Northern Lights Gymnastics is the only place for miles teaching competitive gymnastics suitable for athletes through high school— but that’s only a small part of what they offer, say owners John and Danza Leonard. For preschoolers, the gym’s a great venue to burn energy during the winter months; for older kids, it might be a place to cross-train, work out, or be active with friends. Some practice less than an hour a week; others are there after school every day.

When John and Danza purchased Northern Lights with Bill and Anne Sailer from Jill Vanderpot back in 2022, their goal was to continue its legacy of being an enjoyable, toxic-free place to learn the sport, no matter your abilities or ambitions. Gymnastics, they say, is for everyone.

“It’s helpful for people of all ages to learn body control, body awareness, and their own personal abilities,” Danza says. “I think most parents recognize that and are like, well, if my kid doesn’t do it forever, at least it’s a great way for them to be active.”

People in the Upper Valley have known the value of Northern Lights since its inception in 1984, and parents who attended classes here in the ’90s are now bringing their kids. Some wake at midnight to register for its after-school programs. Due to many factors, including post-Olympics popularity and steady efforts from owners and coaching staff, demand is higher than ever.

New Owners, Same Vibe

I meet John and Danza at the gym on a Monday, the one morning each week they don’t run preschool classes, which they keep open to clean the space and get organized for the week ahead. Their kids, Rylie, age three, and Johnny, age one, play on the tumbling mat and the equipment they’ve set up: tunnels to crawl through, buckets with an assortment of balls to toss around. Rylie shows her brother what she learned in the preschool class her dad teaches Tuesday mornings. “My favorite part is definitely having them involved here,” John says. “They’re here all the time, and clearly, they’re not sick of it.”

Both John and Danza grew up practicing gymnastics, and both continued the sport through college, Danza at the University of Vermont, John at Temple University. They were working at Northern Lights when the opportunity to purchase arose in 2022. The only problem? They were in their late 20s and early 30s with a new baby at the time. They couldn’t do it alone. “We saw the potential and thought we could improve it,” John says. “We just needed some investors.”

Bill and Anne Sailer, whose daughter is a competitive gymnast at Northern Lights, copurchased the business with John and Danza in 2022 and currently manage its bookkeeping through their Sunapee-based business consulting company, Sunstone. The Sailers say they saw the investment as a win for their family and the community, but also a good business opportunity.

“We knew the demand was there. The business has been around for 30 years,” Bill says. “Anne and I work with over 200 small businesses in and around the Upper Valley, and when we were going through the business-planning process with John and Danza, we got to look at the financial statements and how it was going to be run, and we thought, this could take off.”

Since the purchase, there have been facility upgrades, including new bars, beams, mats, and a new airbag in lieu of its aging foam pit, and new coaches have been added alongside staff who’ve been there for decades.

Kids Lead the Way

Northern Lights has always offered a large preschool program, but when they took over, John and Danza also started an Open Gym on Saturday mornings for kids younger than five to use the equipment sans lessons, which they say is incredibly popular.

After school, the gym is packed with classes from recreational to competitive. Kids don’t practice five days a week unless they want to. Some gyms with competitive programs don’t allow gymnasts to do other sports; here, it’s encouraged. “Your goals are the coaches’ goals,” Danza says. “So if the kids really want to progress and they want to work hard, we will facilitate that.”

The intent is to encourage a culture in which gymnastics should be a fun addition to your life; John and Danza say Northern Lights is not set up to be anybody’s “everything,” and they don’t want it to be. Many parents, like Anne and Bill, appreciate this aspect of the gym. “They set a culture that’s not so much pressure, letting the individual gymnast lead the way. That’s worked so well for our daughter. Gymnasts are hard enough on themselves as it is,” Anne says.

Looking Ahead

Danza with son Johnny as he hangs from the bar

“All of our classes have wait lists,” John says. “It’s great because we’re so popular, but obviously, if we had more space and more staff, we would accommodate more people.” There are things they simply can’t do within the 6,600-square-foot space. For example, they’d love to offer a competitive boys gymnastics program, but that would require new equipment (rings, parallel bars, pommel horse, etc.), and right now, there’s no place to put them. Owners have been searching for a new building since they purchased the business but have yet to find anything the right size and price.

For now, their focus is on continuing to make steady improvements to the space and the programs and continuing to make connections with each family. For Danza, these relationships are what made the gym so special growing up. “I made such good friends. I felt so supported. Those are the things I really remember,” Danza says. “We’re trying to keep it a fun, safe place to do gymnastics and create those positive memories.”

Northern Lights Gymnastics

94 Olcott Drive

White River Junction, VT

(802) 295-2070

northernlightsgymnastics.com