Meet the Hayden Family

Glenn and Kim have a passion for encouraging children and giving families a fun environment to see their children thrive.  They have three children that all have roles at Cutting Edge, making CEA a true family business.

Glenn

Glenn was an avid tree climber as a kid, spending his free time building forts and roaming acres of land along the Clinton River in Utica.  He didn’t find gymnastics until he was 18, when a friend suggested they take a gymnastics class in college.  His friend never showed up for class and Glenn found a new passion!  He called some local clubs to find a place he could continue learning gymnastics.  Every club turned him away because he was too old.  The last club he called put him in a class with 8 and 9 year old boys!  After 3 months, they asked him if he would like to coach the class he was in.  Glenn was on a path that would light a spark for working with children and understanding the mechanics of gymnastics.

In the years that followed Glenn,

• coached all ages in gymnastics-everything from parent-tot, boy’s team, acro-sport and up to Level 9 girls.
• Spent six years as a certified judge for USAG sanctioned gymnastics meets for Women’s gymnastics
• Had many achievements including several 1st place state championship teams and his developmental team (ages 4-7) broke 5 national records.

All the while, he went to college at Michigan State University for his bachelor's degree in physics with a minor in math.  After college, he managed auto shows for GM on the U.S. Auto Show circuit.  He spent 12 years on the auto show circuit, traveling the country and coming back to Michigan in the summers to coach.  Eventually, he was ready for a more settled, steady life with meaningful relationships.

2005 February - Glenn opened Cutting Edge.  The first Cutting Edge was located on the west side of Groesbeck Highway in Clinton Township. In November 2005, Cutting Edge moved across the street to a much larger (and much needed) space.  Cutting Edge continued to thrive and grow over the years.

2010 - Glenn created Field Trip on Wheels (our mobile gymnastics program), which allowed Cutting Edge to bring gymnastics into the schools.  Today the program serves 27 elementary schools and introduces over 20,000 children in the area to gymnastics and ninja.

2011

Dance joined the Cutting Edge team.

Glenn met Kim and sparked an immediate friendship centered around a love for kids, growth and leadership.

2014 - Glenn married Kim and her two children, Nathan and Paige.  As he began this new life as a family man, he fostered the business and worked hard to bring on staff members that shared his passion for enthusiastic, encouraging coaching.  Growing once again, he began to look for a new building that could offer more to our customers.

2015 - Glenn found the perfect piece of property and the dream to build a new home for Cutting Edge began.  At the same time, Glenn became a father to Zayne!

After the agonizing process of financing a new building and hiring contractors to build the new Cutting Edge, our doors finally opened in June 2018.  We are proud to be a central part of the community and love meeting and building relationships with families in our neighborhood.

Kim

Kim grew up as an Army brat, moving every three years through high school.  She spent just a couple of years as a gymnast, but moving to Texas in her high school years brought an end to the short era.  She moved to Michigan with her family after high school and began her path to college at Central Michigan University.  She found her calling as a classroom teacher in 1999.  Sharing a love for learning with children is a passion that continues even beyond the classroom.  She has worked with Kindergarten, first grade, fifth grade, and spent 15 years in fourth grade.

As an educator, she was immersed in professional development and hands-on experience with brain research and the benefits of movement and learning.  She gained knowledge and experience about the development of children, the learning process, and best-practice instructional strategies for teaching children.  In her 21 years of teaching she worked with over 500 children, with a wide range of abilities and needs.  She built her teaching toolbox of strategies to support children with ADHD, Autism and a range of other needs.  Exceptional children in the classroom became her passion and movement was the best strategy to engage and support all kids, not just the ones with exceptional needs.

In 2011, her two children Nathan and Paige enthusiastically came home from school after participating in Cutting Edge’s Field Trip on Wheels program at Erie Elementary.  They were so excited about their experience that they wanted to join a gymnastics class.  They became members of Cutting Edge in January 2011.

While the kids became avid gymnasts, Kim spent a few hours each week as a parent waiting in the lobby of Cutting Edge.  Many friendships were formed with fellow parents, the coaches and staff, and Mr. Glenn.  Ideas of building Cutting Edge around the theme of leadership sparked many conversations and solidified an unshakeable friendship between Kim and Glenn.

They were married in 2014 and were blessed with Zayne in 2015.  Kim left teaching in 2019 and is now a full-time part of the Cutting Edge crew.

As a family...

Today the whole family is involved in Cutting Edge.  Glenn is the proud owner and visionary for Cutting Edge.  Kim is the Department Leader for our Reach for the Stars preschool program.  Nathan coaches in our Gym-Kour Ninja program.  Paige is a dancer on Cutting Edge’s Competitive Company Dance Team, and Zayne is a “junior coach” and can be seen participating in many of the classes at Cutting Edge.

Nathan Stanziola - Class of 2020 at Chippewa Valley High School.  He was gymnast from 2010-2012 and competed as a Level 4 in Men’s Gymnastics.  He has been a ninja coach with Cutting Edge since 2016.  When he is not working or at school he is either gaming or playing the guitar.  He loves to travel and has big dreams to see more of the world after graduation.

Paige Stanziola - Class of 2023 at Chippewa Valley High School.  She was a gymnast from 2010-2012.  She started dancing in 2014, and joined the dance company in 2015.  She is also a substitute/assistant coach for our Reach for the Stars classes.  She loves watching TV and spending time with her friends.

Zayne Hayden - Zayne joined the family in 2015 and has kept us on our toes ever since!  He loves to be around people and is constantly exploring what he can do.  He loves to “coach” the kids and to learn new skills.  When he is not at the gym he is loving school, playing outside or traveling with his family.