Having been in existence for only 15 months, Wallers' GymJam Academy in Santa Clarita has put itself on the national gymnastics map as one of the best gymnastics schools in the country.

Lead by its head coach, Chris Waller, a 1992 Olympian and 2004 Olympic Coach, Wallers' GymJam Girls' Team has earned 9 team firsts and 96 individual firsts during the past four weeks in competitions in Phoenix, Santa Barbara and right here in Santa Clarita.

Wallers' GymJam Team started out its season with a bang in Santa Barbara, on January 27, winning the team title for Level 7. Individually, Alex Waller, 12, led the Level 7 team winning 1st place All-Around with a 37.125. Jesse Williams, 12, also won 1st place on vault (9.4) and floor (9.5). In the Levels 8-10 Session, Meagan Black (Level 10) won 1st on vault (9.2) and beam (9.375) and Charleen Gately (Level 10) won bars with a 9.1.

Then, on February 3 and 4, Wallers' GymJam Academy hosted the Chris Waller Heart of a Champion Competition at its facility in Santa Clarita. The GymJam Girls' Team dominated the competition from throughout Southern California, winning first place in every level of team competition. Not only an athletic success, the Heart of a Champion Competition raised $2,000 for the American Heart Association of Los Angeles County to fight heart disease.

During the weekend of February 10 and 11, Wallers' GymJam Team headed to the Hard Rock Invitational Gymnastics Competition in Phoenix, a giant competition that included nearly 1,500 gymnasts from throughout the United States and Canada. Wallers' GymJam Team had 30 of its own athletes compete in 5 different levels of competition with gymnasts ranging in age from 7 to 13 years old.

Sponsored by the Hard Rock Café, the Arizona competition provided unique awards including Fender electric guitars for the first place teams. Wallers' winning teams won 3 guitars and earned a total of 31 first place finishes during the weekend.

Wallers' GymJam Academy is looking forward to its next competition in San Diego, California, where it will face over 700 of the USA's best gymnasts. All of Wallers' level 7 and 8 and two Level 10 competitors have already qualified for the State Championships, to be held in April.

The success of Wallers' GymJam Academy stems from its staff, including the head coach and owner, Chris Waller. Waller is joined by Mohini Bhardwaj, a 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist, and a former athlete of Chris Waller. In addition, Wallers' enjoys the coaching expertise of World Championships competitor, Aladine Naamou. Other key team coaches include Steve Wagner, former owner of SCV School of Gymnastics, Tracy Hite, former member of San Jose State gymnastics team, and Jennifer Yarbrough, recent team member of Michigan State.

In addition to a team program for both girls and boys, Wallers' GymJam Academy provides world-class coaching for tots to adults in gymnastics and tumbling, and also offers spring and summer camps. For more information, contact Cindy Waller, 661-251-3390 or visit www.gymjamacademy.com.