The Joy of - Inside Chappaqua

“Do what
you love,
and you will
never work a
day in your
life!” Most
people nod
in agreement
and then
walk away.
Jodi’s Story
How Her Talent and Passion for Gymnastics
Turned into a Lifelong Career
Photo by Bill Bramswig
Not Jodi
Levine,
who started
Jodi’s Gym
32 years
ago and has
proven that
love and
work can be a perfect 10, an old gymnastic
term for the highest possible
score. How did she do it, and how does
she manage to continue running a successful
business?
Jodi took what she loved and excelled
in–gymnastics–and turned that
passion into a new business idea—Jodi’s
Gym, a gymnastics company catering
to young children in New York City.
The concept proved to be so successful
that she eventually opened a Jodi’s
Gym center in Mount Kisco. Over
the years, Jodi and her staff, many of
whom have been working with Jodi for
over 15 years, have developed numerous
offerings that range from “Teeny
Tumblers” (ages 9 months to walking)
to Girls Advanced Gymnastics (1st to
8th grade), attracting thousands upon
thousands of children.
What accounts for the tremendous
success Jodi’s Gym has enjoyed during
the past 32 years? Is it the great
business concept or the fact that all of
the instructors are USA Gymnastics
certified? Or maybe it’s the rich variety
of offerings in a kid-friendly, pleasant,
safe environment? Certainly, all of
those factors have played, and continue
to play, a key role in the Jodi’s Gym
phenomenon.
But what has really made the difference
is Jodi Levine herself.
By Vicki de Vries
Jodi’s Dance…to Gymnastics
One of Jodi’s earliest memories
is about her wanting to be a ballet
teacher. At around five years of age,
she started taking dance lessons and
acrobatic tumbling. “I really enjoyed
being upside down,“ Jodi said. (Could
that be when she began acquiring
her remarkably perceptive slant on
things?)
At age 12, Jodi began her first
gymnastics class and by age 13, began
competitive gymnastics. Entering her
senior year of high school, she received
a scholarship to attend the Walnut Hill
School for Performing Arts in Boston.
That honor required that she leave her
hometown of Spring Valley in Rockland
County, NY, for the year in order
to pursue gymnastics training along
with other scholarship recipients from
around the country.
Jodi had such a successful senior
year at the Walnut Hill School that after
competing at the national level, she
was awarded an athletic scholarship to
Indiana State University’s nationally
ranked women’s gymnastics team. She
graduated with a BA in psychology and
a certification coaching of gymnastics/
physical education minor.
At that point, Jodi believed her
gymnastics days were over: “After ISU,
I truly did believe that I had completed
my ‘gymnastics piece.’”
Next on her
list was attending
New York
University to
complete a
master’s degree
in psychology/
organizational
behavior. With
graduation approaching,
Jodi
decided to take
a break prior to
pursuing a doctorate
in child
psychology. At
the same time,
she experienced
what she
described as a “gut moment pulling me
back into the world of kids’ health, fitness
and movement education.”
During her break from graduate
studies, Jodi returned to coaching
competitive gymnastics, something
she had always loved. Here is where
her story really takes off... “I really
wanted to reach out to all kids, not
just the ones who were inclined to be
competitive gymnasts,” Jodi said. “I
saw there was a great need for all kids
to reap the psychological, as well as the
physical, benefits of the sport that had
given me so much. This was back in
1980, when ‘mommy and me’ gymnastics
really did not exist. I saw a niche
that was missing.” That niche was
“gymnastics for the pure enjoyment,
fun, education and benefit, where kids
could work toward their personal best
without having to compete for a score
or how they compared to other kids.”
“In the sport of gymnastics, every
fiber of a young person’s mind and
body is fully engaged. I felt that so
many children were missing out on the
benefits gymnastics gave me, and I felt
I just had to give it back to as many
who would like to have the chance.”
The idea became a cause celebre for
Jodi: “I felt as if this was what I was
meant to do. There really was no stopping
me. The energy was endless, the
passion was so strong. Although the
May 2013 Inside Chappaqua 17