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Meet the Owner
IyaSokoya Karade
Coach Iya is the Owner and CEO of the Athletic Arts Academy, NJ LLC. She is the NJ District Sports Director for Gymnastics for the Amateur Athletics Union (AAU), a certified Professional Member and certified National Coach of USA Gymnastics Organization (USAG), a Meet Director, and a member of the National Association of Women's Gymnastics Judges (NAWGJ). Her mission is to is to create community leaders through the discipline and rigor of gymnastics.
Her program is designed to help children not only gain physical strength and ability, but also learn the fundamentals they need to succeed as leaders in school, in communities, and in life. Once a youth athlete herself, Coach Iya understands how a well-rounded, athletic experience can impact a person’s life.
The Athletic Arts Academy is operated in a 10,000 square foot facility located in Orange, NJ. She operates a year-round program where she has serviced over 1,000 young athletes from the organization's inception. Students enjoy affordable tuition and training schedule accommodating to busy families. The Academy also serves children from various child welfare and social services agencies. The A3 gymnastics community members is comprised of very diverse backgrounds all organized around helping young children.
Athletic Arts Academy offers training to beginners as young as age four. "Team A3" is the Academy’s travelling competitive team. These athletes have won local, State, National, and International titles. Team A3 has travelled from New Jersey to California to Florida and Bermuda. They have competed and won against athletes from as far as South Africa, Great Britain, and Canada.
Additionally, Coach Iya is USAG Safety Certified, BLS/Health Care Provider CPR & First Aid. IyaSokoya holds a Master’s Certification from George Washington University in Project Management and is a Certified Process Quality manager with 11 years in the telecommunications industry. Coach Iya owned and operated Karade Village For Children, an accredited family child care home, for 10 years.
She is a certified Yoga For Children instructor who also studied West African, Haitian, and Lester Horton styles of dance.