GYM QUEEN

There is one essential reason why, after 25 years, Jodi’s Gym is still one of the most popular places in the city for nurturing the joy of gymnastics and athleticism in children. And her name – you guessed it – is Jodi.

On a recent Thursday afternoon in a loft-like, sun-filled gymnasium on the Upper East Side, a group of eager 3- and 4-year-olds squealed with delight as they navigated a tot-sized obstacle course complete with uneven bars, rings, and of course, spotters.

“I did it,” a little boy exclaimed proudly after finishing a tuck swing on the rings.

“I can do it too,” the next student said as she stepped toward the instructor with a smile.

It’s a typical day at Jodi’s Gym the popular children’s activity center where kids ages 12 and under have been learning how to tumble, roll, and flip for the past 25 years. A neighborhood institution, it’s known for its first-rate training program and nurturing approach to teaching gymnastics.

“Gymnastics is a real sport, and there are fundamentals that need to be learned,” said Jodi Rosenwasser Levine, founder of Jodi’s Gym. “At the same time, we want the kids to enjoy the experience and leave here feeling really good about themselves. We want them to know that their bodies are capable, that fitness is fun, and that moving feels good.”

The idea for Jodi’s Gym first occurred to Levine, a former competitive gymnast, when she was coaching competitive gymnastics at a local gym while studying at New York University. She noticed the younger siblings of her students were excited to play in the gym and explore the equipment. She suggested offering baby classes to the gym’s owner and began developing programming for toddlers and young children. The classes quickly became a hit, and, after earning her master’s degree in psychology, Levine decided to go out on her own.

“At the time, there were no mommy-and-me gyms, but I just had this vision of how it would work,” she recalled, sitting in the noisy foyer of the 10,000-square-foot gym as a group of excited students poured out of class and began looking for their shoes. “I saw a real void for little ones, so I rented a small space in a ballet studio and printed up some flyers. It just caught on right away. It was like an episode of ‘I Love Lucy.’ I did it all; I was the teacher, the janitor, the receptionist. Right from the beginning it was a success.”

More than two decades later, Jodi’s Gym continues to be a haven for parents and children. “It’s a very friendly and warm place,” said Nina Stahl, who, as one of Levine’s very first customers, took her daughter Alana to Jodi’s Gym in the early 1980’s. Today, she continues the tradition with her twin grandchildren, Evan and Remi, who attend the school’s Mommy and Me Gym and Music Combo Class. “When Alana went,” Stahl added, “we thought it really brought out the best in her. She became very confident in herself because she learned to do all these things that she couldn’t do before.”

The age-specific curricula at Jodi’s Gym are designed to let each student move at his or her own pave by breaking down each technique into a series of small step-by-step progressions. Training begins at the preschool age, where children ages 3 to 5 learn basic skills for the balance beam, bars, and rings. Classes for older students are divided by age and ability through grade 6. For babies and toddlers, the facility offers a series of mommy-and-me style classes that provide active tots with ample opportunity to wiggle, run, and roll while socializing with other children.

Not surprisingly, Levine is passionate about the benefits of gymnastics for children, noting that what students learn at Jodi’s can provide them with a solid foundation for an active lifestyle. “Gymnastics improves, strength, flexibility, balance and coordination, and those are the building blocks for all other physical activities,” she said. “And it’s not just about the physical stuff either. They build confidence and know that their bodies are capable of learning how to do new things.”

Levine attributes the gym’s longtime success to its knowledgeable staff and an adherence to a strict, self-enforced safety policy. Teachers, who are hand-picked by Levine, are extensively trained by the owner herself for several weeks and are required to become certified by USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in the United States.