The Park Ridge Hawks are THE premier youth football program, hands down!…read more We have been part of the Park Ridge Hawks since its inception, when our team made it to the Pop Warner Championship tournament in Orlando, Florida. At first, we were apprehensive to let our two sons play tackle football. But we quickly realized how much attention to quality and safety the program emphasizes to ensure player development is optimized at every level. The coaching is top-notch. The practices are extremely well run. Communication and team organization are second to none. There is a focus on not just creating a winning program, but on raising young kids to work on lifelong qualities such as teamwork, integrity, and grit. The competition is excellent - we've played teams across Illinois, Indiana, and Florida - which has allowed our boys to push themselves, raise the bar, and improve their skills. You only become the best if you play the best! All in all, I highly recommend this program. The return on investment is just too good to pass up.

Came here with friends on a random day when we were in the mood for badminton and honestly it ended…read moreup being such a fun find. It's a pretty big indoor space with a bunch of courts it doesn't feel cramped even when it gets busy. They also have racquet rentals which were super affordable, so it's easy to just show up and play without overthinking it. The booking system is a little different though. Courts are in 20-minute increments and if another group is waiting, you might have to rotate out once your time is up. At first I thought it was kind of weird, but it actually keeps things moving and gives everyone a chance to play. The place itself is clean and well maintained, and overall the pricing is really reasonable for what you get. Definitely a solid spot if you're trying to do something active with friends without spending too much. I'd come back!

My friends and I were in the mood for some badminton and we randomly found this place /'d decided…read moreto give it a try. This is an indoor badminton space and is open all year round. It's huge, they have easily 8-10 courts. They offer racquet rentals at a reasonable price. The court booking is a bit different here. The courts can be booked for 20 mins. Any new teams that don't have courts can apply for any of the courts. Once your timer is up and a new team had bid for your court, you'd have to leave the court but you are more than welcome to grab any other court that is free. I found this a bit odd but it kinda works Overall, it's well maintained and the prices are reasonable.

Vitrychenko Academy is a very welcoming, rejuvenating place. Of course Olena is wonderful, Coach…read moreNatalie is also awesome and encouraging, and Coach Yana motivates you to keep working as best as you can. Even teachers who are not your own specific teacher are very welcoming -- thank you! -- and the students in class are very welcoming as well. There are so many sweet girls here. I also feel afterwards that it was like good physical therapy for my body. I leave feeling like my whole body is happy and relaxed. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

Vitrychenko Academy is an extraordinary place to receive both recreational and high-level rhythmic…read moregymnastics training. With extremely knowledgeable coaches and welcoming teammates, this club will help your child expand their skills greatly, reach their dreams, and most of all, enjoy this beautiful sport! My daughter has been training here for 5 years, and she has improved beyond our imagination! Her results exceed our expectations every season. If you are looking for a place where your child can learn the beautiful sport of rhythmic gymnastics or increase their ability, Vitrychenko Academy is the best place for you! It provides classes for people with varying skill levels and age. The coaches are experienced and nurturing, as they were successful rhythmic gymnasts as well, and know what's best for your child! We hope to see you soon!

We now have our 2-year-old second grand-daughter in this program, and like the first one, it is…read moregiving her a great start to fitness, athletics, and sportsmanship in her life.  The program is well run and organized, and with consistent, well-trained, youthful, friendly, and energetic instructors. The negative feedback from a couple older Yelp reviews for Lil' Kickers Northbrook are 5+ years old, and look outdated along with outdated website and corporate info as well (for which I have also submitted corrections).  I may also be an overly generous old-schooler though on the rating of any toddler sports program having myself come up through the self-taught youth program provided in the side streets and alleys of Chicago with pick-up games and no coaches or uniforms...  but probably not.  I do have a lot of personal experience with various formal youth sports programs in the upbringing of my own kids.    The current toddler program here is different from 2 years ago in that the current pandemic era one is conducted outdoors only and at nice Clarkson Park at 1950 New Willow Road in Northfield.  Currently, adults need to have a mask and it's one attending/participating adult only per child.  The older grand-daughter had her Lil' Kicker soccer class at their nice indoor Athletico Center facility at 1900 Old Willow Road in Northbrook.  The current class size is 4 so the kiddos get a lot of attention.  I think the older grand-daughter's class size was about 7 back in more normal times, and it can go up to 12, and it is still a good and fun learning environment. The price for their Thumpers' classes (2-3 years old) is $17.75 per 50 minute class with a $40 annual fee, and this includes a uniform.  It's more expensive than say a Park District program, but the attention and training is a lot more personal.  Recommended!

