Club Rules Leave High School Gymnastics Teetering

Mike Cooper, a coach at Virginia schools, says high school gymnastics may be facing its end. (By Jonathan Newton -- The Washington Post)

When teaching gymnastics to his Flint Hill Elementary School physical education class, Mike Cooper is often asked by parents where their children can receive further instruction. A longtime high school gymnastics coach in Northern Virginia, Cooper happily rattles off the names of gymnastics clubs -- but only those whose owners permit their elite gymnasts to compete on high school teams.

Cooper's selective recommendation is one example of the friction between high school coaches in need of gymnasts, particularly the good ones, and some club owners who frown on high school gymnastics.

This much seems clear: If high school and club coaches cannot learn to share talented athletes, high school girls' gymnastics could die in Northern Virginia.

The number of schools fielding teams varies from winter to winter. Cooper and others coach athletes from multiple schools: This winter, for instance, he coaches at Fairfax, Falls Church, Oakton and W.T. Woodson.

"I think 10 years down the line, we probably won't have it," said Cooper, noting that the boys' gymnastics program in Northern Virginia dissolved several years ago. In Maryland, only Montgomery and Anne Arundel counties offer gymnastics (their teams compete in the spring).

High school and club gymnastics offer different experiences. High school gymnastics is less demanding, with girls of various skill levels striving for team success and, of course, to improve their scores in the four events (vault, balance beam, uneven parallel bars and floor exercise).

There are about 15 gymnastics clubs in Northern Virginia, and the competition is a more intense, solitary pursuit, with an emphasis on individual training and, in many cases, pursuit of a scholarship.

Northern Virginia high school coaches say it is not too much to ask of the clubs to allow the most talented athletes to participate for their school from mid-November until late February. Most coaches are willing to allow the elite gymnasts to bounce between club and school practices, and they say the girls' involvement with high school gymnastics helps expand the sport, staves off burnout and attracts media coverage not afforded to club gymnastics.

Club owners are concerned about the quality of instruction at high schools and about equipment that is often inferior to what the clubs offer.

Marty Comiskey, who has owned Gymini Gymnastics Club in Herndon for 28 years, allows his gymnasts to compete at school because he thinks the experience is worthwhile.

"Some nights our gym is deserted because they're all at high school practices or meets, which makes it frustrating for our coaching staff," Comiskey said. "But ultimately we're doing what we think is best for kids."

Other club owners say it's best for some athletes to avoid high school gymnastics. Sergio Galvez, manager and part-owner of Capital Gymnastics National Training Center in Burke, said he supports high school gymnastics and even has high school teams that work out at his facility. But he thinks the future of high school gymnastics hinges on schools' attracting and developing non-club gymnasts. Galvez believes the club gymnasts who compete in high school discourage some less-experienced gymnasts from trying out.