Aerial Gymnastics Club

 

4

43

Rachel S.

Chicago, IL

8/31/2007 1 photo

There is where I grew up - five to six days a week, 3 hours a day.  They have been in their current location for about 10 years.  You may remember Aerial from way back as a gym that didn't have a full 40 x 40 floor exercise and had to hold it's invitationals at local schools.  Not anymore.  

Most uniquely, Aerial is air conditioned.  Unlike other suburban facilities, you don't have to worry about sweating it out in the summer.  Prices go up in the summer as you help pay for air conditioning the large gym.

All equipment meets FIG and USAG specifications.  They have a 60' rod tumbling floor, vault, 3 balance beams, high bar, parallel bars, uneven bar, and regular tumbling floor that all lead in to one of the largest foam pits in the country.  They have 20 cm. competition landing mats.  There is an in-ground trampoline that can be used in conjunction with a bar to practice rotations for bar routines.  They also have a small dance floor with mirrors and ballet bars to develop dance skills.

Aerial's facility is the cleanest gymnastics gym I've ever seen.  They have an innovative chalk filtration system (chalk eaters) that suck in chalk particles and clean the air.  This makes the whole gym a lot cleaner.  The staff also vacuums regularly and cleans out the foam pit so it doesn't get nasty.

Since I haven't been a gymnast for about 4 years I can't say too much about the coaches.  Gym owners Don and Patrice McPherson are great people and certainly know what they're doing.

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2

5

Siena T.

Wheaton, IL

7/22/2009

I'm being a little biased here, but Aerial is the best gym I've ever gone to. I've been going to Aerial for about 3 years and I have the greatest coaches and friends. 5 days a week 3 to 4 hours a day. Aerial has 2 low beams and 5 high beams. They have 3 sets of uneven parallel bars and 2 vaulting tables. They just got new vault runways about 6 months ago. They also have a great trampoline.  

One of the best things about Aerial is the floor. Don trains all of the gymnasts on a hard floor. But luckily, if your having trouble with your tumbling, there is a more bouncy floor strip, or "rod floor", and another floor strip. Aerial has a gigantic foam pit. It is a great facility for all ages. The coaches are just the right amount of easy and strict. The compulsory teams (levels 5 and 6) attend 8-10 meets a year. The optional teams (levels 7-10) attend 9-12 meets a year.

I've been a compulsory for 2 out of the 3 years I've been at Aerial. I started out in the Hotshot program, which is Aerial's version of non-competitive level 4. I am now a level 7. A few things I wish Aerial would do that other gyms do are open gym and compulsory state. Aerial is a large gym great for anybody to work out or have fun. A few years ago, Aerial use to have open gym on Sunday evenings. They discontinued the program about a year ago. Aerial doesn't send their level 5 and 6 teams to the state competition.

Every year, Aerial tries to raise money by selling cookie dough. The more dough you sell, the less "dough" your family has to pay for meet fees. This year the fundraiser was changed from the cookie dough to Football Mania. (I don't know why!) You have to sell football tickets, and if the team you have wins, your customer wins money. The more you sell, the less your family has to pay, yada yada yada.

A 5 star gym indeed, if you're looking for a great gymnastics facility for your child, Aerial is by far the best gym in Illinois!!!

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