichole) slandered my daughter saying she had an incredibly bad attitude, no work ethic, was difficult to deal with, and there tantrums when she didn't get her way. We then received a letter asking us to leave with everything in her locker being packed up in a trash bag. Fortunately this is not the first time other gym owners in the area have heard similar things like this from AGA. The new gym accepted my daughter and she is now a thriving level 6. Gymnastics is expensive and time consuming - go somewhere that values your hard earned money and treats your kiddo like a human and not a paycheck."

"I can't say enough good thing's about AGA for my daughter. The staff here is amazing with my daughter and it feels like a family for us. So happy we found this gem."

"The coaches are so kind, both my kiddos are in it. I can't remember my older girls coach but my younger girls is Coach Maddie and she is the BOMB! She is so great with my 3 year old kiddo and I really appreciate her so much!!"

"Came here for a kid's birthday party. Gymnastics teacher was friendly and handled the large group well. The kids had so much fun. I decided to look into the programs they have available and I like that they have such diverse programs with different age groups and focuses. Also like the idea of the day camps they have. Will definitely be looking to enroll our kids here."