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Oak Creek gym offers fun with useful gymnastics skills, safe place to play

Alexis DeLaCruz
Ashley Herzog, 5, left, gets a helping hand from instructor Onika Mayer during a tumbling session at O My Star's Tumbling gym in Oak Creek on Thursday.
Brian Ray

— When he’s not busy “fixing houses, helping people, killing monsters or playing with toy police cars,” 4-year-old Travis Rankin’s favorite thing to do is jump around.

With the opening of Oak Creek’s O My Star’s Tumbling gym, Rankin and other South Routt youngsters now have a place to do all the jumping, stretching, bouncing, tumbling, swinging, dancing and playing they want.

Oak Creek resident Onika Mayer opened the tumbling gym on Sharp Street last week.



While having fun is one of Mayer’s main objectives, offering structure and a safe place to play is another.

“It’s a little more structured so the kids can learn the equipment, learn how to use it and learn about their own bodies and how they can move,” Mayer said Thursday as a group of rowdy tots balanced on beams and swung from a pair of rings.



“I think the benefit for the kids is that they get to have fun and expel some of their wild energy,” she said.

For home daycare provider Sorrel Tritz, O My Star’s Tumbling has filled a niche that was missing in the community.

“I like it because it’s a place we can take the kids in South Routt that’s indoors where they can go wild,” Tritz said. “We needed something like this.”

Mayer’s classes are designed to accommodate children from 2 years old to sixth-graders. Skills include basic tumbling and gymnastic skills and stretching. A basic cheerleading camp featuring stunts, movements and voice command is in the works, Mayer said.

“Kids that are exposed to gymnastics usually have a better idea of what their bodies can do. They tend to be more involved in other activities and get better grades,” she said.

Rankin, who could barely restrain his exuberant energy Thursday, said he liked coming to O My Star’s Tumbling for the jumping.

“I like to jump because I like jumping,” he said. “It’s fun.”

Mayer offers age-appropriate classes Saturdays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Call Mayer at 736-8223 or 819-0338 for class times or more information.

– To reach Alexis DeLaCruz, call 871-4234

or e-mail adelacruz@steamboatpilot.com


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