Ex-ASU gymnast with ALS continues to coach, inspires others in Chandler

CHANDLER, AZ (AZFamily) — There’s no amount of training, or strength, or padding, to soften certain blows life has in store. A former Arizona State University gymnast is facing a twist he never saw coming.

“It’s the worst news you could ever hear,” says Rob Survick. “I wish I had cancer instead. That’s how crazy a diagnosis it is. You really mourn your own death kind of, at the beginning of it.”

Survick was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2020. The Valley gymnastics coach says with the encouragement of those around him, he decided to get back to living life. And most of his life has been spent at Aspire Kids Sports Center in Chandler.

“He just says, ‘I got to get in,’” says Aspire owner and head coach of the Arizona State University men’s club gymnastics team, Scott Barclay. “‘Every day, I got to get in, I’m going to be there.’”

“Everybody in the gym is impacted by him. Every single person,” Rachel Tapia, who works at Aspire and is the booster club president for the Junior Sun Devils team, said.

Survick is battling a losing fight against ALS. He no longer has control over his arms or legs.

“It’s just kind of always getting a little bit worse and we’re always trying to figure out ways to make things better for him and more comfortable for him, so that he can continue to come into the gym,” says Junior Sun Devils head coach Brian Kern. “This is what he lives for.”

The 47-year-old is losing his voice, too. So at practice, he sits in one of two old recliners and talks through a headset, which is connected to a speaker that’s attached to a mannequin. The mannequin is even outfitted with a picture of Survick’s face.

“Find something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life,” says Survick. “That’s the way I feel. And that’s why I’m still here.”

More than two decades ago, Survick was a gymnast himself. He was a team captain for the Arizona State club team in 2002. “He was a grappler,” says Barclay. “He wasn’t a natural gymnast. His body wasn’t a natural gymnast, but he made it work and he made it work really well.”

“I was alright,” smiles Survick. “I held my own. I liked flipping. And I loved the community. The community was so great that I really just never wanted to leave it.”

And so he didn’t. Survick joined his ASU coach, Barclay, at Aspire to serve as an assistant on a Sun Devils squad that’s now won 25 national championships in 30 years, and as the head coach of a junior program he helped build into a powerhouse.

“I have kids that I taught from 6 until they were 26, and that was so valuable to me,” says Survick. “Made me feel like I could really make a difference.”

Survick led his gymnasts to state titles, regional titles, national titles and junior Olympics. He’s won numerous awards, too, including the Positive Alliance Regional Coach of the Year in 2024.

“That’s what I’ve always tried to be,” Survick said. “Very positive. Try to encourage them. And guide them. Make them believe that they can do it. That’s really the only way.”

All this, in the face of a deadly disease that will eventually lead to the loss of all muscle movement. The life expectancy for ALS patients after diagnosis is two to five years. “He’s got such a great attitude that just kind of blows you away,” Barclay said.

“The only thing different is that he can’t walk. That’s the only thing that’s different. His mind and his spirit, everything, anything like that. Nothing’s changed,” Anthony Mills, another coach at Aspire who was once a student of Survick’s, said.

For years and years, Survick coached nine hours a day, five days a week. Recently, he’s had to cut the hours in half, but he can’t fathom not being there at all.

“I think it shows who he is at the core,” says Kern. “How much he cares. How much he wants to have an impact in other people’s lives. Sorry. It’s tough. It’s inspirational, though. It really is.”

“You have to accept what you cannot change and fight for the things that you can.”

As for the things he’s still fighting for?

“I still have a lot to give,” he says. I can’t spot [the kids] and go to meets with them. But I still have knowledge. And as long as I can give that, I’ll be happy.”

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