Unfortunately, the countless stories in the previous reviews of Bill Austin's abusive behavior toward children and parents is neither new or surprising to me. My children were on the gymnastics team for many years when the gym first opened. I had been warned about Bill Austin, but didn't know what to make of it so I made sure I stayed in the gym during their workouts, even when they got on the team and were working out 3-4 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. I did it to protect them.
I saw first hand Bill's outbursts at children and parents. He blew up at me a couple of times for reasons that never made sense. I eventually came to the conclusion that Bill Austin is mentally ill. Some people suggested he is Bi-Polar, but his outbursts are far worst than a depression/mania cycle.
My daughters overheard Bill speaking horribly to the little kids in the regular classes. For example, when teaching two year olds, my daughter told me he told the kids they were brats, their parents hadn't taught them how to behave, and their parents did not love them.
As long as other coaches were in charge of the teams, the day to day workouts were good. The main goal was to keep Bill away from the kids. However, after he fired yet another coach (he does this very often), it meant Bill himself would be the team's coach so my kids quit gymnastics. It was a real shame because they absolutely loved the sport, but Bill was a very scary man.
The only thing that surprises me is that Bill has not encountered legal actions from either a parent or child services by now. Or perhaps he has and it's just not advertised. I don't know.
What I do know is that the gym is a great place, the coaches are wonderful, the sport is fantastic, but Bill Austin single-handedly ruins it all. He is a scary man. He is an abusive man. And I think he is a dangerous man. Find another gym. It's not worth it.
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