BRITTANY CROSS

(Co-owner, Recreation & Team Head Coach)

Brittany Cross has been involved with the sport of gymnastics for the majority of her life.  She started gymnastics at the age of 3 and continued all the way until her junior year of high school. She was a two-time Arizona state beam champion and a large inventory of medals from championships in meet events throughout her years of competition. Unfortunately, her gymnastics career ended early due to a devastating knee injury during her vault at a level 8 competition.  Although her career ended, her love of the sport and her dedication to teaching others the amazing benefits of this sport continues to live on.

While she may be young in the eyes of many, her coaching abilities surpass many coaches who have been instructing for many years.  In the short time span of Hot Spot’s existence, Brittany trained and prepared the gymnasts, most who had no previous experience with gymnastics, for competition against gyms around Arizona that have been operating for decades.  Last year, the Hot Spot competitive team won Third Place at the Arizona State Competition!

Because of Brittany’s dedication and instruction, as well as the hard work and determination of the gymnasts, she has helped Hot Spot establish a place in the world of Arizona Gymnastics.  If you want your child to receive the best gymnastics experience, succeed in competitive gymnastics, and share in the success of Casa Grande’s first and only competitive gymnastics program, Brittany will help your child get to the next level!

STEPHANIE CROSS 

(Co-owner, Recreation & Team Head Coach)  

Stephanie Cross began her long journey in gymnastics at the age of 4.  While virtually all of her teammates that she grew up with ended their gymnastics career at a young age, Stephanie continued to press on.  After many serious injuries and surgery to her ankle and ACL, she made it all the way to collegiate gymnastics!  For four years, Stephanie attended Seattle Pacific University and was a member of their gymnastics team, as well as a coach for their recreation classes and high school gymnastics team and a substitute coach for their club team.

However, she had one more year of eligibility for collegiate gymnastics, so she transferred to the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater to finish out her gymnastics career (GO WARHAWKS!), as well as complete her Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology and a minor in Pre-Occupational Therapy.  At UWW, she finished her last competition season as a First Team All-American, earning the second-highest bar score in the nation and the highest personal score of her career. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from UWW, she returned to Arizona and combined coaching gymnastics with studying for her doctorate in Physical Therapy.  In December 2019, she graduated from NAU and is now in charge of a department at a physical therapy and caregiving company in the valley. She does not have the opportunity to coach, but she will be helping to organize and run our yearly invitational meets.

ELLEN CROSS

(Co-owner and Recreation Coach)

Ellen has been involved with gymnastics since Day 1 of her daughters’ (Stephanie and Brittany) gymnastics career.  Over the years, she learned about the different gymnastics skills and exercises, developing an understanding of the techniques and progressions.

Ellen specializes in coaching the recreation classes at Hot Spot Gymnastics.  She has been coaching for 12+ years and is adept at spotting and instructing all levels of recreation-class gymnasts. 

PAUL CROSS

(Co-owner and Front Desk Manager)

Paul, like his wife, Ellen, has been a part of the gymnastics world for the past 19+ years.  With the help of his family, Paul made the dream of opening a gymnastics facility in Casa Grande a reality.  Because of his persistence and his knowledge of business that he gained from his many years of owning Innovations Unlimited with Ellen (a sports memorabilia and awards business), Hot Spot Gymnastics has been able to share in the tradition of gymnastics with the families of Casa Grande and surrounding communities since 2012!

Thank you for all the sacrifices and work you have done for Hot Spot Gymnastics!