It was September of 1981 when the Kehler Family first opened Kehler's Gymnastics Center. They had only been married a few weeks when the Kehler's suddenly found themselves with hundreds of excited children, eager to learn gymnastics. Mr K, whose back ground was in child psychology, had already been teaching gymnastics for five years and had served as director of two separate gymnastics programs previously. Mrs. K, whose background was in education, had been teaching at Marple Newtown High School for the previous several years. The first gym they opened in 1981 was in St. David's, PA. Over the years the Kehler's have also had gymnastics centers in Ardmore, Rosemont, Valley Forge, and of course here in Broomall for almost the entire 40 years. They have trained over 32,000 gymnasts.
Mr. Kehler is a former competive gymnast, but got his start at the age of eight when he joined a professional acrobatic troupe. Soon he was tumbling, trampolining, and juggling fire torches and axes on National TV shows as well as venues such as the Academy of Music in Philadelphia and the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway. His unicycles ranged in height from 15 inches to 14 feet high. "That was a wonderful adventure," explains Russ, who is now the Director of Kehler's Gymnastics Center. "I had opportunities to travel and perform that few children ever get to experience." In some ways though, walking into Kehler's Gymnastics Center, it is easy to see that he tries very hard to recreate those adventures for his students and birthday party guests. In addition to the usual bars, beams, rings and so on, the Kehler's have included many other elements to their center that are found in few other gymnastics centers. A huge rocket bounce in the middle of the room is usually filled with smiling kids as they bounce to see who can reach the highest. To the left, near the large trampolines, is an round inflatable carousel bouncer decorated with bright carousel ponies, a particular favorite of the preschool age students and party guests. At the far wall is a fantastic 52 foot long inflatable circus train, also filled with kids most days, as they make their way through the inside that is set up like an inflatable obstacle course.
"Fun has always been a part of what sets us apart," says Kehler. "We've always understood that although education is important when working with kids, without the fun elements it's easy to lose that spark that's so important with children. That's why we created Tumble Tykes the first year we opened!" Tumble Tykes is a special preschool gymnastics program available only at Kehler's. It's so special, the Kehler's have a National Service Mark for the program which uses easy to play games and activities to make gymnastics skills a snap for small children. Even kids as young as 15 months can participate in the parent-tot Tumble Tykes Classes. Of course Kehler's also has classes for gymnasts as old as 18 years. "Don't let the fact that we like to have a great time with the kids fool you into thinking that we don't take the training seriously," adds Kehler. "We are careful to put our certified instructors through our own training clinics so that even the most advanced gymnasts are challenged with every class." Groups are kept very small in an industry where groups of 8-12 are common, Kehler's normally has only 4-6 children per instructor. Boys and girls are trained on all Olympic events. International Gymnast Magazine called it, "...an outstanding program."
But you don't have to look far to see that there are lots of other fun things happening at Kehler's. Over twenty years ago they added the now famous Kids Fun Factory, which won "Best of Philly" from Philadelphia Magazine. The Kids Fun Factory is full of ball pits, tunnels, slides, a foam forest, and more. When the room is active with laughing kids and Kehler's staff enjoying games and activities, it is easy to see why this playground was chosen as the best in our area! "Our Tumble Tykes students love the Kids Fun Factory because every week after class we let them play for free in the ball pits and slides," Mrs. Kehler explains.
The newest adventure at Kehler's may be the best of all. Kehler's Survival Island is a Rock Climbing and Ropes Challenge. Twenty foot high climbing walls are found to the far right of the gymnastics area. Right next to it is the in-ground foam pit and the huge new Survival Island Course, a maze of climbing adventures unlike anything in the world. "This truly is unique!" exclaims Mr K with a bit of pride in his voice. "We've put 40 years of experience with kids into designing this climbing challenge. We had input from designers from Europe and Asia as well as here in the U.S. There's a 'first in the world' crystal climbing wall that the kids can look right through while they're climbing. We even have an alligator pit and all sorts of complicated cargo and rock climbs incorporated. The older kids think it's a blast!"
