About Us

DeKeuster’s Gymnastics has been around for almost 40 years.

It all started in the Fort Thomas Cafeteria. Jo DeKeuster taught school at Fort Thomas and had a lot of experience with Gymnastics. She started a little class in the Fort Thomas Cafeteria after school. They would put the tables away and set up the gym in the cafeteria a couple days a week. Jo had girls coming from Pima, Fort Thomas, Thatcher and Safford.

Sometime later Jo took a teaching position at Safford Schools so she had to move the gym. The gym has been in different places in Safford until its recent move to Thatcher in March of 2010.

Heidi Morris took over the gym in 2003. Heidi was one of Jo's first students who started in Fort Thomas. Heidi owned the gym for 19 ½ years and transformed it into what it is now. Sarah McDougal stepped in January of 2022.

Sarah learned gymnastics from Heidi for 8 years and coached alongside Heidi for 11 years. Sarah plans to keep the great traditions of Dekeuster’s gymnastics alive and hopes to grow the business even more to provide more opportunities for growth and improvement in all of Eastern Arizona's Gymnasts.

DeKeuster’s Gymnastics opens new 12,000-square-foot facility

August 15, 2024 - by Gila Herald News Director

Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Owner Sarah McDougal welcomes all gymnasts to her new twin, 6,000-square-foot gymnastics studios.

Room for All Gymnasts  by Jon Johnson

The new gymnastics studio features twin 6,000-square-foot warehouses kept cool by spray foam insulation and five Mr. Cool mini-splits in each building. One side houses beginner and younger students and has junior equipment as well as a full-size gymnastics spring floor for routines. The more advanced students have regulation equipment to train on, including the balance beam, uneven bars, and pommel horse to name a few. 

Owner and operator Sarah McDougal said the move to a larger facility from their old stomping grounds at the Thatcher Plaza was prompted by them simply running out of space. They had been at the Plaza since 2010.  

“We have built a new facility to be able to accommodate for all the kids in the Gila Valley,” McDougal said. “We were running out of space, and now we have plenty and we can’t wait to see your kids at gymnastics.”

“We were having to turn kids away before and now with our new facility we hope to be able to accommodate everyone, and if you give us a call we will get your students in a class and we can’t wait to teach them the sport of gymnastics and some great skills for life,” McDougal said. “We are super excited to have all your kids and we hope to continue growing DeKeuster’s Gymnastics and continue the legacy that it has been in our Valley.”