MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — The sound of small feet pattering over squishy mats of all shapes and sizes echoes throughout Team Central Gymnastics Academy in Maryland Heights. The competitive teams are off this week, but summer camp is in.
"Look at this! Hey, look at this! Are you rolling?" came from spirited aspiring acrobats. Crooked handstands, perfect flips that landed with flops and a myriad of never-before-seen-probably-not-replicable gymnastic feats delighted the visiting news team from 5 On Your Side.
Did the kids know who Simone Biles was? They said they did.
Did they say they want to go to the Olympics and win gold like her? Absolutely, they did.
"I think when you are younger, you have so many dreams and think there's so much you can do versus when you're older," reflects Team Central Gymnastics Academy Operations Director Sarah Catanzaro, "But I think the reality of how amazing these gymnasts are, just really sets in when you're older."
Naturally, Catanzaro dreamed of Olympic gold as a young gymnast. Now she's in the cheer section and wouldn't have it any other way: "Gymnastics is an amazing part of my life."
While the women of Team USA Gymnastics are deservedly the center of attention, the men's team is also having a moment. Evan Rose never competed in gymnastics, but he's encouraging his "American Ninja Warrior" style campers to try anything,
"It's really fun to see my current students absorb what gymnastics and the Olympics is and so you see them translate, 'Oh I'm swinging on the rings during ninja class, that one guy, he does these crazy ring moves,'" he said.
St. Louis is still looking for their first gymnastics Olympian, but "The Lou" sent plenty to the collegiate level.
"We absolutely have had a lot of St. Louisans on our team here at the University of Missouri," encouraged Coach Shannon Welker, Head Coach of Mizzou Gymnastics, "and we're certainly looking forward to hopefully having more in the future."
Probably no surprise here, but Welker and the Mizzou team have been abuzz over the Paris Olympics.
"We have a group chat," Welker said with a smile. "It's been a great competition to watch."