Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Thornton.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kimberly. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In 2008, Todd and I met at the gym we were both coaching for. He had just retired from gymnastics, where he had been living & training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I began coaching gymnastics as a part-time job through high school, and continued to become involved in the business aspect while attending college. In 2014, we finally took the plunge and opened our own gymnastics club with a partner. I had recently been selected to be a Houston Texans Cheerleader, we got engaged, and started planning our wedding, so that year was quite a whirlwind. Our motivation for opening our own gymnastics club was to create a positive environment for the kids, where we had the freedom to build our business. In 2016, we decided to sell our portion of the partnership, and continue to pursue creating our dream gym. We opened Thornton’s Gymnastics Center that August!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t think anything in life is a smooth road. Through the process of opening and operating our first gym in 2014, we learned a lot about trust. We had incredible amounts of excitement and support surrounding us, and equally as much judgment and negativity. It was important for us to keep our eyes on the prize, really focus on WHY we were doing what we were doing, and weed out aspects that weren’t making us better. Selling our partnership and starting over again was risky and scary, but we also couldn’t wait to be part of the League City community and add another family-oriented business to the area.
This past year, our gym was flooded by Hurricane Harvey, just two weeks before our one-year anniversary. The damage caused was a devastating blow, and we weren’t sure if or when we would reopen. It was so discouraging to have finally opened a facility that really felt like home, and have to watch so much of it washed away. We were blown away by the amount of tremendous support that we received during that time. Our first day of recovery, over 60 people showed up to help, consisting of gym parents, students, friends, family, fellow coaches in the area, and even people we had never met. That day was easily one of the most humbling and meaningful days of my life. You really do find out who your friends are on your darkest days. Being able to see how much support we really had behind us was incredibly motivating, and we realized it wasn’t just about us or how much work we had put in. The kids were sad they couldn’t come to class, our girls competitive team had their first competition in just two weeks, and our family and friends who believed in us from day one was there pushing us to be successful as much as they ever were.
Gym parents, owners, and coaches from gyms across the country reached out to help us. The gymnastics community was truly an incredible support system, and we are forever grateful for that as well. We were able to reopen in just two weeks! We decided we just couldn’t cancel the party, so we celebrated our one-year anniversary with a grand re-opening event. As many people are also still experiencing in the Houston area, we are slowly but surely recovering, and couldn’t be more excited to see what this new year brings for us.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Thornton’s Gymnastics Center story. Tell us more about the business.
Thornton’s Gymnastics Center is a gymnastics club, where we offer toddler, preschool, school-age, and competitive boys & girls gymnastics, as well as tumbling and cheerleading prep classes. We host birthday parties, holiday & summer camps, private lessons, skills clinics, Parents Night Out events, and open gyms. We are most proud of the atmosphere we work hard to create in our facility. Family is so important to us, and as members of our gym, each of our clients become part of our gym family. We genuinely care about building each student’s self-confidence, character, and physical fitness. From our preschool classes to our high level competitive teams, we strive to teach the importance of self-confidence, good sportsmanship, team work, dedication, and strong character. It’s crucial for us to teach well-rounded objectives that will benefit them now and long after they’ve grown up.
Todd and I have both faced challenges in our lives while pursuing a dream. Because of that, we have really developed our own individual drive and motivation. My dream for a very long time was to become a Houston Texans Cheerleader. I’ve danced and cheered since age 3, and it was a huge goal of mine to do it professionally. However, I’ve always been quiet, and definitely not the girl in the spotlight. I tried out four years before I made the team. I grew so much as a person during that time, really learning to be confident in myself and what I have to offer as a person, as a dancer, and as a teammate, it finally paid off, and I am proud to have been part of the team for 3 years.
Todd started gymnastics at the age of 7, and quickly excelled as a competitor. In 2004, he placed 3rd All-Around at USA Championships. After the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2004, he was 5th in the country. The first two places in the all-around are automatically locked in for the Olympic team, and a selection committee chooses which other athletes will complete the team of six. Although he was 5th in the country and his 2 best events were areas of need for the team, he was not selected. As frustrating as that experience was, he was determined to keep pushing forward. In 2005, he was named U.S. National Champion and was also selected as a member of the 2005 World Championship Team that competed in Australia. In 2007, he received a bronze medal as a member of the Pan-American Games team in Brazil. As many athlete’s experience, professional sports are extremely taxing physically and mentally. After a quick visit home from the training center, he realized he needed to move back to Houston and begin life outside the sport of gymnastics. Little did he know, the part-time job he took coaching gymnastics while going back to school would turn into something much bigger.
These experiences have taught us not to question our value or what we have to offer based on someone else’s opinion in that moment. With persistence and determination to achieve a goal, we have learned that so much can be accomplished. In the end, there is no good luck or bad luck, just opportunities to learn from, and other paths to take that lead to better opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1001 S Egret Bay, Suite 202
League City, TX 77573 - Website: www.ThorntonsGymnastics.com
- Phone: 832-932-5237
- Email: GymInfo.TGC@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/Thorntons_Gymnastics
- Facebook: Facebook.com/ThorntonsGymnastics
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/thorntons-gymnastics-center-league-city-2
Image Credit:
Quy Ngo
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
