At Aspire Kids Sports Center we make it our mission to “Build Happy, Healthy Kids!”
There is something here for every child in the family! We have a great 32,000 square foot facility with state-of-the-art gymnastics equipment, a heated indoor swimming pool, dance and martial arts rooms, a preschool gym, and spacious viewing areas and lobby. Check out our facility here.
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Scott and Dona Barclay are the owners of Aspire Kids Sports Center. They purchased the former “Gym Time” in May of 1995 because of a desire to see more children exposed to the sport of gymnastics and to experience the benefits. They believe that gymnastics is a natural part of a child’s growth and is a great activity to foster motor learning and development at an early age.
Scott accepted a scholarship to Arizona State University in 1974 and by 1978 he helped the Sun Devils place 2nd in the NCAA’s in 1978 while he took All American honors in the AA and PB events. He continued to train and complete as a USA National Team member for 3 years between 1977 and 1979.
The history of involvement in sports and gymnastics goes all the way back to childhood for Scott. Scott was born in Oak Park, Illinois and attended Oak Park – Forest River High School. Scott was a swimmer and a diver from the ages of 8 to 14, until he took up gymnastics recreationally. He soon found himself on the school gymnastics team competing on the trampoline and the pommel horse. Coached by Clarke Shultes, Scott finished his junior year with a 3rd place finish on the trampoline and in his Senior year, he placed 3rd in the state in AA, behind Bart Connor and Mark Gadowa.
In 1978 Scott represented the United States in the Hapoel Games in Israel. He toured Australia for one month in 1979 with the ASU team and then competed for the United States in the Sparktakiad Games (part of the Pre-Olympics test) in Moscow where he placed 6th and 7th respectively on Parallel Bars and Vault.
Scott was the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) National All-Around Champion in 1980 and placed 2nd on Parallel Bars and 3rd on High Bar.
In 1986 the Arizona State University team won the coveted NCAA Team Title and Scott was offered a full-time assistant coach position. Scott then helped coach the ASU Varsity team as an assistant to Head Coach Don Robinson. This continued until it was dropped from the varsity program in 1993.
Scott’s involvement in both gymnastics and the ASU programs didn’t stop there. He continues to coach at all levels of gymnastics and is currently the head coach of the Arizona State University Men’s Gymnastics Club Team. He has been named National Coach of the Year 13 times since 1994. Scott was inducted into the ASU Hall of Fame in 1999 and also received his Masters in Exercise Science from ASU in 2000.
In Scott’s many years as Head Coach of the ASU club team, he has coached the team to 22 Collegiate National Team Titles and produced a self-funding team.
After Scott and Dona purchased “Gym Time”, they developed and grew a program designed to make the learning of gymnastics fun, and safe.
Beginning in 1999, Gym Time began offering comprehensive gymnastics programs that encompass preschool through competitive gymnastics teams, as well as tumbling and cheerleading.
As our young girls team began to progress under the strong leadership and coaching of Peter Wieging (former ASU Team member and All American), we kept extending the level we would allow to compete. Around the same time, we also started a boy’s only “Jr. Sun Devil” competitive team program under the direction of Jon Portillo (also a former ASU gymnast and All American). This team was a separate entity formed for the purpose of helping to support the ASU Men’s team.
As we grew, more classes, staff, and programs were added. We listened to the parents and the students to understand what they wanted in a gymnasium and coaching environment. We realized we could offer our facilities as a way to encompass fun for the children and offer some different opportunities, such as our customizable Birthday Parties or the popular Parents Night Out.
In April of 2000, ASU tore down the beloved team training gym on campus to make room for new building space. The combination of a homeless Sun Devil Team and a growing Gym Time business triggered a search for a new home. That process took 5 years of research and planning which culminated in the opening of our current state-of-the-art Aspire Kids Sports Center in Chandler in May of 2005.