Tropical Twisters offers day camp
By Drew Winchester
dwinchester@breezenewspapers.com
Isaac Segovia, 6, ran through the wide, open confines of Tropical Twisters with abandon and glee.
He played on the equipment, jumped on the trampoline, laughed with the other kids who were spending their Christmas Eve – and their winter breaks from school – at Tropical Twisters’ day camp.
“We do camps when school is out so kids have a safe place to come and play and their parents don’t have to worry about them,” owner Lisa Johnson said. We’re really into kid fitness, and this give the kids the opportunity to try gymnastics to see if they like it.”
Little Isaac Segovia is one the prime examples of the advantages of the Twisters’ day camp sessions.
Johnson said she often uses the day camps to evaluate emerging gymnastics talent, and to gauge the interest of the child.
Johnson is currently eyeing Isaac for their “Rough and Tumble Program”, a gymnastics program aimed at boys.
“He’s really shown he has the potential and he really likes to do it,” Johnson said of Isaac.
A life dedicated to the gymnastics, Johnson rode her passion to a scholarship at Auburn University, where she decided she wanted to reach out to young people with her own gym.
“Our goal is kid fitness. We want kids to start learning how to be active,” Johnson said. “If they learn at a young age, they’ll hopefully continue when they get older.”
Tropical Twisters opened three and half years ago, and has seen a multitude of students discover their own passion for gymnastics.
Twister’s own Jeanette Conrad, a Cape high student, is the two time defending state gymnastics champion in her respective category, and may potentially compete one day in the Olympics.
“She has the potential to go all the way to the Olympics, but I just want to get her into college,” Johnson said of Conrad. “She has the potential to write her own ticket.”
This kind of success is at the heart of Johnson’s efforts, a perfect balance of talent and coaching that might even start in the day camps, where little Isaac Segovia was having a blast.
“I like the zip line and the balance beams,” Isaac said, before racing back to the gym floor. “I like to balance sometimes. Its easy on the little beams but hard on the big ones.”
For more information on Tropical Twisters call 540-9800