Not even two months removed from the LSU gymnastics team’s fifth-place finish at the Super Six Finals in April, head coach D-D Breaux is back in the gym.
Instead of coaching national title contenders, however, the long-tenured “Dean of Coaches” will be mentoring the next generation of gymnasts at her Flying Tiger Gymnastics Camp. The program caters to gymnasts of every level, some of whom Breaux is already recruiting.
Breaux has been running the summer camp for her entire 36-year stint in Baton Rouge, and the camp’s popularity has grown alongside Breaux’s influence and legacy at LSU. Attendance has ballooned as of late, causing Breaux to split this year’s event into two separate sessions held in both the PMAC and the Carl Maddox Field House.
While the first session began June 9 and ends Wednesday, the second session will begin June 23 and end June 26. Breaux said the Sunday-through-Wednesday configuration is an ideal length of time for keeping the campers healthy and engaged. Breaux and her staff have also carefully planned the rotations to allow all campers to participate in every exercise throughout each day.
“In my 35 years of experience doing camps, by the time we get the kids to Wednesday evening, they’re exhausted and worn out,” Breaux said. “By Thursday, they’re very prone to accidents, so we try to hit them hard and fast and work as much as we can in those first couple of days, then we pace them down a little bit.”
Breaux referred to the camp staff as a “village,” which includes her coaching staff, managers, current and former gymnasts and an operations office worker.
Former LSU All-American Kristi Esposito was a part of that village when she coached at the camp while completing her master’s degree. But before Esposito earned various accolades at the University of Nebraska and LSU, she attended the summer camp herself.
“I remember it being fun, and there being a lot of camaraderie,” Esposito said. “It was always neat as a young gymnast to get to see the older girls, instead of seeing them from afar like at a meet, and getting to talk to them up close and interact with them. You kind of felt like you were meeting celebrities.”
Esposito said the setting provided a relaxed environment for campers to show off their skills and learn new ones. For the four-time All-American, returning to coach the camp felt natural.
“I really enjoyed the overall atmosphere,” Esposito said. “The girls seem so willing, and they work so hard. It’s a very motivating and uplifting week, getting to work with girls that truly love gymnastics and want to learn new things.”
The campers, who are housed in West Campus Apartments if they choose to stay overnight, range in age from seven to 17. Despite having to manage a diverse age group, Breaux stressed the importance of every camper’s individual development.
“The management of these kids — from the dormitories to where we feed them and the recreation time we give them — is a daunting task,” Breaux said. “We only have a very short amount of time to do it, and we want them to get experience. There are a lot of camps out there, and it’s our expressed goal to make their camp experience at LSU one of the most exciting times that they have all summer long.”
