2018 Greatmats National Gymnastics Coach of the Year

It is so incredibly hard to find a picture of this amazing woman but on behalf of the 100's of kids she has impacted at central ohio throughout the years I would like to nominate Misty Lloyd Mathews. Misty is such an incredible coach and woman who inspires everyone around her to do their absolute best. While she has never coached a national team member she is still a coach worth looking into. Every gymnast at her gym will completely agree.

I have the utmost respect for gymnastics coach Steve Zamzo of Detroit Lakes High School. Although Detroit Lakes is be no means one of the larger schools in the state of Minnesota, coach Zamzo has been able make his program and its athletes rise to the top, no matter who they compete against, routinely beating larger school and even state champion larger schools. This year, Coach Zamzo led the Lakers to their fourth consecutive Minnesota state championship. Coach Zamzo inspires his athletes to push themselves to be THEIR best, even when its not required to defeat the competition.

The coach I would like to nominate is Brandon Sloan he is the head coach of my daughters Trampoline and Tumbling team and owner of Dynamic Gymnastics in Lynchburg Va. He is always encouraging as well as always makes sure his athletes practice and compete in a safe environment. He is well experienced in coaching as well as experienced in the sport. He represented Team USA in many international meets including 2 World Championships. He spends countless days practicing with our athletes preparing them for the next level. He always puts his athletes and gym first. His gym has won the BEST GYM in Lynchburg VA for 4 years in a row. Trampoline and Tumbling Nationals 2017 Milwaukee Wisconsin. My daughter had stuck her first double mini pass at Nationals. Her Coach Brandon Sloan was giving her encouragement and constructive criticism of her prior event. All while still providing her with proper instruction and encouragement for her next event.

You won't find a gymnastics coach with more dedication than Katie Moore. Katie is the head coach for the 3-time defending Wisconsin state champion Franklin/Muskego/Oak Creek/Whitnall Co-op gymnastics team. She has led her team to seven state titles in the last eight years and Top 2 state finish each of the last 10 years in Division 1 of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. She attacks everything she does with an inspiring passion whether it's as the role of coach or mother of three. She knows how to electrify a crowd and use that same energy to fuel her athletes. She takes pride in making sure her girls put their best feet forward and absorbs the joy as they realize what they can accomplish.

Chris and Larry Ward received the Lifetime Achievement Award through USA Gymnastics for the Illinois Region this year after 45 years of coaching. This coaching team has been instrumental in teaching youth how to trust in themselves, spending countless hours in the gym and on the road to support their athletes. They listen to and care for the children of the community, always striving to not only teach them to do what is right but also leading by example. These two coaches shown children the benefits of learning life skills such as dedication, discipline and practice.

Cassie Rice is the best representation of service, integrity and quality in the sport of gymnastics. A true mother of four, she has become the virtual mother of so many more. She loves to help kids get their lives started on a path to success in their formative years and has had plenty of success on her own doing so. Her athletes have gone on to become college scholarship athletes, national champions, world champions and olympians. Adversity has never held her back, and she is always paying forward. She sponsors children in Uganda and volunteers to help local at-risk children. With a mom and sister also coaching the sport, gymnastics is in her blood and motherhood in her heart.

Katie Germer is an amazing coach! She truly cares for the girls and knows how to push them to their potential without pushing too hard. My daughter looks up to her and works harder because of her!!

Mitchell High School Gymnastics coach Audra Rew has set the bar high for South Dakota prep gymnastics programs. Although her team won its fourth state team championship of the last five years in 2018, Rew who has six total state titles under her belt as the Mitchell High coach, hasn't forgotten what is even more important than winning - building character. She took pride in seeing not only how her athletes' hard work pays off in scores and wins, but how it helped form bonds and memories that will live with the girls for a lifetime. She also gives credit where credit is due, praising her assistant coaches and athletes who have helped her build a gymnastics dynasty in South Dakota. Rew has coached 17 individual state champions and helped the Kernels to nine first- or second-place state team finishes.

I'd like to nominate Blain Fowler. I

I struggled to find a picture of Blain to use in the nomination because he is always the one behind the camera, spotting, marketing, working the desk, coaching, building something, repairing something else, etc. He really deserves to be the Greatmats National Gymnastics Coach of the Year because he is so selfless and so passionate. He truly is a "jack-of-all-trades". He runs the business day-to-day operations; he coaches Trampoline & Tumbling classes and team, Girls' Competitive Team Levels 1-10, Boys' Team and teaches Boys' Recreational classes; he is the marketing manager, business manager, photographer, and more! He will get home after a long day at the gym and send out business emails, blog posts, update the website, edit photos from the weekend's meet, post results, etc. And he does all of this without a complaint.