Some things are just better in the city & Lil' Kickers happens to be one of them. Back when we were…read morecity dwellers we signed my daughter up for Lil' Kickers* at Bradley Place. She had a blast running around "playing" soccer. And we loved getting pictures of her in her adorable uniform. The class was very consistent- same instructors every week and same exact activities so she always knew what was coming next, which (like all toddlers) made her feel comfortable. A few months ago I decided to check out this Lil Kickers in the burbs. I was bummed to hear they don't give you a uniform like they do in the burbs. If you want one you have to actually buy it, but fortunately ours still fit from the city days. My husband went to the majority of the classes and said he wasn't nearly as impressed. There seemed to be a different instructor each week, there wasn't much structure and the class wasn't able to keep my daughter's attention for very long. When I finally took her to class I had to agree with all my husband's sentiments. There's not much organization here. In fact, when my stepdad took my daughter last weekend she insisted that she was in a different class than she actually is...and no one seemed to notice there that she was in the wrong class of much older kids. It definitely is a good option if you want your kid to run around for 45 minutes (especially in the winter) and for that reason I won't be opposed to giving Lil' Kickers another shot with my son when he's old enough. However, they could definitely use a few organizational tips from their city sister. * http://www.hifivesportsclubs.com/wordpress/northshore_18_months_k/northshore_lil_kickers/

The Evanston Township High School plays host to badminton players on Mondays and Wednesdays from…read more7pm to 9:30pm for a $5 entrance fee. If you're looking for a fun way to exercise during the winter, check out the open gym at ETHS for a game of badminton. No matter your skill level, there's usually partners to play with you. (I am an absolute beginner with almost zilch tennis experience, though I consider myself fairly athletic and competitive in sporting events. However, hitting a moving object with a stick, e.g. tennis, baseball, etc, is not my strong suit.) The courts are entirely devoted to badminton, so there's no worry about stray basketballs smacking you in the face when you're not looking -- a definite plus compared to other open gyms where anything goes. Some players are very serious, and unless you're a collegiate star or aspiring professional, it's better to stay away from those matches. It's still fun to watch those people play, as you stand in awe of the beauty and ferocity of the game when it is performed by players of skill, agility and power. For those of us plodding along, whiffing at the birdie and smacking shots into the net, the best way to enjoy the evening is to bring a group of four friends together. Take along rackets and a few birdies. A water bottle, too. (Drinking fountains are available in case you forget.) A line often forms for the main courts. Etiquette says you play one game to 21 and then see if another group of 4 is waiting for a turn. Their rackets will be lined up on the bleachers near the entrance to the gym. There's a secondary gym that is smaller and less ventilated -- you can usually find me there, as there's no competition for court space and you can hit your ridiculous-looking shots (or miss) and not make a fool of yourself when running around the gym picking up errant birdies. Occasionally you'll bump into someone who takes the whole affair far too seriously. He or she may even say something dumb or try to bully you and your friends. Happens in every minor sport with a dedicated following. Brush them off as you would any silly trash-talker, stand your ground when necessary. The vast majority of people are kind and welcome newcomers to the sport. After all, we're talking about badminton players, not angry arm wrestlers. You'll have a blast. Transportation tips: Free parking is a breeze across the street from the school. There's also a larger lot that is a few dozen yards farther away.