So what's it like for the Kehlers working together everyday for 40 years? "When you're surrounded by kids, everyday is something new, but we wouldn't have it any other way!" says Mr K. Mrs. smiles and adds, "Many of our currents students are the children of kids we taught years ago when we were just starting out, so everyone feels like family."
Mr. Kehler is a former competive gymnast, but got his start at the age of eight when he joined a professional acrobatic troupe. Soon he was tumbling, trampolining, and juggling fire torches and axes on National TV shows as well as venues such as the Academy of Music in Philadelphia and the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway. His unicycles ranged in height from 15 inches to 14 feet high. "That was a wonderful adventure," explains Russ, who is now the Director of Kehler's Gymnastics Center. "I had opportunities to travel and perform that few children ever get to experience." In some ways though, walking into Kehler's Gymnastics Center, it is easy to see that he tries very hard to recreate those adventures for his students and birthday party guests. In addition to the usual bars, beams, rings and so on, the Kehler's have included many other elements to their center that are found in few other gymnastics centers. A huge rocket bounce in the middle of the room is usually filled with smiling kids as they bounce to see who can reach the highest. To the left, near the large trampolines, is an round inflatable carousel bouncer decorated with bright carousel ponies, a particular favorite of the preschool age students and party guests. At the far wall is a fantastic 52 foot long inflatable circus train, also filled with kids most days, as they make their way through the inside that is set up like an inflatable obstacle course.
"Fun has always been a part of what sets us apart," says Kehler. "We've always understood that although education is important when working with kids, without the fun elements it's easy to lose that spark that's so important with children. That's why we created Tumble Tykes the first year we opened!" Tumble Tykes is a special preschool gymnastics program available only at Kehler's. It's so special, the Kehler's have a National Service Mark for the program which uses easy to play games and activities to make gymnastics skills a snap for small children. Even kids as young as 15 months can participate in the parent-tot Tumble Tykes Classes. Of course Kehler's also has classes for gymnasts as old as 18 years. "Don't let the fact that we like to have a great time with the kids fool you into thinking that we don't take the training seriously," adds Kehler. "We are careful to put our certified instructors through our own training clinics so that even the most advanced gymnasts are challenged with every class." Groups are kept very small in an industry where groups of 8-12 are common, Kehler's normally has only 4-6 children per instructor. Boys and girls are trained on all Olympic events. International Gymnast Magazine called it, "...an outstanding program."
But you don't have to look far to see that there are lots of other fun things happening at Kehler's. Over twenty years ago they added the now famous Kids Fun Factory, which won "Best of Philly" from Philadelphia Magazine. The Kids Fun Factory is full of ball pits, tunnels, slides, a foam forest, and more. When the room is active with laughing kids and Kehler's staff enjoying games and activities, it is easy to see why this playground was chosen as the best in our area! "Our Tumble Tykes students love the Kids Fun Factory because every week after class we let them play for free in the ball pits and slides," Mrs. Kehler explains.
The newest adventure at Kehler's may be the best of all. Kehler's Survival Island is a Rock Climbing and Ropes Challenge. Twenty foot high climbing walls are found to the far right of the gymnastics area. Right next to it is the in-ground foam pit and the huge new Survival Island Course, a maze of climbing adventures unlike anything in the world. "This truly is unique!" exclaims Mr K with a bit of pride in his voice. "We've put 40 years of experience with kids into designing this climbing challenge. We had input from designers from Europe and Asia as well as here in the U.S. There's a 'first in the world' crystal climbing wall that the kids can look right through while they're climbing. We even have an alligator pit and all sorts of complicated cargo and rock climbs incorporated. The older kids think it's a blast!"
So what's it like for the Kehlers working together everyday for 40 years? "When you're surrounded by kids, everyday is something new, but we wouldn't have it any other way!" says Mr K. Mrs. smiles and adds, "Many of our currents students are the children of kids we taught years ago when we were just starting out, so everyone feels like family."
Fun Picts & Videos From Our Past
Can you find Mr. K in these old photographs?
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Funny old TV show: Mr. K with comedian Billy Crystal & Kehler's Tumble Tykes
