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<p>Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky and company aren&#8217;t the only ones bringing home the gold this summer.</p><p>As athletes chase fame and glory at the Olympic Games in Rio, camps and centers that feature Olympic sports are seeing an expected increase in business, according to area business people.</p><p>&#8220;The sport, believe or not, becomes very popular every four years,&#8221; said Joelle D&#8217;Arco, who runs Shooting Starz Gymnastics with her husband, Dave.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re anticipating upwards of 450 kids in our classes,&#8221; Dave added.</p><p>The gymnastics center, which is located at 250 Johnson St. in Wilkes-Barre Township, has been preparing since last summer for the expected influx of students.</p><p>The fact that the Americans won the women&#8217;s team all-around gold medal and Biles won the individual all-around gold in gymnastics certainly hasn&#8217;t hurt the center&#8217;s bottom line.</p><p>&#8220;The phone hasn&#8217;t stopped (ringing),&#8221; Joelle said.</p><p>Erin McGinley has seen two former teammates of hers give her PA Elite Field Hockey a boost.</p><p>Wyoming Seminary alums Kelsey Kolojejchick and Kat Sharkey have helped put the U.S. field hockey team in the hunt for a medal and lift the sport&#8217;s profile in Northeastern Pennsylvania.</p><p>&#8220;For the younger kids, it&#8217;s gaining interest,&#8221; McGinley said of the sport.</p><p>She played field hockey with both Kolojejchick and Sharkey and said the connections she is able to make for players in the area is important.</p><p>&#8220;When there&#8217;s a (local) connection, it&#8217;s something real,&#8221; she said.</p><p>The D&#8217;Arcos have been preparing for an influx of students for quite a while now.</p><p>To get ready, the D&#8217;Arcos and four of their coaches traveled to the Indianapolis, Ind., for the 2015 USA Gymnastics National Congress. The conference served both as a competition for gymnasts as well as seminars for coaches and gym owners to discuss new trends and how to prepare for the effects of the Olympics on every level.</p><p>&#8220;We had coaches that were focused on the training aspect of it,&#8221; Dave said. &#8220;But then we really focused on what the Olympics would mean to us.&#8221;</p><p>The couple has been preparing space as well as the staff for the upcoming fall season through workshops and even adding staff and extra classes. Shooting Starz, which opened in 2009, will offer an extra 12 classes per week for the fall session, which will begin Sept. 26.</p><p>They also sponsored Olympic-themed camps to showcase their current students. The Olympics aren&#8217;t just used as a recruitment tool, however, they have also helped Starz current students train.</p><p>&#8220;It inspires not only the kids to join gymnastics, but also for the kids on the team to push themselves a little harder,&#8221; Joelle said of the Games.</p><p>Lily Kelleher, 10, of Harding, said she has fun competing, and the Olympics make her want to keep going with the sport.</p><p>&#8220;It makes you want to try harder,&#8221; Kelleher said.</p><p>Kelleher isn&#8217;t the only one inspired. Madison Emanski, 18, who will be going to Penn State this fall to study engineering, said she will continue to compete in college.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s exciting,&#8221; Emanski said.</p><p>The D&#8217;Arcos said they expect to see the biggest increase in the 4- to 8-year-old group, and the D&#8217;Arcos offered some advice for parents thinking about enrolling their children.</p><p>&#8220;The younger the better,&#8221; Joelle said.</p><p>She said, when kids start out at a young age, it helps build the foundation not only to continue gymnastics, but in any other sports they do.</p><p>&#8220;The strength, conditioning, balance, coordination that will then go onto the sports they may do later,&#8221; she said.</p><p>She said she is excited for the enthusiasm people are showing for the sport.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s exciting for all of us,&#8221; Joelle said.</p><p>Open registration for Shooting Starz Gymnastics begins Aug. 29.</p><p>McGinley took her club to see the United States&#8217; women&#8217;s team play at the Nook, located in Lancaster, which serves as the team&#8217;s training ground. She said the attention the women are getting in Rio is helping bring more attention to the game.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s gaining a big following,&#8221; McGinley said, and she expects that to continue into the fall.</p><p>PA Elite Field Hockey will be holding try-outs in September, and McGinley echoed the D&#8217;Arcos advice on getting children started in the sport.</p><p>&#8220;Getting them interested in a young age is important,&#8221; she said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Coach Sarah Plavick helps 11-year-old Grace Osiecki on the balance beam at Shooting Starz Gymnastics in Wilkes-Barre Township. The Olympic Games has led to an increase in students for the center. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL081716Olympic-Biz1-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Coach Sarah Plavick helps 11-year-old Grace Osiecki on the balance beam at Shooting Starz Gymnastics in Wilkes-Barre Township. The Olympic Games has led to an increase in students for the center. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Rio-4-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Rio-4-2.jpg</photo1><caption1></caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL081716Olympic-Biz2-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Marissa McCune tumbles as Coach Andy Neafie watches at Shooting Starz Gymnastics. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL081716Olympic-Biz2-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Marissa McCune tumbles as Coach Andy Neafie watches at Shooting Starz Gymnastics. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL081716Olympic-Biz3-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Girls practice on the balance beam at Shooting Starz Gymnastics. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL081716Olympic-Biz3-2.jpg</photo3><caption3>Girls practice on the balance beam at Shooting Starz Gymnastics. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL081716Olympic-Biz4-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lily Kelleher tumbles on the trampoline at Shooting Starz Gymnastics. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL081716Olympic-Biz4-2.jpg</photo4><caption4>Lily Kelleher tumbles on the trampoline at Shooting Starz Gymnastics. </caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Brigid Edmunds</p><p>bedmunds@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>INSIDE</p><p>Complete Olympics coverage begins on Page 1C</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Brigid Edmunds at 570-991-6119 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Olympic sports get a boost locally thanks to Games in Rio