Another goal has been achieved by one of the Twistars graduating seniors. Often times our athletes dream of their post club careers and where they will contribute in the collegiate world of gymnastics. From the very beginning senior Kim Wilson has wanted to be a Chippewa at Central Michigan University. The quality of that program from the consistent results (multi-year MAC Champions), the coaching staff, and the outstanding training facility painted a picture of somewhere where Kim could continue to grow as a gymnast. This was very important to her.
Well the dream has become reality. Kim was recently called to Mt Pleasant for a meeting with head coach Jerry Reighard where he officially invited her to join his Championship squad next fall. Central is not a place where gymnasts “slowly retire” from the sport. They train hard, they grow and they progress. Kim, the 2011 Level 9 Regional All Around Champion and 2 time Level 9 National Qualifier is very aware of this standard up front and more than willing to tackle the challenge.
Best of Luck Kimmy and a big congratulations to you and your family.
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is a great place that will soon be better. Twistars senior, Cici Talcott has accepted an invitation to join their conference championship gymnastics team in the fall of 2011. Anywhere Cici is ... is simply a better place. As beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, Cici will bring passion, commitment, leadership and talent to the War Hawk squad.
UWW’s gain is the Twistars family loss. Cici has been a productive contributor to our program for several years (recently rejoining our team after a couple year absence to explore other activities). This year she played an instrumental role in leading the Twistars USA Level 9 team to their State Championship Team Title while capturing the State All Around title herself.
A quality individual with style, class, integrity and a character all her own. Cici will be sincerely missed at Twistars. We wish her the best, fully knowing that she will be a shining star for her new team in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
Congrats Cici!
Dreams come true for those who believe is a statement true and applicable to most recipients of a free college education by way of a well earned gymnastics scholarship. Dreams that come in and out of focus with the inevitable ups and downs that accompany any high level gymnasts career. Dreams that become reality due only to strong willed perseverance and stubborn unrelenting pursuit of a goal worth setting.
Twistars USA's first year level 10 Arlyn Amor has had her dream of competing on a NCAA collegiate gymnastics team become reality. The University of Southern Utah saw the potential for greatness and recently offered the Dewitt High School junior a full ride athletic scholarship. Arlyn accepted and will join the SUU Thunderbirds in the fall of 2012.
Arlyn is the daughter of Art and Lena Amor and an outstanding student. Her gymnastics career is currently on the rise after coming off her 2010 Level 9 Eastern National All Around championship title last year. We (and her future coaches at SUU) are looking for continued progress in the sport as she perfects her level 10 skills and routines. A natural athlete with perfect size, Arlyn's resume of success is just starting to fill.
On behalf of the staff and management, and teammates at Twistars USA we congratulate Arlyn for this very commendable achievement.
We are all so very proud to you Arlyn.
Another 2011 Twistars USA graduate has decided on her future collegiate home.
After much thought and consideration, campus visits, tours, and discussions with the various choices, senior Alexis Moore has decided to join the gymnasts squad at Ball State University in the fall of 2011. Alexis has attained an official invitation from head coach Nadalie Walsh to join the Ball State Cardinals as a walk on with the expressed opportunity to fight for and earn scholarship funds in the future. Walk on status is not an easy accomplishment and comes with all the perks, bells and whistles associated with being a D1 collegiate athlete. (Preferred class scheduling, Tutors, preferred housing assignments and assistance, mandatory study sessions, medical assistance and wonderful apparel.) Congrats Alexis!
Lex is a 2 time Level 9 National qualifier and the 2009 Level 9 Eastern National Uneven Bar and Floor Exercise Champion. Alexis can swing and dance with the best of them! She has advanced to the pinnacle level of Junior Olympic gymnastics where she continues her quest to improve her consistency and skill. Nobody works harder, cares more, show greater determination than Alexis and it is these quality characteristics that are sure to help foster great results as she enters her post club career in Muncie, Indiana.
We are thrilled for Alexis and her family!
