As the U.S. men’s gymnastics team competes at the Olympics in Rio, they're inspiring the next generation of gymnasts.
Some of them are right here in the metro.
GAGE Center in Blue Springs has a competitive boys gymnastics team. They train for four hours a day, four days a week.
The gym takes aspiring gymnasts from the time they can walk.
Logan Berthelson, 13, started when he was two.
"It's like my whole life,” he said. “I love everything about it. It's just so fun. Every day it's new for me."
He’s part of a small group of boys who spend hours perfecting their skills year-round, then showing them off in the winter and spring at meets.
Head Coach Wally Meierarend has been coaching for years. He’s seen boys gymnastics grow more popular over the last eight years.
"It used to be a sport where dads would said no, that's a girly sport, we're not going to do it. Now, they're seeing what they can do. They're seeing our boys work out without shirts on and seeing their muscle, and they're using us to cross train for other sports,” Meierarend said.
He, and many of the athletes at GAGE, sees the Summer Olympics as an opportunity.
The games shine a light on gymnastics and create a big boost for local training facilities.
“We're getting our sport out there in the main streams so people are seeing it, and moms of little girls and little boys are bringing him here for that,” Meierarend said.
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Lexi Sutter can be reached at lexi.sutter@kshb.com.