The review from josh K 2006 is quite accurate except for the part about beginners being openly…read morewelcomed. The players don't mind if beginners are out there for the first hour but you can tell that people would like them to leave so that more serious games can take the courts. The courts are typically really busy, with a waiting line to play (especially during the colder months). For this reason, the regular players would like to only see beginners taking the courts in the first hour or so. Though sometimes you might get taken under a wing and be shown some pointers by one of the advanced players. The mood seems to depend on the night and how busy the courts are. If you are somewhat good, well then you will have a real blast with the Evanston club. Most of the regulars are quite advanced.

I waited too long to sign my daughter up for soccer through the park district, so I decided to give…read moreLil Kickers a go instead. This was my 5 year old daughter's first time playing soccer, so it actually worked out perfect. They spend the first half of class practicing drills while playing games and then they do scrimmages the second half of class. My daughter has only been to 4 classes, but I feel like she has already learned a lot. The coaches are great with the kids and the classes are fun. I also appreciate that missed classes can easily be made up.

My son has been going to lil kickers since he was 18 months old (he's now 6). Due to my sons…read morehyper and strong tempered demeanor, it has been a very tough journey. What I appreciate the most is that despite the tantrums and other difficulties, the coaches without exception kept encouraging me to bring him back. And I did. The Niles location in particular is great because they have the same coaches season after season.

I've been taking private group lessons with Coach Tim here over the past few years. Tim himself is…read morea phenomenal instructor who gives amazing instruction and also makes his classes super fun. I just picked up tennis during the pandemic and it's quickly become one of my favorite hobbies thanks to the instruction I've received from Tim. Tim is a great instructor for adults, but great with kids too. My 9 year old son has been taking privates with him to supplement the group classes he's doing at Karzen. He always has the best time and comes off the court an even player player than when he walked on. Like all other tennis clubs in the area lessons are pricey and there's limited court time, but seems to be priced similarly to others. I also got my racquets restrung by Mark for the first time ever and he did an amazing job (the ball was flying off my strings today!). He also got 2 racquets restrung within a few hours, which was great since my daughter wanted to use one of them to play the next day. I haven't tried their group classes yet since I have my own group of friends I like to play with and my kids are obsessed with the classes at karzen, but have heard from others that they are great. I've also heard good things about their cardio tennis class, which I hope to try soon!

We had a group of 14 or so players who played at NRC for approx 30 years, same time slot same day…read more This year they decided to give away our long standing time slot to other players, even though we paid a deposit in May to secure our Sept slot. . Just very disappointed they seem to be prioritizing short term $ over long term loyalty. Sad to see them sell out like that. 14 disappointed players and long time members now need to find alternative venue.

My kids have been taking tennis lessons here with Coach Becky for about a year. And they love her!…read moreIn fact, when I mentioned to my 5 year old son today that I canceled tennis lessons later this week he started crying. Clearly a fan! And then there's my 7 year old daughter who refuses to do any sports, but she happily heads to tennis with Becky each week. She even told me last week that Becky definitely deserves 5 stars on Yelp, which is probably the reason I'm finally getting around to writing this review! Becky is fun and patient with the kids. She does 30 minutes with the my son and his friends, followed up with 30 minutes with my daughter and her friends. It's a fast lesson, but she gets a lot of tennis in during a short time It's impressive to see how the kids have progressed over the year. They are actually hitting the ball over the net now...and had a consistent rally the past few weeks. While Becky was on maternity leave months ago we signed the kids up for tennis at AC Nielsen and I find this to be a much better experience. The facility itself is nice- mostly lots of indoor tennis courts, but also a few outdoor ones as well, which we haven't been so lucky to see this cold spring. There's a small waiting room, but the kids not playing tennis usually just run around the other side of the court while Becky teaches. There's plenty of parking right outside and it's conveniently (or maybe not conveniently) across the street from Target. We've only had private lessons with Becky here, but I've heard good things about their basketball and tennis camps so may sign my son up for one of those in the future. And I may even brush the dust off my tennis racquet and take an adult lesson at some point too.