I am not to sure how many little girls grow up dreaming of being a “HOG” but that is the newly claimed status of Junior Twistar standout Erin Freier. SUEY or SOOOOOEY or SEWEEEEE will be the battle cry heard often as Erin prepares to join the Razorback Gymnastics squad in the fall of 2012 on a FULL RIDE ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP.
Arkansas is one of the top collegiate gymnastics programs in the country, ranked 7th in 2010 and qualifying to the prestigious NCAA Nationals. Under the direction of coaches Mark and Rene Cook the program is destined to consistently be mentioned amongst the nations elite.
Erin will be a great fit at Arkansas as she not only possesses the talent to contribute to the teams lofty goals and aspirations, the work ethic to help maintain a championship atmosphere in training, but also the personal desire to continue to progress her gymnastics skills. Erin is a 2 time Level 10 national qualifier and the 2010 Level 10 National Champion on uneven bars.
Twistars USA is proud to announce ERIN FREIER as a future ARKANSAS RAZORBACK. Congrats to Erin and her family!
Twistars USA is proud to announce that Junior, Level 10, Brittany Holmes has accepted a full ride athletic scholarship offer to Michigan State University. Competing on the MSU Gymnastics team has always been a priority goal for this 2 time Junior Olympic national qualifier. She basically bleeds GREEN!
MSU Head coach, Kathi Klages was specifically impressed with Brittany’s level of maturity, leadership skills and of course her advanced gymnastics talent. She is sure to have a positive impact on the MSU squad. All things considered, MSU is the perfect fit for Brittany ... close to home ... a great school ... a great coaching staff .... and now she can still visit John on the weekends to cut down on the separation anxiety that she is certainly going to experience since she has been a part of the Twistar program for 10 years now.
Being part of a varsity athletic team at any major university is something to be proud of. The fact that she will be attending a BIG 10 University and that the education is paid for is an added bonus to say the least. Mom and Dad have to be happy (you’ll be able to hear mom at any future home spartan competition as she becomes the number one SPARTAN FAN). Congrats Paul and Karla Holmes, this is truly an amazing accomplishment.
WAY TO GO BRITT!
Following in the footsteps of some very successful Twistars, Junior Amber Wobma recently accepted a full ride scholarship offer from the University of Arizona. Former Twistars athletes Jamie Duce and Brianne Workman had stellar careers for the Wildcats, and the UA coaching staff is hoping that Amber will follow suit. We know she will!
Size, talent, attitude and academic ability all play a major role in the recruiting process and Amber has shown that she has the entire package. Small, powerful, smart, and determined make for a great college prospect. Recognizing this ... many schools had their hats in the ring, but the final decision came down to a tough battle between Penn State University and Arizona with the Wildcats claiming the prize.
Congrats Amber, may the sun shine on your college career!
Twistars USA is proud to announce that one more of its outstanding junior collegiate prospects has accepted a full ride scholarship offer. This time it is Holt High School Junior Maci Sump, the daughter of Dan and Lisa Sump. Maci has been a productive gymnastics standout for Twistars USA for many years. She was an exceptional compulsory gymnast who trained hard, honed her skills and remained focused and determined to accomplish her ultimate goal.... a full ride scholarship. Maci recent acceptance announcement came after careful consideration of offers from several schools .... most notably Southern Utah, Western Michigan and the University of West Virginia. WELL THE WINNER IS.... THE MOUNTAINEERS from the University of West Virginia. Maci's academic interests played a major role in her decision making process (as it should for all collegiate athletes). She would like to pursue a career in education and WVA has an outstanding under grad and masters program for aspiring teachers. This along with the fact that WVA has a strong a stable gymnastics coaching staff, a great training facility, and great team members, finally pushed the pendulum in favor of UWV. We are all so very proud of Maci's accomplishment. The recruiting process is sometimes a very stressful time for athletes and parents alike. With this life changing decision behind her, Maci can now focus on upping her gymnastics game and placing a few more notables on her resume.
ATTA GIRL MACI!
