Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/718539
Leon Bekker in the gym with his sons Ari and Elan Linda Laderman | Contributing Writer A walk inside the 24,000-square- foot Michigan Academy of Gymnastics in Westland with new co-owner Leon Bekker reveals much about the aspirations and dreams of many of those inside. It's not just the landing mats that cover the floor like primary-colored building blocks, nor is it the little pony-tailed girls learning how to walk the balance beam, nor the boys' teams practicing on the rings, their strength greater than their age, that solely define the space. To be sure, all of those details are important pieces of what makes the Michigan Academy of Gymnastics a train- ing center that has been at the heart of the gymnastics community in the Detroit area for decades. But as important as what meets the eye is Bekker's underlying philosophy that individualized teaching is critical to giving the 1,400 students who train at Westland and at the academy's other two locations in Ann Arbor and Dearborn a good expe- rience. Describing himself as a teacher who coaches, Bekker says, "You cannot teach each child by the same book. You have to tweak your approach to the mindset of the child. My goal here is to teach the kids life lessons." Along the way, Bekker has learned some life lessons of his own. LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES In 1995, Bekker, a graduate of the Belarusian Institute of Physical Education and Sport and a wrestler for Belarus, a former Soviet Republic, was a 23-year- old teacher when he traveled from his hometown of Minsk to America to visit his cousin for what was supposed to be a short visit. Bekker says his decision to stay in the United States was not motivated by dis- crimination toward Jews in Belarus, but, once he was in America, he discovered a way of life that, while it demanded hard work, was ripe with opportunities. In fact, being Jewish was one reason Bekker didn't have as much difficulty as some others did who wanted to leave his native country. "It was a time when the government was allowing Russian Jews to travel or leave, so everyone wanted to be Jewish," Bekker recalls. "Besides, I had an apartment, a car and a job, proof I had a reason to come back after my visit." But he hit it off so well with the young woman who was asked to show him around that four months later they were engaged and then married the next year. "She didn't speak any Russian and my English was not great, but we managed to figure it out," Bekker says. "I'd had some English in Belarus so I took classes here and practiced while I worked three differ- ent jobs." Currently, Bekker lives in West Bloomfield with his wife, Nita Beurer- Bekker, and their two sons, Ari, 13, and Elan, 11. The family belongs to The Shul, also in West Bloomfield, where Ari recent- ly celebrated his bar mitzvah. His wife's family welcomed their son- in-law into their homes and their hearts, inspiring him to pursue his passion for teaching physical education to children. "Nita's family accepted me immediately; I couldn't have been any luckier," Bekker says. When a family member found an ad from the Michigan Academy of Gymnastics for an instructor, Bekker interviewed for the opening. He immedi- ately hit it off with the gym's owner, the late Doug Rowe, who hired him on the spot. Rowe's widow, Debbie, remembers when her husband met Bekker. "He just walked in off the street one day and he and Doug started talking. They had the same love for teaching kids and a shared vision about what the gym needed to grow. Doug hired him immediately," Debbie Rowe says, nearly a year after selling the gym to Bekker and his partners, coaches Cami and Stoytcho Gotcheva. Cami Gotcheva, who was on the 1980 and '84 Bulgarian Olympic gymnastics team, met Bekker shortly after he was hired by Doug Rowe. Calling Bekker "a partner and a friend," Gotcheva says, "Leon is always looking for new and creative ways to expand the busi- ness. We have a mutual respect for what the other is doing. He is much better than I am in reaching out to the kids in the community, whereas my focus is on train- ing our high-level gymnasts." metro » Photos by Brett Mountain His American Dream continued on page 24 Leon Bekker, a coach, teacher and co-owner of Michigan Academy of Gymnastics in Westland, helps a student refine a move. 22 August 25 • 2016 Teacher, coach and gym co-owner teaches life lessons along with gymnastics.