Top Gymnastics Coaches Unite at New Facility

Fritz Reiter and Dan Connelly, two of the Valley’s top gymnastics coaches, have moved under the same roof and are turning a revamped warehouse in Van Nuys into a proving ground for prospective U. S. national team members.

Reiter is founder of Gymnastic Olympica USA and Connelly, former owner of California Sun Gymnastics, is gymnastics director at Olympica. Between them, they have 48 years of coaching experience.

The new Gymnastic Olympica USA gym covers 22,000 square feet and can accommodate 500 gymnasts. It includes two floors for tumbling exercises, four training pits, a ground-level trampoline, a weight room and a ski floor.

An open house was held Saturday to show off the facility, which was completed June 1. According to Gymnastic Olympica USA owner Sandy Leonard, the merger will enable Olympica to train competitive men and women of all ages.

“We wanted to provide a competitive girls’ program and a competitive boys’ program,” Leonard said. “Before, we provided the best training for girls. We had a good boys’ program, but when they got good we would send them to Dan” at California Sun Gymnastics.

Connelly, 41, said that the merger allows him to concentrate on teaching. “I don’t have to concern myself with business,” he said. “I’m much more ready to coach when I come in the gym.”

Connelly, who coached Olympians Charles Lakes (1988) and Mitch Gaylord (1984), said that his goal of producing gymnasts for the United States’ national teams remains firm. “I’ve been doing it consistently for 15 years and this facility will make it easier for me,” he said. “Maybe someday the entire Olympic team will come from this facility.”