Compass Gymnastics

★★★★★Milena Gavala

We love Compass! The staff, owners, classes, and facilities have all exceeded our expectations. Highly recommend! We started with a trial run at one of their gymnastics camps, which our kiddos (5 and 7 at the time). It was a great mix of supervised time on the equipment, learning new skills, plus craft activities to keep them entertained. They loved it! Our oldest was interested in continuing with classes so we dove in. The enrollment was super easy, and the prices are extremely competitive with other area gyms at this level (i.e. not a rec center tumbling class, but actually gymnastics gym). You can really tell that the owners care about their students, staff, and gym. I often see Kristen around, chatting with parents and handing out high fives to excited kiddos who just nailed a new skill. Our kiddo has ADORED all of her instructors and classes this far, and the staff have been really kind and responsive to questions and concerns on my part. The gym has a comfortable waiting area for parents, super clean bathrooms, and the facilities for the actual classes are really impressive. The attendance policy is on the stricter side (no makeup classes), but honestly with kids in an environment where they can so easily can get hurt I completely understand and agree. It keeps the class sizes smaller and more consistent, which means more one-on-one time with instructors. Also builds trust which I think is very important when they are trying new or more difficult skills. Also, it's a set price for a month whether or not you get 4 or 5 weeks that month, so it's kind of like you get one free every few months :) Overall we love Compass, and would absolutely recommend it to anyone thinking of enrolling their kiddos in a gym.

★★★★★Sophia Dewar

I started at Compass Gymnastics when the gym first opened, but have been working with the coaches since their old location at the Eastlake YMCA. All of my coaches always wanted the best for me and pushed me to reach my full potential. They were encouraging, supportive, and shaped me into the person I am today. Thanks to Kristin and Kristy, I know what hard work looks like, how to be disciplined, and how to bounce back from failure. The coaches at Compass Gymnastics all know how to keep the fun in the sport and treat each of their gymnasts with respect and grace. I can not thank this gym enough for their support throughout my gymnastics career and sincerely recommend checking them out! :)

★★★★★Debra Rose

My daughter started at Compass in the youngest class and has since moved up a few levels. She has had several different coaches through her years there and each has provided great guidance, consistent feedback, and encouragement. The coaches and front desk receptionist have been incredibly helpful every step of the way in our time at Compass. Most importantly, my daughter loves attending her classes.

★Griselda Laija

I feel compelled to share our deeply troubling experience with this gymnastics facility, especially regarding the owner and head instructor, Kristin. My daughter was under Kristin’s instruction for many years, starting back when she was six all the way through fourteen and when Kristin was the manager at the YMCA in Eastlake. Even then, her behavior toward the children was harsh, overly intense, and racially biased—showing favoritism, particularly towards her white students. However, things became significantly worse after the pandemic, when the YMCA closed and Kristen opened her own gym. With full control and ownership, her behavior became even more extreme, as she now had unchecked authority over both the students and the instructors. My daughter attended Kristin’s gym from its opening until she finally quit in November 2024. During that time, Kristin consistently belittled her, often accusing her of lying in front of others and punishing her by forcing excessive conditioning exercises rather than helping her grow as a gymnast. This was to the point where on one occasion, my daughter even had go to the bathroom to throw up. The stress and pressure from Kristen’s cruel behavior also led my daughter to have a panic attack during practice. I had to rush her to urgent care, where the doctor diagnosed her with severe anxiety caused by bullying. After much conversation, we discovered that the main source of this bullying was Kristen herself—and tragically, her behavior had trickled down to many of the other girls, who had learned to treat each other the same way. One of the most painful examples of Kristin’s behavior occurred when my daughter quit and after a 3-4 months break, tried to give the gym one more chance. I want to make clear that before my daughter returned, I personally went and talked to Kristin and even mentioned what the doctor had said. At this point I was still in disbelief and she assured me that this time around everything was going to be different and she was going to make sure no bullying or misunderstanding would take place. Unfortunately it was a lie. We even paid for the competition fees which was probably around $2k. Sadly, one of those days Kristen ended up teaching that class due to a shortage of staff which is very common at her gym. That day, a young black girl attempted to adjust a piece of equipment, and Kristen exploded—screaming at her with an aggression that horrified my daughter, just from watching. She came home in tears, completely shaken, feeling so bad for that girl and swore she would never go back. My daughter was in such a dark place that she isolated herself in her room for months, battling deep depression. I didn’t understand the extent of the damage at first—I thought she was just struggling with tough training. It took time, but I eventually saw the truth: it wasn’t the sport, it was the toxic environment Kristen had created. That realization broke me. It’s taken me a while to write this review, in part because my daughter was afraid. But today, I can say she is healthy, healing, and mentally strong again. Sadly, we continue to hear stories of other girls quitting the sport they once loved because of similar experiences with this gym and with Kristin. Please think twice before enrolling your child here. No skill, no medal, no training is worth sacrificing a child’s emotional and mental health. Children deserve safe, kind, and supportive environments—not fear, anxiety, and trauma.

