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COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Gymnastics History
"In order for
us to understand where we are going, it is important
that we know where we came from." --Lewis Carroll
ONCE UPON A TIME… Menlo
Park Gymnastics began in 1962 under the direction of
Sophie Stallman. The program was contracted on a 60/40
basis with classes being held at Nativity and St. Raymond's
schools. During the mid 60's to late 70's, the program
was supervised by the Assistant Director of Recreation,
Ms. Tommy Joy Denman, and grew to over 500 student hours
per week. Assistant Director Denman resigned from the
department in late 1977 and Sophie Stallman left the
program in 1979. Between 1979 and 1984, several directors
and head coaches were hired to conduct the program,
resulting in a decline in participation to a low of
285 students in the fall of 1984. In 1984 the Recreation
Commission voted to transfer supervision of the program
to City Staff effective January 1985. In February of
1991 the Recreation Commission conducted a study to
determine the needs of the program, which had dropped
to an enrollment of 245 students, and make recommendations
for the program. In August of 1991, Michael A. Taylor
was selected as Gymnastics Director and developed the
program to a level of over 1728 students per week before
limiting enrollment to 1600 in order to ensure a safe
environment. In May of 2001, Pearce Wagner was selected
as Program Coordinator and is currently assisted by
Karen Mihalek and Savina Krakowski.
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