The Fresno Gymnastics Center will cover 10,000 square feet near Armstrong and Shields avenues in Fresno. It is expected to open Aug. 1.

A local high school athletics coach is vaulting into the business world with an upcoming grand opening.

Annie Bradshaw, gymnastics director at Clovis North High School, is going through the permitting process while her new gymnastics facility wraps up construction.

The new Fresno Gymnastics Center at 2920 N. Burl Ave. in Fresno near Armstrong and Shields avenues is currently being built from the ground up and will cover 10,000 square feet.

Construction began in December 2022 and is expected to be complete by August.

Annie expects doors will open on August 1.

Annie is opening the Fresno Gymnastics Center alongside her husband, Tod Bradshaw, co-owner of The Bone Store, which has four locations in Fresno, Visalia, Stockton and Bakersfield.

A Massachusetts native, Annie moved to the Central Valley around 10 years ago after marrying Tod.

Annie grew up in gymnastics, competing through middle school and high school. She transitioned to coaching gymnastics in college, receiving her master’s degree in sports leadership from Northeastern University in Boston.

Annie has been working at Clovis North High School since 2020.

Though there are several gymnastics facilities in Fresno, and some in other nearby cities, Annie wanted to create a place that had a strong focus on both recreational and competitive gymnastics.

 

“I found that to be a little bit lacking here,” Annie said. “There wasn’t really a place that had both avenues in mind, so I created one.”

Annie said they also want coaches that can balance both and realize that some kids are doing it for fun, while others are doing it to be competitive.

It took about four years to find the right location. She needed a building that could have a high enough ceiling, a space that would be conducive to kids running around and with ample parking.

Annie has been planning the layout for years.

There is going to be an age-6-and-under section that will have smaller equipment, and a full-sized training section that has a spring floor, balance beams, vaults, uneven bars and men’s high bars, rings and more.

She said she wants to open with about 20 coaches. Fresno Gymnastics Center is currently hiring for coaches.

Annie said that from what she’s seen, schools are not investing in gymnastics programs like when she was growing up.

That doesn’t mean there still isn’t interest in the sport.

Annie believes American gymnast Simon Biles Owens’ Olympic wins brought a positive light to gymnastics.

This NCAA Gymnastics Championship was ESPN’s most watched gymnastics telecast with 1.02 million viewers, up 10% from 2022.

The recent rise in popularity of exercise regimens like CrossFit has also been making more people curious about gymnastics, Annie said.

To get the word out, Annie is active on social media, running promotions for the first 100 people to sign up and even going door-to-door in the neighborhood.

Children are allowed to enroll as soon as they can walk to learn the foundations of gymnastics. The maximum age allowed to enroll is 18.

Annie said she is excited to open and provide a positive space for kids, and for her own two children as well.

“I really wanted a place that would be developmentally appropriate, and that kids would feel welcome in and want to learn the sports of gymnastics. That’s been my goal — to find a place that kids will have a home in, she said.”