I’m going to Wichita
Far from this opera forevermore
I’m gonna work this job
Make the sweat drip out of every pore
Well we told you we’d have more to say on sports, and today’s profile is a little more down to earth and achievable than say, major league baseball. James BoBo is the Director of LIC Kids, and a familiar face to many parents and children around Long Island City. His gymnastics classes are almost all booked solid, and for good reason. Anyone who has seen him in action, knows about his enthusiasm and terrific command of the classroom. Not an easy chore when you’re trying to corral a dozen four-year olds to stay in a line. James knows all the tricks for kids, and can break it down really well. He has been at LIC Kids for three years, and was recently put in charge of revamping the program and staff.
James grew up in a family of nine in Wichita. All his siblings were very athletic, and his first love was football. Because he was always viewed as a leader, he was made a quarterback in high school, despite his then wiry frame. In an attempt to put some muscle on him, after tenth grade the football coach convinced James to give gymnastics a try. Despite being a complete novice and thus very awkward, he found a mentor in his new coach, and persevered to a level that garnered him a college gymnastics scholarship in Kansas. After college, he continued with gymnastics on a professional circuit that took him all over the world. While competing at a tournament in Japan, the sponsor of the event offered him a desk job in NYC, which is how he ended up in the Big Apple. Finally, after founding a gym and gym consulting business in Brooklyn, and then teaching how to coach at Hunter College, James ended up in LIC.
“There’s a little bit of gymnastics in each kid” says James, and his emphasis is to be all inclusive and use gymnastics as a boost for kids with low muscle tone and a lack of coordination to build confidence. “We can give them the basics so no one feels left out of athletics,” he continues “thus making kids better than they were, all while having fun.” He’s added new after school classes in dance and karate, and hired high energy professionals. His goal is for every kid in this community to know that this is their indoor backyard and for their parents to know that this is a place you can trust. Plus you get a gymnastics teacher par excellence to boot.
PS 78Q PTA Spring Dinner and Auction – Tuesday April 30th from 7-10pm at SHI. Dinner, Drinks, Auction …basically bacchanalia par excellence.
PS 78 Adds Extra Kindergarten Class for Waitlisted Kids – but not before putting 25 sets of parents through a week of angst. Sadistic no?
Waitlisted Queens Parents May Ship Children to Brooklyn Catholic School – umm, in light of the story above, has anyone bothered to tell St. Stans to cancel the bus?
How To Spend a Weekend In LIC – nice slideshow, but they forgot Show Palace
Court Square Diner – photo essay about the diner and area around it
LIC Development Site to Hit Auction Block – residential site on Purves Street
LIC Fire Threatens Star Studded Art Gala – what? you invited Matthew Barney and Chuck Close but not me???
QueensNYC Has A Fan In Neighborhood Blog – oh that’s better, a little salve for my bruised ego. What’s a blog?
LICmom says
April 25, 2013 at 11:51 amAgreed, James is great and a boon for the kids of this neighborhood.