Attendees enjoy the Downriver Gymnastics Ninja Academy reopening Feb. 8, with parkour and free-running courses, at its Southgate location at 13777 Eureka Road.
Downriver Gymnastics owner Kelli Cook (left) and staff member Cody Cardiel, both of Wyandotte, enjoy the Downriver Gymnastics Ninja Academy reopening Feb. 8 at 13777 Eureka Road in Southgate.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
SOUTHGATE – Downriver Gymnastics celebrated its Ninja Academy reopening, which features parkour and free-running courses, Feb. 8 with an open house at its 13777 Eureka Road location.
Owner Kelli Cook of Wyandotte said the Ninja Academy program has grown significantly since it started in the corner of the gymnastics area.
She said the program moved to its own physical space within the building five years ago, after which enrollment exploded.
“We’ve expanded it further, and now the youngest Ninjas have their own dedicated space, the older and more advanced athletes have their own dedicated space, and it was time,” Cook said. “We put a bunch of money into an expansion.”
She said gymnastics tends to have more female participants, and while she still has male gymnastics students, many boys are looking for something different.
“That’s where Ninja comes in,” Cook said. “Everything is very high-paced, it’s very fast, and there is not a lot of standing around or sitting, and it’s just fun.”
She said the skills developed in the Ninja Academy can extend to competitions.
“The TV show ‘American Ninja Warrior’ is super popular, so they see that, at that level, how can they get there?” Cook said. “So, what we’ve done is taken that level of Ninja and brought it down to a more attainable level for beginners, although we have intermediate and advanced classes as well.”
She said they also offer parkour, which involves navigating obstacles using one’s physical abilities.
Staff member Cody Cardiel said parkour involves creatively moving from one space to another.
“They’re getting from point A to point B as creatively as possible, and as fun as possible,” he said.
Cook said parkour also involves dealing with obstacles and finding a way over, through or under them creatively.
Cardiel said participants will go through a parkour course in a single file line, but with different objects, which leaves participants with a lot of creative freedom.
Cook said the Ninja side has balance equipment, swinging and bar equipment to develop grip strength, and floor activities, including trampolines, where young athletes develop awareness, as well as some gymnastics equipment.
An attendee enjoy the Downriver Gymnastics Ninja Academy reopening Feb. 8, with parkour and free-running courses, at its Southgate location at 13777 Eureka Road.
Cardiel said children might move from one balance beam to another and work around objects to practice their balance, landing, coordination and movement.
“One of the big things we do is we teach the kids to fall properly,” he said.
Cardiel said taking turns and safety rules are important as well, and they have coaches around during open gym time to help ensure safety.
“You definitely teach body awareness and getting the children to interact with other children,” he said. “We teach discipline – you might not want to wait in line, but you have to do it to succeed.”
Cook said she loves seeing children be physically active, whether it’s inside doing Ninja, gymnastics or parkour, which she said is much better than sitting in front of a screen.
“It makes me very happy to know that we have a positive impact on our community, which is my definition of success,” she said. “I’m never looking for the highest-level athlete; I’m not looking for the gold medal. I’m looking to have a positive impact on my community and the families in it.”
Cook said during their peak competition and cheer season, which is during the colder months, 1,800 to 2,000 children a week will come through the Downriver Gymnastics doors in Southgate and their smaller location in Monroe, which is approaching its third year of operation.
She said the Southgate location, a former Farmer Jack supermarket, has been their home base for 11 years, and they’ve been Downriver for 31 years.
“When I see my former athletes bringing in their kids, I know I’ve done the right thing,” Cook said. “There’s not a much more feeling of success than that.”
Cook’s son Jack, 16, who grew up at Downriver Gymnastics, said it’s amazing to see the facility grow all the time.
“It’s sad to see it change from what I like, but it evolves all the time,” he said. “It’s great.”
Jack Cook said the trampoline is popular with all ages, while the wall is popular with the older kids and the bars are popular with the younger participants.
He said that while he’s better at the bars than anything, he could scale just about any wall if presented with the challenge.
“I love seeing all the kids have fun,” he said. “It’s just amazing to see.”
For more information, go to DownriverGymnastics.com.
Above and below, attendees enjoy the Downriver Gymnastics Ninja Academy reopening Feb. 8, with parkour and free-running courses, at its Southgate location at 13777 Eureka Road.
Staff member Jack Cook (front left), 16, of Wyandotte, son of owner Kelli Cook, guides attendees through stretches during the Downriver Gymnastics Ninja Academy reopening Feb. 8 at 13777 Eureka Road in Southgate.
Attendees enjoy the Downriver Gymnastics Ninja Academy reopening Feb. 8, with parkour and free-running courses, at its Southgate location at 13777 Eureka Road.
Downriver Gymnastics hosts its Ninja Academy reopening Feb. 8, with parkour and free-running courses, at its Southgate location at 13777 Eureka Road.