Axel Represents North County Gymnastics at the Invite-Only Region 1 Level 10 Camp
By Daniel Gundert, Owner & CEO, North County Gymnastics & The Gyminny Kids | Former Gymnast | National Gymnastics Judge | Coach | Parent of Competitive Gymnasts
Featured Snippet: NCG junior Level 10 gymnast Axel recently attended the invite-only Region 1 Level 10 Camp in Utah, training alongside U.S. National Team members and other top Level 10 athletes while learning from some of the region's leading coaches and clinicians.
There are certain environments in gymnastics where you can almost feel the level of the room change.
The Region 1 Level 10 Camp is one of them.
August 29-31, Axel, Coach Yaroslav, and I traveled from San Diego to Momentum Gymnastics in Woods Cross, Utah, for three days of high-level men's gymnastics training.
Axel attended as a junior Level 10 gymnast representing our North County Gymnastics 4S Ranch location. Yaroslav attended as one of our boys team coaches and NCG Boys Optional Team Coach. I had the opportunity to attend both as Axel's dad and as the owner of North County Gymnastics and Gyminny Kids.
For all three of us, it was an opportunity to learn.
An Invite-Only Level 10 Training Environment
Region 1 has a long history of high-level men's gymnastics, and you could see the caliber of gymnastics throughout the weekend.
A couple of the athletes attending the clinic are current members of the U.S. National Team. At the same time, many of the other Level 10 gymnasts have aspirations of competing in college and potentially continuing into elite gymnastics.
When you put a young athlete in a gym alongside national team members and other highly motivated Level 10s, the standard becomes visible.
They see how these athletes train, respond to corrections, take the basics seriously, and approach difficult skills.
These camps aren't just about learning another skill.
They help prepare athletes for what the next level of the sport actually feels like.
For a gymnast like Axel, who is still a junior Level 10, that's invaluable exposure.
Three Days of High-Level Men's Gymnastics
The three days were structured to build from fundamentals into more advanced skill development.
The first day focused heavily on basics.
By the second day, the athletes began spending more time on skills and upgrades. On the third day, they had additional opportunities to work on the events and skills they wanted to develop most.
Axel took advantage of it.
One of the things I enjoyed most was watching him challenge himself across virtually every event.
Learning a Gatson From Jason Gatson
Parallel bars provided one of my favorite moments of the trip.
Axel spent time working on his Honma and Gatson.
What made that particularly memorable was having Olympian Jason Gatson working as the parallel bars clinician.
There is something pretty cool about watching your son work on a skill while receiving corrections from the Olympian whose name is attached to that skill.
Axel has completed a Gatson in practice a couple of times and continues working toward making it consistent.
It's one thing to watch videos of great gymnasts or hear your regular coaches explain a skill.
It's another thing to have someone who performed gymnastics at the highest level standing next to the apparatus helping you understand it.
Those are experiences athletes remember.
Kovacs, Kolman and Cassina on High Bar
High bar is one of Axel's favorite events, and he was one of the higher-level boys working release skills during the clinic.
He spent time working Kovacs, Kolman, and Cassina progressions.
At this level, the details matter more. A small correction in timing, body position, tap, or release can make a tremendous difference.
The environment helps too.
When athletes around you are attempting high-level gymnastics, skills that might normally feel intimidating begin to feel more attainable.
You realize you're supposed to be there.
You're supposed to be trying these things.
Strength and a Double-Double on Rings
Rings is another one of Axel's favorite events and one where his strength shows.
He worked on several strength elements throughout the weekend, spending considerable time developing his double-double dismount: a double back salto with two twists.
Like many advanced gymnastics skills, getting the skill is only part of the process.
The next challenge is making it repeatable, technically sound, and eventually something you can confidently perform when it counts.
Having different coaches look at the same skill can sometimes unlock something.
One coach may describe a correction slightly differently. Another may notice something you've overlooked. A different drill may suddenly make the concept click.
That is part of the value of these camps.
Developing Floor and Vault
Axel also spent time developing his floor and vault skills.
On floor, the focus was on fundamentals alongside higher-level tumbling, including work on a 2½ twist into additional front layout and back triple twists.
On vault, he tried working a Tsukahara double.
