By Anna Bedell

It’s more than just a place to come and practice gymnastics – the focus is on having fun.

They come from all over Connecticut – it’s a place many consider their second home away from home – it’s become a family.

Bristol resident Wesley “Wes” Norris, along with his wife Lyndsie, run CATS Gymnastics, a gymnastics magnet in Cheshire for about 500 kids ranging from 18 months to 18 years old.

But for the Norrises, it’s a family business, with the emphasis on family.

“My daughter Everley has been a gym rat since about 18-months-old, many times in the gym, five-six days a week,“ said Norris.

It was hard not to notice the enthusiastic 8-year-old Everley practicing. She was all smiles – really enjoying herself.

“I have won lots of medals and trophies, I love it,” said Everley.

With pride, Norris talked about his daughter’s skills.

“She could do a lot of impressive things that a lot of 12- and 13-year-old kids can’t do,” said Norris.

He said his daughter is on a path towards college gymnastics if she chooses to do so.

“She worked out with the Southern Connecticut State University gymnastics team last year, garnering quite a few cheers and comments from the college gymnasts,” he said.

With two sons and a daughter, the Norrises have their hands full.

Elliot, 18, played American Legion baseball this past summer, while Julian, 15, played soccer for the town of Bristol. Both are students at Bristol Eastern Highschool, although Elliot graduated this year.   

“Elliot just started working here at the gym, just basically helping clean and stuff,” said Norris.  “And when Julian when was younger, he used to come in and liked to do flips and stuff.”

Norris acknowledges the sport of gymnastics has a reputation for being hard on young girls, especially at such a high level of competitive athleticism.

“Lyndsie and I decided when we took over, that our philosophy would be that they are kids first,” said Norris.

CATS mom

Lyndsie, 40, has been a mom not only for her own kids, but also for her CATS kids.

“Gymnastics was always my safe place, my outlet growing up,” said Norris. “You leave whatever is happening at home or whatever is happening in the world. When you come here, you are able to focus your attention on something else.”

Norris said sometimes the girls will say that to her.

“That makes me feel like I’m providing something important,” she continues. “What I’m doing is providing the space for them to find happiness and find joy when the world is crazy.”

Their personal life could be crazy, or they’re stressed about a test at school or whatever, she said.  

“They come here, and they talk about it, you laugh, and they tell me about their crush at school,” said Norris. “I feel like they’re my kids, so it’s great to see them come in and having that outlet – they forget about the world.”

She started doing gymnastics when she was 8-years old, then quit when she was around 17-years-old.

“I immediately went into coaching, coached at my gym, and a few other coaching jobs after that,” said Norris.  “I coached in my 20s, it’s just been on and off my whole life.”

Norris realizes it may be a challenge sometimes being a gymnastics mom to Everley.

“I hope that it’s a good thing, and I often hope that it doesn’t limit her because I never want her to feel like she wasn’t able to try other things or experienced other sports,” said Norris.

Although she has high expectations for her, Norris said she also knows this is supposed to be fun, first and foremost.  

“We do a ‘spotlight gymnast,’ and we have to be careful when we put Everley, and not put all the attention on her,” she said.

“We do banquets and sometimes we look at the statistics and it shows she really should get this award, but it’s in the back of my mind to make sure that this doesn’t look like favoritism.”

Norris said the gymnasts cheer each other on when they get new skills.

“There’s no jealousy, there’s a good spirit of competitiveness, they push each other but in a good way, in a positive way,” said Norris.

CATS history

CATS Gymnastics was established in Cheshire in the mid-1980s. The training center has produced several National Team members, according to Wes.

The 51-year-old has a long history with the gym.

“I worked for CATS for about three years in the 90s, three years again in the 2000s,” said Norris.  “I’ve been back for about six or seven years.”

After graduating college, he joined the United States Coast Guard and moved to Florida.

In 2017, the Norrises returned to CATS Gymnastics, never forgetting their vision of one day owning the gym.

“We bought the gym in August of 2019,” said Norris.

In February 2020, a flood forced the gym to close its doors for two weeks.

After reopening its doors for only three weeks, the gym was forced to close for another three months because of the pandemic.

By the summer of 2020, the gym reopened once again, and the business has been thriving ever since, Norris said.  

In November 2021, CATS expanded by taking over the space next door, increasing the gym space by about 40 percent, he said. 

“We didn’t compete last season because of Covid,” said Norris. “This season, we had great success with some levels winning every meet they went to as a team.”

With over 75 scholarship athletes, many will go off to good schools in Florida, Utah and Oklahoma, as well as other division two and division three schools, he said.  

As multiple State Champions, the CATS Xcel Bronze team won the 2022 State Championship team title.

The Norrises have high expectations of their athletes; they believe in achievement through positive reinforcement.

“If you look at our success in the last three years, you can see that it works,” he said.

With five years left on their lease, Norris said, if they continue to grow as they have, they will need to look for more space.

For the foreseeable future, CATS will stay in Cheshire.

“We have established roots in the town and one of our major goals is to be a large part of the community,” said Norris. “We have participated in parades, fundraisers and a walk for MS since taking ownership.”  

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