The gym is opening in The Shoppes at Hamilton on Rt. 130.
HAMILTON -- The Little Gym, a children's physical development franchise, is set to open its ninth N.J. facility in Hamilton.
Kevin Pastine - owner of The Little Gym of Hamilton - said he is "shooting to open doors" in The Shoppes at Hamilton plaza in January.
"We are excited to be opening in January," Pastine said recently. "As long as our (certificate of occupancy) passes which it should."
In September, Pastine had originally said the gym would open in October but the date has since been pushed to January.
Pastine had set up a table at a public event then at the Shoppes at Hamilton plaza for parents to sign their children up for classes.
"We have had quite a few members already sign up and many more have reached out in hopes of gaining more information about what we do and what we offer," Pastine said.
Pastine - who had been the director of Little Gyms in Bridgewater and Toms River - has worked for the company for about 10 years and had always wanted to own a Little Gym of his own.
"I knew after only a few short years that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life," Pastine said. "I love children and I love seeing them grow in the program and learning not only more about gymnastics but about themselves and what it is like to experience success."
He said The Little Gym holds classes for children four months to 12 years old with lessons not limited to physical education.
According to the company's website, the overall experience of The Little Gym incorporates three dimensions of child learning. The first is "Get Moving," the second "Brain Boost" and the third "Citizen Kid."
"What makes this 'The Little Gym' different is that we offer an educated and fun team to help make our classes the best classes possible," Pastine said.
He said at The Little Gym of Hamilton, a motor-skill development, parent-child gymnastic course will be offered for children under 3 years.
"For the over 3-year-old preschoolers we will offer gymnastics initially followed by dance, karate and sports once we begin our second season or so," Pastine said.
For any child over 6 years, he said gymnastics, karate and dance classes will be offered.
"I have been looking forward to this for a long time," Pastine said. "I look forward to meeting all my new friends and making this 'The Little Gym' the best one ever."
For more information visit The Little Gym of Hamilton's website.
Lindsay Rittenhouse may be reached at lrittenhouse@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
