As youngsters lined up at the dunk tank, clowns blew up balloons and more than 50 Blue Springs businesses conducted games and sold their wares in tents at the Great American Gymastic Express (GAGE) parking lot, I was in search of the perfect person to talk about GAGE’s 30th birthday celebration.
I asked GAGE coach Al Fong if he knew of any former gymnasts who might be on hand for the Saturday afternoon celebration.
He was so busy grilling hot dogs that he couldn’t get away to scan the crowd for familiar faces.
GAGE coaches and employees like Karla Grimes, Sheri Mesh and Wally Meierand said that several former gymnasts had been invited, but they weren’t sure who would be in attendance.
I did spot former Olympic silver medal winner Terin Humphrey in the crowd, and she seemed as surprised as I was at the turnout to help GAGE celebrate the milestone birthday.
Then, Grimes approached me about a gymnast who was with Fong back in 1977 when he was a coach with the Lee’s Summit Flyers.
“She’s here!” Grimes said. “One of Al’s first gymnasts is here. She’s right over there by her car.”
Before you read any further, please take a moment to get out a handkerchief or a Kleenex, because you’re going to need it.
Flash back 32 years to a young girl who was in love with gymnastics.
Her name was Yvonne Johnston and she was part of an up-and-coming gymnastics team that was coached by Diane Stockard.
The team’s assistant coach was a young man who wore a bright yellow T-shirt that read “100% Chinese.”
The adoring young gymnast bought a bright yellow T-shirt that read “100% Gymnast.”
“We wanted to train with Al, who had been with Diane about one-and-half years. Al had a falling out with the gym owner, so all of the gymnasts and their parents decided they would leave if a new, comparable coach was not found within 30 days.”
Fong began the search for a new location to house his 12 gymnasts. He opened his first Great American Gymnastic Express at a location on U.S. 40 that now sells pet supplies. And Stockard was at his side, coaching with Fong for the first 20 years of the new gymnasium.
“It had room for a couple of beams and bars and a floor mat,” said Johnston, who married Keith Ruff 15 years ago. “I remember helping Al adjust the beams so we would have more space for the mats. It wasn’t the biggest place in the world, but it was my gymnastics home.”
As she talks about those magical days, Yvonne Johnston Ruff thumbs through a meticulous scrapbook that features yellow newspaper clippings, faded photos and even an advertisement flyer featuring a young Al Fong with a full head of black hair.
“I think that photo came from a modeling job he did on the side,” Yvonne said.
The first GAGE gym opened Nov. 5, 1979.
Ruff’s world nearly collapsed Nov. 21 of the same year.
She and her mother and father, Jan and Roy Johnston, were in an automobile that was struck head on by a drunk driver.
Her parents were killed in the crash and her nearest relatives lived in Oklahoma.
“That meant I had to move to Oklahoma, and couldn’t train at GAGE,” she said, her eyes moist and her voice low and soft. “I was there about a week when all my dreams ended.”
Neatly written in the back of her scrapbook are the words: AL FONG IS STILL MY COACH.
“I wrote that when I moved to Oklahoma,” she said. “Al was always going to be my coach. Always!”
Fong visited Yvonne at the hospital, and she remembers how those were the few moments she was able to overcome the shock of her parents’ tragic deaths.
“When you are a gymnast training almost every day a week, sometimes, you see your coaches more than your parents,” she said. “When my parents died suddenly, together – it was only natural to gravitate towards the other ‘authority figures’ in my life. When a tragedy happens like it did to me, they say you can be stuck on the emotional state you were in when it happened, so until I dealt with the issues I needed to deal with, I was stuck as a 15 year, longing for the day ‘back when.’”
Yvonne lived in Oklahoma for nine years, and when she had the opportunity to move back to the Blue Springs area she jumped at it.
“I met my husband, Keith, in Blue Springs and we have two children - Kyle (6) and Kolby (4). They aren’t gymnasts – my husband is 6-fooot-5 and they’re going to be too tall.
“When I returned to Blue Springs, I worked for a while as a coach at GAGE. I never got to compete for Al at GAGE because of the accident, but it was wonderful to work as a coach.
“Al is a good man; he took care of me when I returned, between him and Diane they helped me grow up. He loaned me money, gave me money, gave me a few ‘talks’ that normally a father would. And I said before, he and Diane gave me my wedding reception when I got married. He’s a good man that I know I could count on him for anything any time.”
When Fong was told that Yvonne Johnston Ruff was at the party, a smile appeared on his face.
It was a sad smile.
“My gosh,” he said. “I’ll always remember Yvonne and her parents. They were wonderful people and they were killed in that crash just a week or so after we opened. That had a big affect on me, because they were two of the people who encouraged me to get my own gym.
“You know, there are things in life you just can’t figure out sometimes. And that accident is one of them. Yvonne is a survivor. When she had to move to Oklahoma, well, it had a big affect on all of us.”
Yvonne is upbeat and charismatic as she talks about “what might have been,” had the accident never taken place.
“I know one thing,” she said. “I found out who my real friends were, and Al was always there for me.”
Al Fong may no longer be Yvonne’s coach – but he will always be her inspiration.
And, an inspiration to all of us.