The difficulty is exciting, but something else stood out to me throughout the weekend.
Even with some of the best Level 10 athletes in the region in the building, the coaches kept coming back to basics.
That's a good reminder for athletes at every level.
The fundamentals don't stop mattering when you become advanced.
They matter more.
Take a Turn. Watch the Video. Learn. Try Again.
One of the most productive aspects of the camp was the immediate video feedback.
Take a turn.
Watch the video.
Talk with the coach.
Correct.
Try again.
That cycle can compress a tremendous amount of learning into a relatively short period.
For Axel, it meant seeing what the clinicians were talking about, not just hearing it.
For Yaroslav and me, it created another layer of education.
We weren't only watching Axel.
We were listening to corrections being given throughout the gym.
Why did the coach make that correction?
What did they see?
What drill did they use?
How did they explain the concept?
Every correction given to another gymnast becomes an opportunity for a coach who is paying attention to become better himself.
Coaches Need Coaching Too
I have been involved in gymnastics for most of my life as an athlete, coach, national-level judge, gym owner, and now as the father of competitive gymnasts.
One thing I continue to appreciate about this sport is that there is always more to learn.
Yaroslav and I participated in coaches' meetings and roundtable discussions at the clinic covering technique, higher-level competition rules and policies, and issues coaches are seeing within the sport.
We also had opportunities for more informal technical discussions with other coaches throughout the weekend.
Good gymnastics programs shouldn't operate in isolation.
We have our systems and philosophies at North County Gymnastics. Still, we should always be willing to listen to other great coaches, exchange ideas, challenge the way we do things, and bring useful information home.
Our athletes ultimately benefit when their coaches continue being students of the sport themselves.
When the Entire Gym Stops to Cheer
Not everything about the weekend was serious training.
The boys played games, spent time together, and heard discussions about mindset, leadership, technique, and what it takes to become a better athlete.
But one of my favorite parts of camps like this isn't written on the schedule.
When somebody gets close to making a new skill, people notice.
There were moments when an athlete would attempt something significant, and suddenly the entire gym would start paying attention.
Kids from different programs would yell his name.
Teammates would clap.
Coaches would watch.
And when the gymnast finally made the skill, the gym would erupt.
I love that part of gymnastics and these clinics.
For a sport that requires so much individual discipline, it can create an incredible sense of community.
You may technically compete by yourself when you salute the judge, but you certainly don't get there by yourself.
Preparing Athletes for College and Elite Gymnastics
These experiences also serve a bigger purpose.
Many of the boys at the camp aspire to compete in NCAA gymnastics. Some may eventually pursue elite gymnastics, and a couple of the athletes training alongside Axel have already reached the U.S. National Team.
That makes the environment different.
You are training alongside athletes who may someday become your college teammates, your competitors at major national events, or potentially athletes representing the United States internationally.
The boys are also learning that getting to the next level isn't only about having difficult skills.
It's about how you train.
How you receive corrections.
How you interact with coaches and teammates.
How you respond when something isn't going well.
Whether you can stay focused when you're tired.
And whether you can consistently bring the right mindset into the gym.
Those lessons are difficult to teach through a speech.
Sometimes an athlete needs the right environment to experience them.
What Three Days in the Right Environment Can Do
Axel made tremendous progress over those three days.
Part of that comes from coaching. Part comes from repetition. Part comes from having access to video feedback and clinicians who understand exactly what you're trying to accomplish.
But another part is environment.
Put an athlete around other motivated athletes and expectations change.
Things that seemed unusually difficult start looking possible because somebody five feet away is doing them.
That's one reason we believe in giving our athletes opportunities outside their normal training environment.
You cannot manufacture years of development in three days.
But the right three days can change what an athlete believes he can accomplish during those years.
The Bigger Story: The Boys Gymnastics Pathway at NCG
For me, this trip meant more than one Level 10 camp.
Axel didn't begin gymnastics doing Kovacs releases, Gatsons, and double-double dismounts.
Nobody does.
A long road separates a little boy learning his first gymnastics skills from a Level 10 athlete traveling to an invite-only regional camp and training alongside national team athletes.
We've worked hard to build that pathway at North County Gymnastics and Gyminny Kids.
A boy can begin with us in preschool gymnastics.
