Island Elite

On 10/25/2025, I brought my 6-year-old daughter to Island Elite for her first trial Cheer 101 class. Shes currently enrolled in gymnastics and tumbling at another gym, but since they dont offer cheer, we were excited to explore options here after a strong recommendation from a parent and one of the older athlete in their program.Unfortunately, the experience was deeply disappointing and upsetting. While the female coach was kind, patient, and excellent with instructions, the assisting male coach (described by staff as a youth coach who helps when teams are competing) made several inappropriate and frightening comments during the 1-hour session. My daughter reported that he repeatedly said things like if you dont do it right, Ill toss you off the floor and Ill throw you over the balcony (the class was on the second floor). These remarks terrified her, and she came out in tears her first negative experience in any athletic setting.After class, I spoke with the front desk staff, who apologized and explained that this individual occasionally assists. When he emerged, he smacked his lips loudly, muttered well, is it her? several times, then said without addressing my daughter directly, Girl, aint nobody gonna throw you over the balcony, repeating it dismissively. The moment he came out she turned away, buried her face in me and began crying again. His response was unprofessional, defensive, and only escalated her fear.The front desk staff apologized again and offered for her to still attend the trial tumbling class that was scheduled after, but after comforting her, my daughter said she no longer felt safe in the facility with him present. We declined and left.Weve had nothing but positive experiences at other gyms, YMCA programs, swim lessons, and activitiesnever once has either of my children felt scared or unsafe until today. We had hoped Island Elite could handle both cheer and tumbling to track her overall progress, but due to this incident and the lack of proper oversight for assistant coaches, we will not return or recommend this facility to others.The gym needs to seriously vet who they allow in junior coaching roles, especially when working with young beginners. A single bad interaction can permanently damage a childs confidence in a sport when they first start out.

The tumbling director is incredible. He has been one of the top tumbling athletes and instructors in the industry for decades. If you are looking for a cheer gym with deep knowledge of how to help your athlete train safely and optimized, then Island Elite is the place to go!

I love it, and I think I might pass the tryout