OUR STORY

The Spark that started Ignite

Ignite didn’t begin with a business plan. It didn’t begin with a building, a logo, or even a name. It began with a group of boys on a tumble track.

At the time, I had made the incredibly difficult decision to leave my previous gym. The boys knew I was leaving, although they never knew the full story or just how difficult that time had been for me.

One day, during a training session, they asked me: “What are you going to do next?” The truth was, I didn’t really know. I was seriously considering walking away from coaching altogether. Maybe even walking away from gymnastics. After years of giving everything to the sport, I wasn't sure I had anything left to give.

Then one of the boys turned around and said: “You should open your own gym.” I laughed it off. I told them it wasn't that simple. Opening a gymnastics club was a huge undertaking, and besides, I didn't even know what I would call it.

I told them to get back to training. Because, as we all know, teenage boys are remarkably good at finding ways to avoid hard work!

About ten minutes later, they came back. They had been thinking. They had worked it out. “You should call it Ignite.” And there it was. The spark.

I didn't know what Ignite would become. I didn't know where it would lead. I didn't know if it would ever become a reality. But in that moment, for the first time in a long time, I knew that maybe something was possible.

That moment became the beginning of Ignite. Those boys are the reason Ignite exists. They are the reason it is called Ignite. And, in many ways, they are the reason the flame still burns. I will always carry that with me.

I am incredibly proud of those gymnasts - not just for the athletes they became, but for the people they are. They reminded me of something I had temporarily forgotten: Sometimes you don't need to see the whole path. You just need someone to help you see the next step.

Ignite has grown from that one conversation into something much bigger than I could have imagined. But the meaning behind the name has never changed. Ignite is about finding that spark.

The spark that makes a gymnast believe they can do something they never thought possible. The spark that gives a coach the confidence to grow. The spark that creates opportunity. The spark that turns potential into progress. And the spark that keeps you going when things get difficult. That is what Ignite means to me. It is a reminder of where we came from, who believed in us at the very beginning, and why we will always keep pushing forward.

One spark can start a flame. And a flame can become something extraordinary.

This is Ignite.

THE SPARK THAT STARTED IGNITE