It may seem like the University of Pittsburgh has found the recruiting pipeline to Twistars USA with the 3rd signing in 3 years. (Brewer in 2009, Ketner 2010). Be that what it may, in this case it is just what the doctor ordered. University of Pittsburgh has long been a major consideration for Brianna Hogan. What a great reward it is when years of dedication pay off in the form of a free post high school education. It is even better when your school of choice comes calling. Bri is relatively new to the Twistars family, but her impact was felt immediately. She joined our team after the 2008 season with the goal of improving her gymnastics skills in hopes of landing the ultimate goal ... a full ride athletic scholarship! Although the mission has been accomplished, this by no means indicates that it was an easy task. Bri has set the pace when it comes to admirable work ethic in the gym. A phenomenal attitude, combined with daily determination usually leads to good things... in this case amazing things! With 2 full competitive seasons left in her Twistars career, Bri now hopes to build on her club gymnastics resume prior to joining the ranks of the Pittsburgh Panthers in the fall of 2011. We will enjoy every minute that she has left! Congratulations Bri! Well earned, well deserved!
OPEN GYM SCHEDULE
Sun. 12pm - 2pm
$7/per visit for members OR
$10/per visit for non-members
TumbleStar TIME at the Summit
Fridays 10am - 2pm (Pre-school)
The Outlet Mall
(517) 668-0805
OPEN GYM SCHEDULE
Saturday 12:30 - 2:30pm 7 years & up
Sunday 1:00 - 3pm
$7/child Membership required
TumbleStar TIME at the Outlet Mall M/TH/Fri. 10am - 2pm (Pre-School age only)
Tues/Wed 12-3pm
(Pre-School age only)
$7/child Membership required
$7/Guest fee (1 time only)
The track record of success at Twistars USA is long and impressive. Twistars takes great pride in the accomplishments of it’s national caliber competitive team program. For years, the fantastics staff at Twistars USA has been producing record numbers of national qualifiers, national team members, state, regional and national champions along with an remarkable list of full ride athletic scholarship recipients. For years Twistars has ranked with the countries elite gymnastics clubs..... but now we have added another notch in the belt.
TWISTARS USA IS THE NUMBER ONE RANKED WOMANS GYMNASTICS CLUB IN THE USA
according to meetscoresonline.com (MSO...the nations only available club ranking resourse). Twistars advanced up the charts from its forth place ranking in 2008. What a phenomenal accomplishment for a small town club! The ranking system used by MSO considers the number of state, regional and national qualifiers a club has at levels 8 and higher. They also take into account the team scores and results from various competitions throughout the competitive season. This is something the coaches, athletes, management and parents of Twistars USA can take great pride in.
JOHN GEDDERT INDUCTED INTO THE
REGION 5 HALL OF FAME
How do you even begin to recognize and reward someone who has achieved thirty- two years of INCREDIBLE SUCCESS as a gymnastics coach, and who has contributed countless hours...no, YEARS of volunteer time to Region 5 and the gymnastics community as a whole? You honor him with induction into the Region 5 Hall of Fame.
This year John Geddert, owner and head coach of Twistars USA, has the distinct honor of being the sole inductee into the class of 2009. Last year, the inaugural class of 2008 had six inductees. This is an enormous honor to say the least.
As John noted in a recent Team Newsletter: "I'm not old enough to be in a Hall of Fame, I thought, I'm not done coaching. Why not Dick Mulvahill (coach of 16 Olympians), Bill Sands (Olympic Coach and research extraordinaire), Steve Whitlock (God Father of Michigan gymnastics and educational wizard). Perhaps this is a mistake. These are some initial thoughts I had before feeling downright good about myself...WOW what an honor."
Shortly following his notification that he was being inducted, John also received notice that Twistars USA has been ranked the Number 1 women's gymnastics club in the Nation. What a Year! John's sheer dedication to coaching coupled with his desire to be the best at what he does has certainly been recognized and rewarded as he takes his well deserved place in the Region 5 Hall of Fame. Congratulations John!
