Kids Gymnastics Classes

• safe, fun, and supportive environment
• learn gymnastics
• ages 3 upwards
  

We're Passionate About Kids Gymnastics

At Saddleworth Ballet School, what makes our gymnastics/acrobatics experience unique, is that our class sizes are typically much smaller than those you will find in busy gymnastics centres.

This means shorter queue times, more indiviudal attention that allows for quicker skill-correction, and most importantly, no student being overlooked. 

Through experience, we have found with many gymnasts who have walked through our doors, that the progressive nature in which new skills and tricks should be taught, hasn't always been followed through.

This means we have often found that the gymnasts are lacking in technical execution or missing certain skills altogether.

Consequently, the gymnasts have been exposed to a high risk of injury, especially when considering the high-volume nature of overuse injuries that already exist for gymnasts due to repetitive drills, not to mention the mental exhaustion.

We have many gymnasts who still attend their gymnastics training, but also choose to train with us. 

Our Approach To Teaching Kids Gymnastics

At Saddleworth Ballet School we are not structured around a high-performance pathway that can lead to students feeling fearful of being moved to a lower group or under pressure to achieve scores.

Instead, we focus on adapting training to suit different learning styles and nurturing developing athletes creativity and individuality in their skill progression; differentiation underpins the ethos of what do we. 

Overall, we aim to deliver an improved coaching quality, and an improved overall experience for the gymnast and parent, compared to busy gymnastics centres. 

Moreover, our gymnastics/acrobatics class does not come with the high fee often associated with large gymnastics centre; our gymnastics/acrobatics classes are £7 for 1 hour.

The Gymnastics Classes We Offer

• ages 3-5 Beginner's
• ages 6-10 Improver's
• ages 11+ Intermediate's

Whilst age plays a factor, we always aim to ensure a child is offered a trial in the class best suited to them, meaning extensive previous gymnastics/acrobatics exeprience may mean attending the next class up. 

Why we offer gymnastics classes for kids

At Saddleworth Ballet School we know just how important the skills and tricks are to our aspiring dancers when attending future auditions and performances, but most importantly the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills these classes provide, act as a fantastic foundation for our tiniest of gymnasts/dancers.

Whilst learning exciting new tricks your child will develop key physical attributes such as muscular strength and control, co-ordination and balance, and flexibility, alongside nurturing your child's mental and social skills, such as commitment and progression, and teamwork. 

What Your Child Will Learn In The Beginner Class

Our Beginner Gymnastics Class with Miss Rachel is a warm and friendly class and our students love being taught by her! 

Miss Rachel will help your child to build basic physical movement skills, such as

• running,
• hopping,
• skipping,
• jumping and landing safely,
• crawling,
• bear walks
• and crab walks. 

In addition floor-based gymnastics work at this level includes: 

• Shapes: tuck, like, straddle, straight-body
  
• Balance and coordination games
• Forward rolls, side rolls
• Introduction into cartwheel progressions
• Mini obstacle courses. 

This class also offers very early and fun beam preparation, such as walking on floor lines and low foam beams, tipotoe walks, balance poses, and stepping over objects on a beam. 

We also have lots of fun with vault preparation, such as running and jumping onto mats, squatting on shapes over blocks, and safe landing drills. 

What Your Child Will Learn In The Improver's Class

Miss Rachel builds on everything the gymnast/dancer has learnt in their Beginner's class, with more focus on learning specific skills, mastering correct technique and shapes and most importantly, starting to put skills together into sequences. 

Children love learning new skills such as:

• forwards and backwards rolls,
• cartwheels and round-offs,
• handstands,
• kick-overs from a bridge progressing into forwards and backwards walkovers,
• basic tumbling connections,
• jump-shapes,
• leaps,
• and turns.

The students learn the importance of linking skills smoothly, having spatial awareness, and safe landings.

Within the class the students development of their body alignment and posture becomes an increased focus and they begin to understand and apply performance skills to their gymnastics/acrobatics.

We also see an increase in the strength and conditioning, and flexibility training at this level, with a focus on safe stretching. 

What Your Child Will Learn In The Intermediate Class

Within this session, Miss Rachel ensures attention is paid to the gymnasts/dancers dynamic mobility, especially of the hips, shoulders, ankles, knees and wrists, with the aim of keeping our athletes risk of injury as low as possible; this is esepcially important during growth spurts and hormone changes.

Our gymnasts/dancers work on strong round-offs, handsprings, and layouts, the dance element includes leaps, jumps and turns performed with control, and precise footwork and posture, whilst continuing to develop artistry.

Students in this class follow excellent core and upper-body strength exercises, alongside flexibility training.

Miss Rachel is excellent at recognising our indivdual gymnasts/dancer's needs, ranging from different progressions for different bodies, and has absolute respect for rehabilitating from injuries and the important role a coach can play in this, and respect for fear phases which students can often exeprience.

Moreover, Miss Rachel is a respectful coach who places emphasis on effort, not just results. 

What You Should Wear For Our Gymnastics Classes

Ideally, leotard/t-shirt, and shorts/leggings, and bare feet, with all loose hair tied securely away from the face.