The concept for Great Play was developed by Jyl and Keith Camhi. This section covers their background and reasons for starting Great Play.
Founders Jyl and Keith Camhi
Jyl and Keith have combined their passions for fitness and athletics, their strong desire to see children get off to a great start in life, and over 25 years of prior business experience in the fitness and technology fields to create Great Play, a unique new gym for kids.
As avid runners, exercisers and athletes, the couple began developing the concept for Great Play after exploring the existing crop of children’s offerings for their own kids. They found the curriculums to be dated and often one-dimensional, based largely on just one discipline such as gymnastics for instance, rather than on a more well-rounded range of locomotor, stability and manipulative skills that would lead children to reach their full physical and athletic potential.
Their vision was to incorporate the latest science on the progression of motor skill development in children into a high-energy, fun-filled curriculum that would make every visit feel like play to the kids! In the process, children would develop a broad range of skills that are critical to reaching their full physical potential. Whether they later pursue competitive athletics, or simply play and move for fun, the skills and confidence developed by 5th grade generally determine how active a child will be for life.
Great Play was developed to make it fun for kids to get off to a good, well-rounded start.
Parents Rave
After years in development, the first patent-pending Great Play Interactive Arena™ opened in Stamford in 2006 to rave reviews from parents. “I would emphatically recommend Great Play to anyone!” says Hollas Rivera. “I have never seen my children take so quickly to a place or be happier anywhere!”
Suzanne Constance says “We have participated in lots of kids’ activities and classes over the years and Great Play truly stands out. It is outstanding!”
“My kids love their time at Great Play and it really helps them with their confidence,” adds Liz O’Hara.
Before Great Play
Prior to starting Great Play, Jyl’s experience included nearly a decade in management and marketing roles at Microsoft, where Bill Gates recognized her as national manager of the year. She holds a BS from University of Maryland and an MS from George Washington University.
Keith has been a thought leader in the fitness industry for over a decade and has been a frequent speaker at national fitness conventions. He is the Founder and Chairman of FitLinxx Inc., the worldwide leading provider of technology for coaching and monitoring exercise programs. He has been an ISSA certified youth fitness trainer, and has coached over 10 seasons of youth basketball, soccer and baseball. He is the Chairman of Fairchester YPO and is a member of the Stamford Schools Health and Wellness Committee. He received a BS from Cornell University, and an MS in Engineering and an MBA from MIT.
Keith and Jyl live in Stamford with their two sons.
