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Head Over Heels Athletic Arts
Categories: Active Life Fitness & Instruction Trainers Active Life Fitness & Instruction Gyms Education Specialty Schools Trainers, Gyms, Specialty Schools [Edit]
4701 Doyle StBldg F
(at 47th St)
Emeryville, CA 94608
(510) 655-1265
- Hours:
Mon, Wed 9:30 am - 9 pm
Tue, Thu-Fri 9:30 am - 8 pm
Sat 9 am - 2 pm
Sun 9 am - 11 am
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
17 reviews for Head Over Heels Athletic Arts
17 reviews in English
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Review from MELANIE D.
Alameda, CA
8/15/2011
I went to one of their open gyms and besides the fact it was freezing; it was great! The coach was doing some awesome tricks that made all the 4 yr olds stop in their tracks.
We will totally be back!
Drop in play is for 2 hrs and $10.00 -
Review from Kenyatta R.
Clayton, CA
10/24/2010 8 Check-ins Here
Great "My Gym" type facility for kids except it's much larger & simultaneous classes are taught. My 5-year old daughter loves it & they have free wi-fi got the parents to enjoy while we wait. If my my daughter stays interested in the session, then we will stay here.
Quick Tip: Try to avoid taking classes on Saturday's at 10 AM. Its extremely crowded, hard to find a place to sit & a place to park. -
Review from Jon Y K.
Oakland, CA
4/4/2011
Our 4- and 6-year old sons are currently enrolled in their second sessions at HOH. They absolutely love their time there and were insistent on continuing as their first session was ending. We are thrilled with their enthusiasm and believe that they are acquiring important skills, body control and awareness. Every coach with whom we have had contact has been very good or better and all have very clear orientations to the kids' experiences. Our younger son's coach is terrific with the kids; we're amazed at how happy and engaged he is with them, even after he's been coaching all day long. I've found myself wishing I had the patience and could maintain good humor as consistently as does he.
My dings against the place are relatively minor. Parking can be a bit of a problem; check-in at the beginning of classes can be a bit frantic; parents are kept to the side, so it's often difficult or impossible to watch your own child; fees for classes are high, though not inconsistent with going rates for after-school enrichment programs. Also, we'd love to see more Open Gym (no classes, kids just enjoy themselves...additional fee) times, both during the week as well as on the weekend. In other words, we'd like to be able to bring our sons for more HOH times, but on a casual basis in addition to the scheduled class times.
We particularly like the gender balance that is evident at HOH. In fact, thee are probably more girls than boys and the most advanced kids are almost all girls. We appreciate the opportunity for our sons to participate in athletics with girls who are just as capable as they are. Also, we love the Friday evening Parents' Night Out program in which they'll take your kid(s) from 6p-10:30p, give them dinner (pizza), lots of free time to go head over heels and then a movie. They charge $35 for one child, $30/each for 2 or more, so the cost is comparable to or less than babysitting, and is probably a whole lot more fun and meaningful for the kids. We've only done the Parents' night once, but consider it a standard part of our childcare options.
I can't even count how many enrichment activities for our sons we've been involved with over these past years but can say that of them, we strongly recommend HOH and certainly believe that it will continue being a regular part of our sons' experiences going forward. My personal philosophy about kids' athletics is to (gently) encourage them toward involvement with things they can practically do later in their lives that don't depend on lots of equipment, large teams or high costs. From that perspective, such sports as swimming, biking, running and tennis make sense more than gymnastics. However, experience with gymnastics builds all sorts of strengths, from balance to body awareness, so we're very happy to have our boys involved. -
Review from Bill B.
9/14/2008 1 photo
The demonstration by the pre- and early-teen performers from the Splash Circus troupe was amazing! They had a two-story ribbon suspended from a tripod (which I learned is either "corde lisse" or "aerial silk" depending on specifics), and the kids were climbing, twirling, and twisting with much of the grace I saw recently among the Olympic gymnasts.
Classes in contemporary circus arts are available at all skill levels for kids and adults. I liked reading about this non-profit's focus on "teamwork, trust, focus, persistance, responsibility, and cooperation", all skills that as a college advisor, I see a growing need for. The Splash Circus performance troupe is available for performances at schools, fairs, parades, and parties, so check it out!
TRIVIA: "Corde lisse", French for "smooth rope", requires great skill, strength, and coordination because performers use no safety harness or equipment other than a thick mat below them. Acts of this type began appearing around 1960 with the transition from "traditional" circus shows to a the "contemporary" style. -
Review from Sara F.
