The end of September of 2022 brought the end of gymnastics at Woodward Camps. Having been mismanaged for quite some time it was no longer what it once was and what it could be. Guest blogger, TOM HAMBLIN, shares his thoughts and memories.
In 1970, Ed Isabel had a dream, a vision he would build a camp. Woodward Camp was born. He built it from the ground up with love. He put his blood, sweat, and tears into it. He built much of it with his bare hands. Woodward became a field of dreams for gymnastics. He built it and we came. It was built by the gymnastics and the Amish community. We were family.
Woodward is sacred grounds where memories were made, and dreams come true. Campers trained and enjoyed camp life. Campers that we all knew that came through those grounds have received college scholarships and even earning a World Champion title. Woodward was a diverse community where everyone learned gymnastics skills and enhanced our coaching skills. We came from all corners of the globe to share information and perfect our craft in an environment built on mutual respect. It was more than a playground or summer camp for us. It was FAMILY. Regardless of what level you were or who you were, you were part of that family. A family that believes in respect and integrity. Woodward’s heart was always open to you. You were part of Ed’s dreams and his family. His dream was your dream. We shared his dreams and his love of the sport of Gymnastics. The passion he had, we carried it forward.
I was a camper for two summers and the opportunity to learned from the best and to enjoy the camp atmosphere. Best money ever spent. Memories were made. Many may know about my story. When I was learning to polish up my double back, my hearing aid flew off into the foam pit. All the campers came to have a pit cleaning party till we found my hearing aid. Yes, we found it after two hours. Oh, things we found as we cleaned out the pit. Yikes.
My experience with Woodward adventure as a coach began in 1999. While I was doing some coaching at Woodward as a visiting coach I was asked to stay for the rest of the summer. I lived all summer for 8 years and continued till 2019. I grew from master staff to director of the cheer and T&T program. I took part on the team in the design and groundbreaking for the cheer/tumble gym in 2007. I will never forget the -9 below zero weather. After the photos were taken, we even stuck around doing gymnastics skills on the bulldozer! lol!
Its was heart breaking , to say the least, when Powdr bought Woodward in 2008 (if my memory served me right). Powdr ruined our family (If they know what family is). There’s was no respect showed on those sacred grounds. Their lies and lack of leadership killed it. Powdr’s manager showed up drunk, firing people who were the heart and soul of the camp and ended up crashing the golf cart into a lake. Camp was no longer family. It left me with an uncomfortable vibe that it wasn’t Woodward anymore. For the last few years, I barely knew anyone. My family were gone, my friends were gone. The new directors treated me like dirt and just could care less about me. I didn’t feel welcome anymore as I didn’t participate in their social events that I felt were unprofessional and unethical. The quality of the program was diminished. My gym friends were disrespected and thrown under the bus by the Cheer Directors. They acted with a sense of entitlement as if they were the best of the best and owned the campgrounds. It was like a cold war, Cheer vs Gymnastics. Little did they (Powdr) know anything about gymnastics, they were desperate to find quality staff after they fired so many with little reasoning or notice. They became desperate enough to hire Aly Raisman as the Gymnastics Program Designer (Whatever the heck that supposed the mean!). They used her has a marketing tool that was a complete scam. They were desperate enough that they hired a staff who was suspended from USA Gymnastics. They just didn’t have a clue.
The gymnastics and cheer program is no longer being offered at all Woodward locations. Powdr announced, “Gymnastics is one sport where we have found it is not possible to have consistent sport leadership” REALLY?!?!?!? Leadership starts at the top! Powdr never cared for our sport, our culture, or the language we speak. If they had respect, they would have approached the acquisition with an open mind and learned WHAT, HOW and WHY we do things. I do not know if gymnastics was ever a part of their vision. Their mishandling of the program(s) led to the demise.
Woodward is no longer the field of dreams. Ed’s legacy and passion are gone. Dreams have been shattered and affected by thousands of kids. The gymnastics community is saddened by their ignorance and lack of integrity of their leadership to protect Woodward’s culture, family, diversity, and history.
To my real Woodward family,
Thank you for letting me be part of your family. I’ll miss everyone and hope to get together soon.
Tom
Share your best Woodward memories with GYM MOMENTUM as well as TOM on Facebook, Twitter, @gym_momentum, and Instagram
