Our Founder

The founder and present owner and administrator of AIM is Judy Grounds. Ms. Judy has a degree in Physical Education and is a certified teacher for Pre-K through high school. She has taught both in public and private schools in her field of education. She is originally from New Mexico where she received her education and training. She has lived in Louisiana since 1972.

Ms. Judy started her own gymnastics club in 1973 in Donaldsonville. She received training in the sport of gymnastics from attending clinics, workshops and actual hands on with children of all ages and all levels. In 1979 she and her family moved to St. Amant and built her first facility, which was located at the intersection on Hwy 621 and George Rouyea Road. She operated this 7500 square foot gymnastics facility until 1996 when the new facility was opened. In 1996, the doors opened to the largest training facility in the southeast at that time.

Ms. Judy coached for 25 years and retired from active coaching when she opened AIM as a multipurpose facility for children. She has many credits to her name: She was voted Optional Coach of the Year in 1989 and Compulsory Coach of the Year in 1989. She is the only person in the state to have both of these honors in the same year. Her peers voted her these prestigious honors. Ms. Judy has been a level 10 judge as well as served on the State Judging Board as Secretary for eight years and served on the State Gymnastics Board and is highly respected among her peers and in the gymnastics community.

She and daughter, Michelle, have coached many athletes (Gym Gems) to receive full athletic scholarships in the sport of gymnastics. Her students have gone to LSU, Georgia, Texas, Alaska, Centenary, and Illinois to pursue athletic and educational goals on full scholarships. AIM is proud to say that we had the FIRST Louisiana gymnast who qualified to train at the USA National Training camp. Besides training top athletes to receive college scholarships, the Gym Gems competitive team is ranked one of the top teams in the region and in the nation.