SILETZ, Ore. — Judy Imbler smiled as she watched her daughters run, jump and tumble during a gymnastics class that she said they couldn’t wait to attend.
“They’re excited to come. They practice all the time at home,” said Imbler, who enrolled 10-year-old Sitala and 9-year-old twins Sky and Sabrina in a weekly KidSpirit class held this spring at the Tillicum Fitness & Recreation Center in Siletz.
“It’s awesome,” Imbler said. “We appreciate it so much. The coaches are really good. They’re patient with the kids, which is great.”
“It’s awesome. We appreciate it so much. The coaches are really good. They’re patient with the kids, which is great.”
KidSpirit started in 1961 at Oregon State University as a summer sports program — first baseball and then swimming and soccer. It now offers camps and classes throughout the year on the Corvallis campus, focusing on positive youth development through noncompetitive, fun and educational activities.
KidSpirit, a program in the Oregon State University Division of Extension and Engagement, also has a presence at community events, with its cadre of Oregon State student staff wearing their signature black T-shirts with “KidSpirit” emblazoned in orange lettering on the front.
Prior to April, KidSpirit had never ventured off campus to teach a series of classes.
KidSpirit Director Karen Swanger said the idea for the classes in Siletz — which are free, open to the community and held twice a week — started in the spring of 2024 with a request from Tyler Smith, who was driving back and forth from the small town near Newport to the Oregon State campus in Corvallis for his kids to take gymnastics and wrestling classes.
Smith suggested that KidSpirit could come to the Tillicum Fitness & Recreation Center, which is owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. That started a series of conversations — and after the contract was finally signed about a year later — KidSpirit hosted gymnastics “preview day” on April 12.
The organizers expected about 20 families to sign up their kids for classes. They got more than 50.
‘Doing gymnastics and having fun’
So, instead of offering one class a week, they split the kids into two groups and hold two classes each week. In each class there were three levels: Kindergym for 4–5-year-olds, a Level 1 for beginners and a Level 2 for advanced. The kids rotated between floor beams, vault and floor exercise.
“It’s just kids doing gymnastics and having fun,” said Lilie Gastelum, a KidSpirit student leader whom Swanger picked to lead the KidSpirit team that traveled each week this spring to Siletz in two vans — one for the people and one for the equipment.
Gastelum was a gymnast in Arizona for 13 years before attending Oregon State.
“I’ve really enjoyed what KidSpirit’s values are,” said Gastelum, who graduated in June. “I’ve been able to grow through KidSpirit. I enjoy the Siletz community. The kids are awesome. They are so ecstatic to do gymnastics and so passionate about learning. It really sparks my joy for teaching.”
Imbler, who lives in Toledo, found out about the preview day through the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
“Being out here on the coast we just don’t have a lot of options,” Imbler said. “We could go to Corvallis, but it’s hard with young children, being on the road all the time. I appreciate these classes, and the kids do, too.”
The classes, which continued through the summer and are now going to be offered in the fall, are funded by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians through its Diabetes Program.
