State College YMCA

Leadership at this facility is less than adequate and is cause for deep concern. They make decisions out of fear and because of optics, rather than diving into situations, understanding context, and developing people. Though the CEO will tell you he has 27 years of experience, you wouldn’t know this through interactions with him; it’s not exemplified by a confident, intelligent, empowered staff; and it’s certainly not evidenced by robust programs that teach-coach-mentor young people to become future leaders. While I had high expectations for a program designed to cultivate youth leaders, I have unfortunately found the quality of leadership and guidance provided to be lacking in several key areas. Effective leadership—especially in a youth-centered initiative—should be rooted in integrity, clear communication, consistency, and the ability to inspire growth. Instead, what I have experienced reflects the opposite: inconsistent direction, poor conflict resolution, favoritism, and an overall inability to lead and develop people. These issues have undermined the program’s stated mission and, more importantly, the trust and morale of its participants. It is disappointing to see such potential wasted when young people are looking to this program for mentorship, clarity, and inspiration. Leadership is not about titles or authority—it’s about service, humility, and responsibility. If these foundational elements are not being modeled, then the program is failing in its most essential purpose. I urge you to take this feedback seriously and to engage in honest reflection and corrective action. This includes evaluating the current leadership team, offering training in ethical leadership practices, and listening actively to participant concerns without defensiveness or dismissal. Young people deserve better. They are watching and learning not only from what is taught, but from how those in charge conduct themselves. Please ensure that what they learn from this program equips them to lead with integrity—not entitlement.

Rude young punks who work here. I have a national YMCA member card, and the front desk worker had a very rude attitude and treated me like I was an immigrant just because I have a card from a different location. Just threw a paper down on the front desk and demanded I fill out a form. I told him I have a national card and have gone to numerous locations and never needed to fill out a form. His snark response was, "There's kids in here, and we need to know who is in the building." I asked him there's kids in every Y I've been to so what makes this one so special? He did not have any rules or policy as to why I needed to fill out a paper form and then said "Well that's coming from my boss." When I challenged him on it, he ran to the back office and supposedly talked to the "CEO" then came back and stated, "It's for accountability purposes in case you get injured and we would need more than your full name." LOL what a sorry copout. I got it. Won't ever come back to this location.

I'm sure you can find a gym with newer equipment, better classes and more amenities... But here's your bottom line: its adequate and supports a wide range of needs. The place is never too crowded, the equipment is good enough, it's got a lap pool and a therapy pool, it's got classes, tons of activities (including basketball courts and outdoor hockey rink) and it's got child care, all at a pretty good price. The North club might have better equipment but it doesn't have child watch or a lap pool. Fitology might have better classes but it doesn't have the weight room and pools. ... I've left to try other gyms a bunch of times but I always come back.

Basketball courts never open for basketball. It’s always for pickleball not bball. Vending machines are absolutely ridiculous, got gummies and it stopped bending midway through. They put everything except basketball in all 3 courts. Half the time the schedule is wrong.

First of all they are very rude. Second of all it is always dirty. Finally they do not consult properly and explain all the rules. They barely open their mouth and instead offer a paper to sign. Very unprofessional, unfriendly, and completely inefficient. It’s honestly unbelievable how bad the service is.