Kids Flip for Fun & Fitness at Salem Gymnastics

By Katie Moosbrugger

Step inside Salem Gymnastics and, depending on the day, you might see a future national champion stick her first landing off the uneven parallel bars. Perhaps you’ll see a school-aged child discover confidence with every cartwheel he turns, or hear the giggles of toddlers as they roll down padded inclines. Or, if you’re lucky, maybe you’ll witness a baby taking his first steps.

For over 26 years, Salem Gymnastics has been making dreams come true for thousands of local children. Director Beth (Minter) Morphis, has seen the center grow from its origins at the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds (where they once had to shut down for two weeks to allow space for the chickens) to its current location on Country Club Road in Winston-Salem, where it is now considered the largest gymnasium of its kind between Washington D.C and Atlanta. Morphis’ parents, Frank and Barbara Minter, originally opened Salem Gymnastics in 1980 with just 35 gymnasts; today the center boasts over 1,600 students at peak enrollment.

A former competitive gymnast, Morphis began her tumbling career while growing up in Winston-Salem and has, literally, been flipping all her life.  She began dancing and acting when she was four years old, and took acrobatics at Academy of Dance Arts, a local dance studio.  After the success of Nadia Comaneci in the 1976 Olympic Games, gymnastics came to Winston-Salem at the central YMCA, and Beth signed up.  She tried out and made the first competitive team in Winston-Salem, although she’ll admit she was probably the weakest link.

A few years later, gymnastics expanded into the first private club in town, Triad Gymnastics.  Morphis moved with her teammates and they were coached by Derek Galvin, who went on to coach at UNC.  Morphis began teaching classes and continued to compete and adore the sport.

In 1980 her parents decided to take the sport one more step, and opened Salem Gymnastics Center.  Morphis continued to compete and teach, and in 1983 her team won the State Meet, coached by Tim Lucas.  Morphis was vaulting champion, although bars has always been her favorite. 

As a star gymnast, Morphis was offered and accepted a full scholarship to Illinois State University, but fate dealt her an interesting blow during the fall of her freshman year.  An uneven bar fall led to a torn ACL and reconstructive knee surgery.   Morphis spent the next four months in a full leg cast, six months on crutches and two years in rehab. 

In 1984 Morphis traveled with Salem Gymnastics on a China – USA Gymnastics exchange.  During the trip, she learned a giant swing on the bars, and went on to become the first gymnast at ISU to compete the giant swing (a handstand on the high bar that swings all the way around back to a handstand).

In 1985 Morphis came home from college and began working full time at Salem.  She and her husband, Kenny, were married in 1988, and they adopted Jon in 1998 and Page in 2005.  Together, Morphis and her husband have been coaching together and running the family business, along with Morphis’ father, for over 20 years.

“I love my job and what we do,” Morphis says of her business. And with an eight-year-old son and an 18-month-old daughter, running a full-time business can be quite a challenge. But Morphis says her hours, like her students, are flexible, allowing her to spend more time with her family. In fact, Morphis was inspired to start the BabyGym program at Salem Gymnastics (for children ages 0-12 months) after watching her daughter explore the world around her through basic movements of rolling, sitting, clapping and crawling.

Yet what Morphis has enjoyed most of all is watching children of all ages build self-confidence. “You see it not just in the way they do cartwheels or handsprings, but in the way they carry themselves. You can tell they get a lot of pride out of learning these new skills. I literally see them go from gymnastics to greatness.”

“Where Confidence Soars” is the center’s tagline and, aptly so. According to Morphis, some experts say the greatest benefits of gymnastics are physical (strength, balance, injury prevention, and grace), while others say the sport mostly benefits the mind (perseverance, poise, confidence, attention to detail, concentration). But to the team at Salem Gymnastics, they say - without a doubt - that both theories prove true.

And the children’s confidence has led to impressive results as well. Each year, Salem Gymnastics has students who consistently place on the state and regional levels, and to date, 22 gymnasts have won gold medals at the National Championships. "We have had several girls win National titles while at Salem, and Chris Young graduated from our program to the Olympic Training Center where he made the 2000 Olympic Trials.  Additionally, we've had 20 graduates with full college scholarships, including Meredith Willard who went on to win the NCAA All-around title (all four events combined) and led the University of Alabama to win the National Championship," says Morphis.

