Focuses on winning and life lessons for youth athletes

A+ Athletics has established a partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) to ensure a positive, character-building experience for all youth athletes in A+ Athletics programs. PCA (www.PositiveCoach.org), a Stanford University-based non-profit organization, conducts workshops for coaches, organizational leaders, and parents involved in schools and sports organizations athletes.

“Working with hundreds of youth sports organizations around the United States, PCA has developed practical tools and guidelines to help youth athletes, their coaches and parents get the most out of sports,” At A+ Athletics  “We recognize the tremendous opportunity for character-building sports offers for today’s youth, so we are embracing PCA’s Double-Goal Coach^TM model, where winning is one goal and teaching life lessons is the second, more-important goal.”

“We are delighted to partner with A+ Athletics,” said PCA Executive Director Jim Thompson. “Together, we’ll strive to help their youth athletes take a positive approach to pursuing victories in athletic competition and in life.”

About Positive Coaching Alliance

Since its launch in 1998, PCA has conducted thousands of live group workshops nationwide for roughly 200,000 youth sports leaders, coaches, parents and athletes, ultimately serving more than 1 million youth athletes. In 2006, PCA will conduct roughly 1,200 workshops across the U.S., primarily near hub markets of Northern California, Southern California, Chicago, Hawaii, New York City and Washington, DC.  PCA’s National Advisory Board comprises luminaries from the worlds of academia, business and sports, such as National Spokesperson and Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, NBA and NCAA Champion Coach Larry Brown, former senator Bill Bradley, NFL Hall of Fame Member Ronnie Lott, Olympic Gold Medalist in Swimming Summer Sanders, University of North Carolina Men’s Basketball Retired Head Coach Dean Smith, Cy Young winner Barry Zito, and Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Herm Edwards.

About A+ Athletics

www.aplusathletics.com

Gymnastics for Preschool

Have you been looking for an activity to exhaust some of your preschooler’s unending energy?  How about gymnastics for your preschool boy or girl? Our 11 year old son began gymnastics at the age of 5 and loved the movement and challenge of the sport. Gymnastics is just plain fun for little kids, not to mention what an amazing workout gymnastics provides to build core strength for all kinds of sports in their future. The  A Plus Athletics preschool gymnastics program focuses on a noncompetitive approach to the learning process, as they promote the feeling of “I Am A Champion” in each child.  These preschool classes maintain a low teacher to student ratio in order to ensure each gymnast optimal instruction from certified gymnastics instructors.  The instructors set the gymnastics apparatus into circuits around the gym which allows the children minimal downtime as they learn by doing during their class.  Creative lesson plans are used to present gymnastics and motor skills in a fun and unique way. Classes are 50 minutes long and offered a variety of days and times to fit your schedule.   A Plus Athletics is one of the cleanest, well-managed, gymnastics studios in Colorado and is located just south of Arapahoe Rd. and Parker Rd. — a convenient location for anyone in Centennial, Aurora, Parker, Greenwood Village, or Lone Tree.  They also offer beginner through advanced boys and girls gymnastics classes, a boys team, and trampoline and tumbling classes.  I would definitely recommend A Plus Athletics.  Visit their website at:  www.aplusathletics.com.

When we first enrolled our son in gymnastics he was four years old and we were just looking for a recreational outlet for our son to burn some much needed energy.  It wasn’t long before our son began coming home showing off some of the things he was learning from Eric and before long he began working out with the level four boys team.

I grew up in Texas, playing football, and I had never been around gymnastics.  One of the things that I remember as a child playing football was how many bad coaches I had.  Let’s just say there was a lot of yelling and not much positive reinforcement.  One of the first things that I noticed watching my son in gymnastics practice was how quiet practice was.  It was amazing to me how soft spoken Eric was with the kids.  I don’t think in the four years that Eric has coached my son that I have ever heard him raise his voice (see Eric philosophy).

It was a coaching style that I had never been around before.  It was amazing to me how organized practice was – without in raised voices.  It was also amazing to me how positive Eric was with the kids.  I remember asking him about his coaching approach one time; and he told me that he had read a child psychology book that recommended nine positive statements for each negative statement.  It was then that it dawned on me that he took his job very seriously.  So serious that he was reading child psychology books to learn how to be a better coach.

Another thing that I noticed about practice was how great the other kids were.  All of the boys help one another, and are consistently cheering for their team mates.  The team at A Plus is just a great group of boys.  If you are thinking about enrolling you child in Gymnastics our family highly encourages you to take a good look at A Plus Athletics near Aurora Colorado.

Parent & Child Together

Pre-School Classes

Boys Recreation Classes

Girls Recreation Classes

Tumble & Trampoline

Boys Team Classes

Friday Night Open Gym