Sports in Kettering

Founded in 1972 as a gymnastics club, TWIGS Kids now resides in a sprawling 20,000-square-foot facility staffed by enthused staffers. The gym’s name, which stands for True Winners in God’s Service, reflects its mission of providing gymnastics, swimming, and cheer activities and instruction for kids ages 3–18 in a Christian environment. Cheer and gymnastics lessons simultaneously bolster students’ flexibility, coordination, confidence, and ability to best invisible friends in monkey-bar competitions. Amid the heated waters of Dolphin Cove, teachers and pupils soak their feet while lifting floating barbells and riding noodle floats during swimming lessons. An in-house café welcomes visitors to recharge their empty fuel tanks with refreshing snacks, while a gift shop displays colorful gym attire from designers including GK Elite Sportswear and Melody Leotards.

The diverse and multitalented staff of tennis professionals at KTC Quail Tennis Club helps players hone their swings and serves. Players lob shots on eight indoor, air-conditioned courts before retiring to the saunas to decompress. The club's other onsite amenities include tennis-specific fitness training and racquet stringing and sales.

At Rollandia Golf Center, players hone their game on a verdant 18-hole course with 2,800 yards of fairways—coached along the way, if they wish, by PGA-certified instructors. Visitors also can focus on their swings at a driving range with heated and covered stalls that is open year-round.

Dayton Center Courts and Tennis Academy's seasoned tennis pros train budding ball-swatters to command the net with skill, agility, and aplomb. Beginner clinics help build fundamentals in tennis novices and players aiming to return to the game after long sabbaticals or periods of cryogenic hibernation. Each hour-long class focuses on the rudiments of racket-wielding, as up to 10 trainees per instructor practice blistering backhands, master sublime serves, and hone opponent-obliterating volleys and drop shots. Courses are available for youths age 15 and under on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., and for adults age 16 and up on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Tac Force Challenge tests the strength of racers by putting them through the rigors of an adventure 5K obstacle course designed by power lifters, martial-arts experts, and special-operations professionals. The muddy, muscle-straining course houses 31 obstacles, such as rope walls, river dashes, unbalanced beams, log trips, and tunnels that force runners to use all their strength and jet-pack fuel to reach the finish line. Participants begin their first race ranked as a Private and advance closer to General as they complete each run. This progress is saved in the Tac Force database, which catalogs completion dates so that the government knows whom to call in the event of a sweaty-bicep shortage.

Start Skydiving owes its ranking as the number-one skydiving location on dropzone.com to its staff of master skydivers, pilots, and instructors. The team navigates its aircraft thousands of feet in the air for tandem or AFF solo skydives, and the jumpers help novices in obtaining their own USPA B, C, or D licenses. Newly inducted divers can gear up with Start Skydiving’s online store, which carries everything from altimeters and flight-specific shirts to tickets for rides on hot-air balloons or twin-engine pterodactyls.