Such results have even caught the eye of Bela Karolyi, the most successful gymnastics coach in history known for developing superstars such as Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton, and Kerri Strug. Coach Karolyi visited Salem Gymnastics a little over a year ago and talked to the students about motivation, striving to be the best you can be, and what it takes to become a champion. “And the girls got to do flips for him. It was fun,” adds Morphis.

Morphis has also taken her students on “class trips” to hear other Olympic greats talk about the sport, such as Bart Connor, Nadia Comaneci, and Mary Lou Retton - all of whom came to Benton Convention Center over the past two years. (Morphis even got to introduce Retton!).

In 2005, Salem Gymnastics celebrated its 25^th anniversary – a considerable milestone for the center. Nearly 100 invitations were sent out to current students and past graduates, and to their surprise, more than 300 attended. “It was a neat outpouring,” recalls Morphis. “We heard again and again that the championships and scholarships were simply byproducts of the truly important things we teach, such as time management, goal setting, giving your all and believing in yourself.  These are the lessons that have stayed with our athletes through the years.  It was really touching.”

In addition to competitive programs for children ages five to 18, Salem Gymnastics offers tumbling and “funtastic” classes for children ages 0 through high school, as well as courses in dance, karate, cheerleading, and the fundamentals of sports.  When they expanded from their old location of 8,000 square feet, to their current location with 27,000 square feet, they expanded their Dance program and added Cheer Extreme and Karate International.  Both the dance and cheer programs have won national titles and the karate dojo has won the state flag.  They hope to add other sports in the future.

Morphis adores working in gymnastics, and feels very lucky to have a job she loves going to every day, and a wonderful staff as well.  “We are blessed to be surrounded by great people who, through their love for children and movement, and their professionalism, really make Salem the special place that it is.  We could never be as successful as we are without them,” she notes. 

Included on the staff are numerous local women who have made an impact on many lives.  Kelly Mann Doub has been part of Salem since she was four years old, as a student, team member, instructor, and now is a full-time nurse and runs the gym’s hosted birthday parties.  “We are constantly told the birthday parties are the most organized parties in town and we have many return students,” says Morphis.  Carole Nix runs the gym’s Tumbleweed Preschool and Tumblebus [a full-sized school bus converted into a safe and fun gymnasium, with bars, beam, vault, ropes, rings, trampoline, a rock wall climber and a foam-filled pit] programs, and recently started a Fit-nastics program in the public schools.  This month she is running a program at Meadowlark Elementary and hopes to expand it into more schools next year. 

Dawn Lynch has run Salem’s front office since 1986, and Charlene DeVito heads up the award winning Dance Teams.  Last, but not least, Courtney Smith Pope runs the wildly successful Cheer Extreme cheerleading team.   

And while success is great, Morphis and her staff’s hope is that the children they work with will enjoy sports as much as they have, and that they will take the lessons learned at Salem to continue on to greatness wherever they go. 

Class, birthday party and other information can be found at www.salemgym.com or by calling 336-765-4668.  Additionally, the following summer camps are available.

Kid Camp

Dance Camp

Princess Fantasy Dance Camp

Soccer Camp

Baseball Camp

Gymnastics Camp

Cheerleading Camp

All-Sports Camp

SIDE BAR on TUMBLEBUS 

Have you ever seen the TUMBLEBUS driving down the street and done a double-take?  It’s quite a sight to behold!  TUMBLEBUS is a full-sized school bus converted into a safe and fun gymnasium. The mobile mini-gym is heated and air conditioned, fully padded and filled with state of the art equipment specifically designed for students ages 2-10 years old. The TUMBLEBUS has bars, beam, vault, ropes, rings, trampoline, a rock wall climber, a foam filled pit and much more!

TUMBLEBUS is perfect for field trips, day care centers, special events, at home parties and more!  For more information contact Carole Nix at 413-3946. 

FORSYTH WOMAN MAGAZINE, April 2007