★★★★★Rose Saldana

I love Compass Gymnastics and I am so happy I found this place. My son has been doing preschool gymnastics here for over a year now (he is currently 4, started right after he turned 3) and my daughter (age 6) and I have both been going here for about 8 months as well. First, the coaches are amazing. Coach Charlie does an amazing job with the little kids especially, with so much enthusiasm. He makes it really fun for the little ones. The little kids gymnastics area is open to easily view in the lobby area, and the kids start learning the basics of gymnastics skills (walking on beam, using their arms on bar, jumping on the springboard, floor skills like forward roll, backward roll, cartwheel, and everyone's favorite - trampoline!). The way the rotations are set up means that the 3 and 4 year olds are not stuck waiting around for their turn. The skills are repeated frequently, but the rotations are changed up weekly so that the kids have something fresh to try out each time. My daughter has been doing Navigators in the big gym with a few different coaches, all of whom are excellent. The kids do floor and beam one week, and then bars and vault the next week. That way they get lots of time to practice the skills with hands-on guidance from the coaches, and still get exposed to all four events. Additionally, my daughter has done several of the spring break/summer break day camps. She loves it and always asks me when we can do it again. The coaches take great care of the kids and make sure they have lots of fun. My daughter also did girl scout day camp this summer, which she enjoyed, but every time I told her "we're not going to gymnastics camp this week, we're doing girl scout camp," she was disappointed! My only 'complaint' is that I wish there was a full day option, but I understand how that could be a logistical challenge for a number of reasons. Since I take adult gymnastics here also, I get to see what the other classes are doing as well (level 1, tumbling, team, etc) and I am always impressed. The coaches do a great job guiding students to do some really cool things. The culture inside the big gym is amazing to see too, with students of all levels supporting one another. My favorite thing is seeing a kid "ring the bell" for mastering a new skill. No matter how "simple" the skill might be, the whole gym stops, watches, and cheers on the student on their new skill. It gives me goosebumps! The adult gymnastics class is great! We've had the chance to work with a number of coaches, who are all fantastic. Coach Alyssa, Coach Nicole, and Coach Stephanie are all wonderful. Just like the kids, we rotate between floor and beam one week, and vault and bar the next week. The coaches work with you whether you're a complete gymnastics newbie like me, or if you're more experienced and have done gymnastics at a higher level in the past. I was nervous going in because I had never taken a gymnastics class, but everyone there made me feel so comfortable. After 8 months of weekly class, I have some new skills under my belt, like a nice clean roundoff, vault to handstand-fall flat, I can nearly do a cartwheel on the beam, and I'm most excited that I can do a backbend! I couldn't even do that as a kid! Overall, I have had an excellent experience with Compass. The classes are great and the staff is fantastic. I would highly recommend Compass to anyone - especially if you're thinking of adult gymnastics! It's such a welcoming environment, and my kids and I have all grown so much as gymnasts since we began.