As he gets older, he can move into boys' recreational gymnastics and progress through increasingly advanced training.
For boys who show interest, ability, and work ethic for competitive gymnastics, there is a pathway into pre-team and our competitive men's program.
And that pathway doesn't end when the gymnastics gets difficult.
We can develop boys through the optional levels and all the way through Level 10, with opportunities for athletes who want to pursue college gymnastics and potentially elite-level training.
Not every boy needs to become a Level 10 gymnast.
That's not the point.
The point is that the pathway exists.
A family shouldn't have to leave its program because their child became too good for the program to continue developing him.
We want to meet a child where he is today, with the coaching, equipment, knowledge, and program structure to help him discover where he might be capable of going tomorrow.
Axel's weekend in Utah is one example of what the far end of that pathway can look like.
Bringing What We Learned Back to San Diego
After three days, we came home tired, inspired, and better educated.
Axel came home with new corrections, progress in his skills, and a clearer understanding of what he needs to keep working toward.
Yaroslav and I came home as better coaches.
And North County Gymnastics benefits because what we learn when we travel doesn't stay with the three people who made the trip.
We bring it home.
We share it with our coaching staff.
And ultimately, we use it to make our athletes better.
That's how good gymnastics programs continue to evolve.
We're grateful to Region 1, Momentum Gymnastics, the clinicians, coaches, and athletes who created such a positive environment throughout the weekend.
And now it's back to work.
Boys Gymnastics at North County Gymnastics & Gyminny Kids
North County Gymnastics and Gyminny Kids offer boys gymnastics from preschool and recreational through pre-team and competitive men's gymnastics.
At NCG 4S Ranch, our competitive boys program provides a developmental pathway through Level 10, with high-level coaching and training for athletes interested in pursuing advanced competitive gymnastics, collegiate opportunities, and potentially elite gymnastics.
Families don't need to know how far their child will ultimately go when they walk through our doors.
Our job is to give kids a strong foundation, help them develop a love for the sport, and make sure the pathway is there if they decide to keep climbing.
North County Gymnastics at Gyminny Kids 4S Ranch
Our 4S Ranch location serves families throughout 4S Ranch, Rancho Bernardo, Del Sur, Santa Luz, Rancho Peñasquitos, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Poway, and surrounding North County San Diego communities.
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Where does North County Gymnastics train competitive athletes?
North County Gymnastics & The Gyminny Kids train competitive gymnastics athletes at multiple San Diego locations, including:
Proudly Serving Families In:
• 4S Ranch
• Poway
• Carlsbad
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Gyminny Kids offer boys gymnastics in San Diego?
Yes. Gyminny Kids and North County Gymnastics offer boys gymnastics beginning with preschool and recreational programs, with opportunities to progress into pre-team and competitive men's gymnastics.
How far can a boy progress in the North County Gymnastics program?
Our boys program provides a developmental pathway from beginner gymnastics through competitive Level 10. For athletes with the ability, work ethic, and desire to continue beyond the Development Program, we also aim to prepare them for collegiate and potentially elite gymnastics opportunities.
What is Level 10 men's gymnastics?
Level 10 is the highest level of the USA Gymnastics Men's Development Program. Athletes at this level perform advanced gymnastics across all six men's events: floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars, and horizontal bar.
Does my son need gymnastics experience to start?
No. Most children begin by learning foundational gymnastics. Our recreational programs help boys develop strength, coordination, flexibility, body awareness, confidence, and fundamental gymnastics skills. From there, coaches can help families determine whether recreational, pre-team, or competitive gymnastics is the best next step.
Why are high-level gymnastics camps important?
Camps and clinics expose athletes to different coaches, training methods, drills, corrections, and accomplished athletes from other programs. For advanced gymnasts, they can also provide exposure to the expectations, independence, mindset, and training environment they may encounter in collegiate or elite gymnastics.
Can boys from NCG pursue college gymnastics?
For athletes who want to pursue gymnastics beyond high school, our boys' competitive pathway develops athletes through Level 10 and prepares them for opportunities at the next level. College gymnastics requires exceptional ability, consistency, academics, work ethic, and long-term commitment, but we want our athletes to have the coaching and developmental pathway necessary to pursue those opportunities
