When the Weehawken Recreation youth gymnastics program began back in October, Alexsa Ruiz was a little hesitant to do anything.
“At first, I was scared to do the tumbles and the cartwheels,” said 7-year-old Ruiz, a first grader at Webster School, where the program took place for 20 straight weeks and culminated with an awards presentation last week.
But after completing the program, Ruiz is now a star. “At the end, I got brave and I was able to do it,” Ruiz said proudly. “It was a lot of fun. I learned how to do handstands. I never did those before.”
Alexsa’s good friend and classmate, 7-year-old Steven Dorio, was also an accomplished gymnast by the time the program ended. “I love doing somersaults,” Dorio said. “That’s my specialty.”
Dorio loved going to the classes every Saturday so much that he would head straight to gymnastics after playing hockey in the morning. “I would play hockey and then start tumbling right away,” Dorio said.
A successful program
In any case, gymnastics is a way of life now in Weehawken, thanks to the efforts of instructors like Paula Simone and Joel Rodriguez. Almost 50 youngsters attended the weekly classes, with almost half of them in the 6-to-8 age range.
“It gives kids who aren’t generally athletic something to do during the winter months,” said Rodriguez, a Weehawken resident who has worked with the gymnastic program for the last five years. “At that time, the weather isn’t great and the kids need to find something to do. We give them a little bit of an outlet.” Rodriguez is also the uncle of Alexsa.
“I was happy that my uncle was there,” Ruiz said. “He was very helpful.”
“She was very slow in trying things,” Rodriguez said. “She really didn’t like flipping over. But once she learned and got the hang of it, she was right there with everyone else.”
And the two friends were the recipients of the Most Improved Gymnast awards. “I was surprised to get the award,” Ruiz said. “I never thought I would get it.”
It was also not a case of nepotism. Uncle Joel had nothing to do with the selection process.
“The head instructor Paula picked out the award winners,” Rodriguez said. “She told me that Alexsa deserved it and had come a long way. I was very proud of her.”
Dorio was convinced that his friend Ruiz would win an award. “I thought only Alexsa would get a trophy,” Dorio said. “I was really surprised when I won. Alexsa and I are good friends. We went to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten together.”
And now they’re tumbling fools in the first grade. “I’m glad I joined gymnastics,” Dorio said. “This was my first year and I always liked coming. I want to keep it up and be really good at gymnastics.”
“I want to keep coming back and learn more,” Ruiz said. “I want to become more accomplished. I want to do more.”
It’s obvious the fear is long gone. Rodriguez said that he’s glad he picked up teaching gymnastics. He learned from his sister, Adriana, who is a fine gymnast and an instructor.
“I’m going for my degree in physical education, so this helped me,” Rodriguez said. “I think the program is great. It gives the kids something different to participate in. They can use their bodies in a different way. It’s not the typical sport. It’s fun for everyone and the kids seem to enjoy it. The program is growing every year. We’ve had it in Weehawken for five years now and the kids really love it.”
Mayor Richard Turner and members of the township council came out to support the youngsters in their awards ceremony last week.
“It’s really become one of the more popular programs in the town,” Turner said. “Everyone does a nice job.”
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at either OGSMAR@aol.com or jhague@hudsonreporter.com