Class Descriptions


PROGRAM OVERVIEW The pre-school/early elementary school program at Twistars USA is called TUMBLESTARS (not to be confused with "Tumberstar Open Gym time" which is simply a parent supervised open gym bonding activity for our younger students and their parents). Basically this program is a motor-coordination, physical education program with a strong emphasis on gymnastics. Not only will our students improve loco-motor skill development (hopping, skipping, running, crawling, landing, swinging, leaping etc) but they also will be introduced to preschool-early elementary social awareness skills ( sharing, taking turns, courtesy, following rules, listening and directional skill etc). Students also get introduced to basic gymnastics skill development ( climbing, rolling, hand support skills, balancing, ) as well as general physical fitness skills (catching, throwing, eye hand coordination, kicking,). This is all accomplished through a positive, fun, and energetic learning environment.	PROGRAM OVERVIEW The developmental program serves as a stepping stone from our recreational program, either TUMBLESTARS or GYMSTARS, to our competitive team program. It is designed for the serious gymnast, one who not only has the talent but more importantly the desire to be a competitive gymnast some day. This is where the student will get their feet wet in that they will experience a more structured, more detailed approach to our instruction. By no means does this mean that the fun stops here. In all actuality most find the Twistars developmental program very FUN, CHALLENGING and SATISFYING.
TWINKLESTARS This is a 45 minute parent participation class where Mom/Dad bring the student to class and help the instructor administer to lesson plan. Instructors should encourage the parents to get involved with their childs class. Instruct the parents on how to spot the various skills, encourage them to assist their child with the activities of the day.	COMETS This is a hand selected group of 5-6-7 years olds that show potential and that have expressed a desire to increase the intensity of training a bit. Comets train 2 times per week at 1.5 hours each. Their training includes 15 minute rotations on all the events including trampoline. Emphasis here is to establish a strong base of fundamental gymnastics skills, strength and flexibility on which we can build more advanced skills later down the line. Attention to detail is essential from the instructors in an attempt to engrain a more disciplined training attitude in the students.
SHININGSTARS This is a 45 minute class for the beginner 3-4 year old. Mom/Dad are welcome to observe class from our parent viewing area. Class emphasis will be geared toward acclimating the student to the rules and basic gymnastics and locomotor skills. This is where we get them hooked on gymnastics. 3-4 year olds love to PLAY... so with this in mind we disguise the weekly lesson plans with FUN themes and content. This is where is all begins!	STARFIRES Our Starfires train 2 hours 2 days per week. This group use to be called “Baby Pre-team”..... But these kids are far from “Babies”. They are hand selected from the COMETS and SUPER STARS, and are kids that show great desire and talent. This is basically a training ground for our SILVERSTARS or can be used as a stepping stone to our ADVANCED PRETEAM. The added 30 minutes of training per day allows the instructors to focus on more detailed training and to add intensity to the strength and flexibility training.
SHOOTINGSTARS This is a 45 minute class for the 3-4 year olds that have had some experience. Basically the physical skill difference between SHOOTING and SHINING STARS may not be as great as are the listening and directional skills. Instructors will be trying to build on the skill development (proper rolling forward and backward, lunge to handstand attempts, cartwheels, forward rolls on the bars) while at the same time maintaining a fun filled, energetic learning atmosphere.	ADVANCED PRE-TEAM or LEVEL 4 This group trains 3 hours 2 days per week and is encouraged to participate in our OPEN GYM instruction to get in a little more training time. These athletes are once again screened, hand selected and come from our GYMSTARS program and the BABY PRE-TEAM. Our Advanced pre-team members are given the opportunity to experience gymnastics competition for the first time at USAG level 4. This is strictly voluntary and not a requirement for participation at this level. Most of our students at this level, however, take great pride in the fact that they are “LEVEL 4s” and enjoy the competitions most of all. This level serves as the training ground for our competitive team program (level 5).
RISINGSTARS This class is 1 hour in length and for the 5-6 year olds. These kids generally have had some gymnastics experience but also have been exposed to preschool or early elementary school so their listening skills and attention spans should make it possible to advance their skill level. (Good lunge to handstands, return to lunge, cartwheels both sides, 1 arm cartwheels, round offs, running cartwheels, casting on bars)
SUPERSTARS 1.5 hours in length, this class is for the advance 5-6-7 year olds. This is the first level where the students get full 15 minute rotations on all of the events. This will be their first exposure to vaulting and therefore the use of the run, run technique, and board technique should be mastered prior to attempting anything over the actual horse. ( cartwheels on beam, lung handstands on beam, back hip circles on bars, bridge kickovers, intro to back walkovers and back handsprings). This class is the training ground for our future COMETS, BABY PRE-TEAM or FLIPSTARS and thus requires a greater attention to detail in a more serious learning environment.....(this is not to say that you can not play with this level....all kids love to play.)