Albany, CA
1/29/2009
5 stars for employing hot, flexible men.
Why do I wanna take a gymnastics class all of a sudden? -
Review from Hanson Q.
Berkeley, CA
2/27/2008
My three-year-old daughter is in her second session of gymnastics here, and she just loves it. The teachers are wacky and encouraging. My daughter is fairly daring, but at times quite hesitant, and during the latter, has always been offered a hand and a kind word.
This is a large place that has classes for all ages. Parking can get tight on weekends, but it's never completely impossible. -
Review from Patrizia M.
Berkeley, CA
3/31/2011
I spent one year with both my kids in classes twice a week. Since Oleg (the previous director) left, there are only well trained coaches that have no experience with directing such a place. They do not have good interpersonal skills, they are very young, their rules are too rigid and your child can be evaluated differently by different coaches since there is no real guidance around how coaches should evaluate the kids. For recreational gymnastics it is an OK place, for more serious gymnastics there are better choices like Golden Bears in Berkeley.
Some of the coaches are better than others: David Michela and Collins are great. Some others are a bit grandiose and not very professional. No one judges the coaches anyway since there is no real director. -
Review from Nikki E.
Emeryville, CA
8/25/2011
The gymnastics studio is expansive and impressive, however, the lack of professionalism in their office leaves me less than impressed and I'm not entirely sure what benefits my daughters received after more than one year of training there. The kids loved it, but I didn't see any improvement after a year - it was also unclear how a student moved up from one level to the next even after asking the coaches. My experience at HOH was neutral.
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Review from Duane W.
Oakland, CA
2/6/2011 13 Check-ins Here
Love this place. My boys have been going there for several years now and the staff takes great care of them. I can't say enough about HOH and their crew.
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Review from Peter S.
San Francisco, CA
7/12/2005
I take the adult gymnastics class there with Rick, this kick-ass bouncer from Mighty who can do crazy flips and somersaults. I think the class here is better than Acrosports in the city because you can get a workout and learn good fundamentals or just work on your own stuff. It's super flexible....get it?
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Review from Jen W.
CA
2/16/2007
Coach Rick is a great trainer with kids too. He has high expectations and the kids live up to them.
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Review from Christa R.
Moraga, CA
5/31/2011
My kids LOVE the classes and camps here - especially the circus arts. It's a great opportunity for them to explore their physical capabilities whilst trying new and exciting things you really don't want them doing in the back yard.
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Review from Alex B.
Berkeley, CA
4/26/2011
I never expected to write this review but my kids had such a wonderful time at the spring break camp. The director and the coaches were extremely accommodating and the facilities are heavenly for children. We will return and we feel fortunate to have such a great place for kids so nearby.
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Review from Maria T H.
Oakland, CA
1/6/2011
Both my boys have trained here since they were 2 and we have found this facility to a fantastic, supportive, diverse, and fun environment. My sons have taken the gym tots, gymnastics, trampoline, circus, and power tumbling classes in addition to summer camp and winter camp. Some of the other reviews complained that they didn't care for their particular coach. There are more than a dozen coaches here and it is always important to choose a coach that matches your family's style. We specifically chose coaches who were super-sweet and pampering for our older son, and firm role models for the younger one. In addition, talking to the other parents while the kids are in class is a great resource for figuring out which classes and coaches would be the most fun for your family.
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Review from Kan P.
San Francisco, CA
9/22/2008
I have some great memories with this facility. I was on boys program called Beta years ago. The gym is very spacious, clean and the staff is friendly. They have lots of different equipment and the gym is huge. I'm thinking about joining their adult class for old time sake.
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Review from Christine Z.
Oakland, CA
8/2/2010
My 3 year old attended a few birthday parties at HOH, they were great and did a great job of keeping 20 3 year olds engaged. So we signed up for a regular Saturday morning class. It was a huge disappointment - the coach didn't really engage him, it was very chaotic (seemed like a dozen classes going on at the same time - distracting, loud, disorganized). The facilities were clean, though. We switched to Big Island Gymnastics and have been very happy there.
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Review from pilar s.
Oakland, CA
11/6/2007
We take our 2 year old here for the toddler program, and he loves it. The program is wonderful, professional, yet flexible and they are just great with kids. We have had coach rick, jordan and eppie, and they are all clearly talented, great teachers, good mentors, and really good with kids!
