Quantcast
skip navigation

On the Leech Lake Reservation, a revitalized gymnastics program is blooming hope and talent

By Kim Hyatt, the Minnesota Star Tribune, 05/02/25, 3:00PM CDT

Share

Northern Dreams Gymnastics is earning top honors and looking for space to grow the program.

Northern Dreams Gymnastics, housed in a former car dealership building in Cass Lake in the heart of the Leech Lake Reservation, is a fledging gymnastics program that earned top honors recently at the USAA Midwest Regional Meet in Madison, Wis. (Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

CASS LAKE, Minn. - Inside an old car dealership, gymnasts navigate unconventional hurdles at practice. Coaches spot the girls for form and to ensure they don’t hit the ceiling.

This organized chaos is set to the melodies of Disney songs and pop music. A collection of hand-me-down mats and equipment from bigger, longstanding gymnastics programs around the state help this newer, smaller team grow.

And against all odds, they are soaring, all because their coach, Erin Reyes, decided to come back home.

“If there’s one person who can make it happen, it’s Erin,” said Kelli Mansavage, who works at the bank across the street from the gym in downtown Cass Lake, a town of 700 people in the heart of Leech Lake Reservation.

For more on Reyes and Northern Dreams Gymnastics, click here to read this story on startribune.com.

Gymnastics Hub Headlines