River City Inclusive Gym CEO Mike McGrath works with an athlete.
Three years ago, Jasminka Jost was looking for a place for her young son, Vigo, to be active. He had tried playing soccer, but Vigo, who has autism, had trouble focusing on the game. Jost needed a safe space for Vigo with coaches who specialized in meeting his needs. That’s when friends referred Jost and her family to the River City Inclusive Gym, which offers workout classes for children, teens and adults with disabilities.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” Jost says. “The coaches at RCIG really excel in meeting athletes where they are but challenging them at the same time.”
The gym has been in operation since 2016, renting space in a traditional gymnastics gym before moving to its current location on Patterson Avenue in April 2022. There are six hourlong classes per day from Monday through Saturday, each with a maximum of seven attendees and each featuring one coach per participant.
“Our classes consist of an obstacle course,” says Mike McGrath, the CEO and founder of RCIG. “There are four different sections of the gym, and we spend 15 minutes in each section. There are monkey bars, swings, trampolines, ropes for climbing and swinging, slides, and more.
“That can sound intimidating, but we start from where they’re comfortable. If they just need to touch the rope at first, that’s OK, but our goal is to gradually build their skill level and participation.”
Vigo, now 6 years old, looks forward to classes every week. “When Vigo first joined, he had anxiety issues and needed some support,” Jost says. “We worked on joining the first portion, and after a few weeks, he was able to participate in the full course. Now we go every Thursday, and he loves it.”
There are classes for older kids and young adults, too. Christine Schwab has been bringing her niece, 20-year-old Brennan, for two years and says that the classes have improved her social and motor skills.
“The coaches at RCIG were great at getting her to take the extra step — and to believe that she could,” Schwab says. “As a loved one, it’s amazing to see. It’s hard, when you’re close to someone, to push the person you love. But at RCIG, I’ve watched Brennan gain confidence, especially in her physical abilities.”
Watching athletes achieve their goals drives the passion that Jocelyn Ingram, COO and head coach at RCIG, feels for her work. “It’s amazing to see how big their accomplishments can be for athletes and their families,” she says. “You think that everyone can get on a trampoline and bounce for a bit, but that’s not true. It takes motor skills to jump. And in every single class, within an hour, you watch goals being made.”
A 10-week session at RCIG costs $230, though McGrath says there are scholarships available. There are 30-minute trial sessions available for free, which also serve as a time for coaches to evaluate a participant’s needs. There are six paid coaches working for the organization, along with many volunteers and interns.
“Whenever I watch Brennan exercise, I just thank God there are people like Mike in the world because he has a true gift. This place was 100% his vision,” Schwab says.
Jost adds that the gym is a good place to meet other people facing similar challenges. “Even beyond the classes, there is a deep sense of community and belonging,” she says. “Vigo has made a lot of little friends, and it’s an opportunity to meet other parents. It’s a place we can all go and just be ourselves.”
