About Intown Stars
About
Our mission: Kids Like it Here!
Founded in 2012, Intown Stars Sports Training and Events Center is Atlanta's only indoor multi-sport facility, proudly serving the Decatur and Atlanta areas. Intown Stars offers healthy, positive, intentional programming for children of all ages such as gymnastics, parkour, tumbling, tricking, dance, soccer, and ninja. Intown Stars is a leader in the youth sports industry, by flipping the culture of youth sports on its head. At Intown our Motto is, The Body Follows The Mind. We believe – and teach - that building the child’s understanding of how her thoughts drive her actions, is the foundation for success in her chosen sport.
Intown Stars is run by Owner, Founder, and CEO Anna Santiago. Anna opened Intown Gymnastics in January of 2013 with 30 students in a tiny Sunday School room in her neighborhood church. Intown Stars has grown exponentially over the last decade. With over 3,000 children per week, and over 100 employees, Intown has proudly become an important part of the Decatur community. Intown Stars was named one of the country's 500 fastest growing companies in 2020. In August of 2022, Intown moved into a 75,000 sq. ft. building on Dekalb Industrial Way in Decatur. The move and $4million renovation allow for creative expansion and a wide variety of unique sports and activities for families in the Atlanta area such as classes, camps, after-school care, parent night out, clinics, and Roller Skating! The massive renovation includes a 22,000 square foot roller skating rink, complete with disco ball!
We are dedicated to taking care of every child's mind and body when they come through our doors. Our professional coaches and childcare staff are friendly and courteous with a focus on developing relationships with students and families. This allows us to make business decisions around our customers, intentionally creating programming and policy to serve the families in our community.
Every employee at Intown who works with children is certified in CPR/First Aid, and Stewards of Children, which teaches professional childcare providers how to protect children from sexual abuse. They participate in ongoing education with occupational therapists and child development experts. Our most popular and impactful requirement for our employees is our proprietary certification in Positive Discipline for sports coaches – an intensive, experiential, day-long training designed and taught by the CEO. This training teaches participants about alternatives to traditional punishment and consequences. We use the sweet and nurturing power of healing baskets, address children's anxieties with "Worry Eater" dolls, and use Shine a Light on My Feelings tools to address challenges a child is experiencing with a growth mindset.
The value system at Intown Stars is rooted in Growth Mindset, a positive and empowering psychology developed by Stanford Researcher and Professor of Psychology, Dr. Carol Dweck. Growth is one of Intown Stars’ five core values - it is based on Dr. Dweck’s book, Mindset – required reading for Intown’s Leadership Team. Our Department Leaders incorporate activities and tools from Big Life Journal - a Growth Mindset curriculum for children – into all of the services offered at our gym.
Intown Stars’ mission is, Kids Like it Here. Anna says, “The best moments for me at work are seeing children being dragged out of the gym by their parents, begging not to leave. Because then we know we’ve done our job. As long as that keeps happening, Intown Stars will keep growing as a leader in youth sports.”
Anna Santiago, Owner/Founder/CEO
Intown Stars Sports Training Center
421 Dekalb Industrial Way
Decatur, GA 30033
For immediate needs please reach out to my assistant, Jocelyn Pawcio at jocelyn@intownstarsgymnastics.com
5 HOSPITALITY MANTRAS
Our mission: Kids Like it Here!
We designed our five Hospitality Mantras to reflect the environment we think will best serve that goal:
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We greet every customer with a smile and kind words.
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Our primary roles are problem solvers.
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Our customers are more important than the services we provide.
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We create raving fans by being transparent, honest, and open to feedback.
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Everything is prorateable, transferable, and flexible. The answer to how is yes.
Anna Santiago, Owner/Founder/CEO Intown Stars Atlanta with her sons Roman, level 10, and Gabriel, Level 9 USAG Men’s Team
Intown Stars' 12 Teaching Principles
Our mission: Kids Like it Here! And we have designed our 12 Teaching Principles over the last five years with this goal in mind. All of our coaches are trained on these 12 principles every day - in our staff meetings, in our daily coach meetings before classes, in our Leadership Team meetings, and in our daily interactions together as a coaching team. We know we're not perfect (who is?!), but in all the work we do with the kids in our gym, we always set our intention to do it in a way that is congruent with our company's mission. And if you feel that your experience with us doesn't meet those standards, please contact us so we can make it right - and so we can constantly improve and grow!
Our 12 Teaching Principles:
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We are firm and kind.
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We teach kids to be leaders.
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We teach our motto: “The Body Follows the Mind.”
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We keep kids safe.
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We use positive discipline. When we feel the need to punish a child, we do the opposite and make them a leader.
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We reward excellence and perseverance over ability.
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We teach in a learning zone, rather than a panic zone or a comfort zone.
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We find success for every child in every class.
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We keep our students in perpetual motion.
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We ask students to use positive language to influence their body’s actions: “ I can do that.”
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We teach with creativity, variety, and fun!
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We respect the sovereignty of a child's body.
Our 5 Core Values
Growth
We are always growing our gym and growing ourselves, and learning through the process. We value mistakes as part of the process, and create a safe space for students and staff alike to make mistakes, celebrate them, and learn from them.
Courage
We are afraid of new and scary things, and we believe that we can succeed anyway. We succeed on purpose. Our students and our staff are encouraged to try new things, be uncomfortable, be afraid, and do them anyway. We encourage our students and our staff to speak out and speak up for others and themselves for what is right and good, even if the idea of doing so scares them.
Excellence
We work hard and do things well and in a timely manner. We respect the work and we respect each other. We are always professional in our work and our relationships. We follow through on our commitments to ourselves and to each other. When things are hard, we are solutions-oriented and find ways to make it happen.
Fun
We are lighthearted, don't take ourselves too seriously, create ways for fun to happen, and find humor in our journey together.
Community
We create a welcoming place where people want to be. We respect one another, even if we disagree. We are honest with our feedback, strong with our personal boundaries, and kind with our words.
INTOWN STARS' 8 HIRING MANTRAS
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Hire for character and culture fit; teach the skills.
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Don’t confuse potential with ability.
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We shall go short-staffed before we are poorly staffed.
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Be in hiring mode 24/7/365
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Let go of good. Hold out for great. “A” managers hire “A” employees. “B” managers hire “C” employees.
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When in doubt, don’t hire.
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Train and lead in a manner so you can hire and promote from within. In this way, we intentionally create our own culture.
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When you realize a hiring mistake, act swiftly. Your duty is to do the greatest good for the greatest number.