Often parents will praise him after a competition with "Good job, Coach" and he always graciously declines the commendation and points out that it is always the athlete that has done the hard work. He reminds them to applaud their child. He never wants to take credit for their accomplishments.

Four years ago, Blain decided to add Trampoline & Tumbling to the gym we co-owned in Wisconsin. With relatively no T&T experience, he coached kids who had never done T&T to Regionals. Blain has trained his own son, West, in both Boys' Artistic and Trampoline & Tumbling and West is a two time Double Mini National Champion in Level 7 & 9 and a Champion on Trampoline in Level 7. West plans to go Elite this coming season. Not bad for someone who just picked up the discipline four years ago!

Blain also coaches his two daughters (Level 9 & 10). He has been there for their successes and of course, failures. He knows how to wear both caps- coach and dad. He is their biggest supporters while at the same time feeling the sadness of those disappointing days and the highs of the great days! I know that they will someday look back on being coached by him with love and admiration.

Blain is one of those funny, positive coaches with a goofy sense of humor that the gymnasts all love. He works hard with them, puts in long hours, and never expects more than respect and effort in return. The kids love to hear Blain's stories (especially if it gets them out of conditioning) but also can get them to work hard through his high expectations. I often forget to tell him what an amazing job he does. I see it everyday, at every meet, in every way. But often, in the rush of a coach's day, I wish I had told him how much his passion for gymnastics, his love of the sport, and his commitment to success means to me. He has always supported my dream and helped me to achieve everything I have wanted. Blain undoubtedly deserves the 2018 Greatmats National Gymnastics Coach of the Year! I really would love to honor all that he does for Panhandle Perfection, its gymnasts and his family!

Trista Polseno should most definitely be named Gymnastics Coach of the Year. Trista has been a loving, dedicated coach for 16 years. Not only is she an amazing coach, she is a friend and mother to all her gymnasts. She frequently asks her gymnasts how their lives are outside of gymnastics, such as school, clubs, and family life. She endlessly thinks of what she can do to improve every one of her gymnasts. She researches drills and other solutions specific to each gymnast and their personal needs. She is always coming up with new ways to motivate us and make practice more efficient and fun. She has also planned community activities and performances for local associations. She always does everything she can to help anyone, whether it is a gymnast, fellow coach, or community member. Trista Polseno is a passionate, dedicated coach that deserves to be named Gymnastics Coach of the Year This is coach, Trista, with her level 9 gymnast at the Massachusetts State Championships

Bernadette Wagner has dedicated the last 45 years of her life to coaching. The Shawnee Mission School District gymnastics and track coach, is probably best known for her work as one for the first pole vault coaches in the nation and coach to 1984 and 1988 olympic pole vaulter Doug Lytle. Although Coach Wags retired from teaching and stepped down as head coaching in 2004, she serves as an assistant gymnastic coach to her former student - and Kansas' first state girls' pole vault champion, Jennie Terflinger, in 2000. Together Bernadette and Jennie are great mentors, building character in their athletes while honing their skills in different areas. While Jennie takes on the power aspect of the sport, Coach Wags refines the form and grace of gymnastics. Having also coached swimming, diving, drill and dance, Coach Wags has been instrumental in bringing respect to women's sports. She has made a tremendous difference in so many lives. She is definitely worthy of an award such as this!

I'd like to nominate UCLA women's gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field for National Gymnastics Coach of the Year. Her Bruins overcame a less the 3 percent chance of winning the 2018 NCAA team final midway through the competition but recorded possibly the biggest comeback in college sports history when Kondos Field's athletes posted a season-high score on the bars to begin the comeback. Heading into the balance beam for the final event, her Bruins had to average a score higher than any had accomplished all season. Three of them met or exceeded that mark, including a team title winning perfect 10 by senior Christine PengPeng Lee - her second perfect 10 of the night.

Kondos Field has led her team to seven NCAA championships and racked up more than 500 regular season victories in her 28-year career and will retire at the end of the 2019 season after 37 years on the UCLA coaching staff.

Mark Williams has led the OU men's gymnastics team to nine national titles since taking over the program 16 years ago and compiled a record of 470-36. In 2018, he picked up his fourth consecutive NCAA team championship and drove Oklahoma to a record tying 12th NCAA gymnastics title while extending his winning streak to 97 consecutive wins. With nine national championships, the former USA Olympic coach is also now tied for the most NCAA championships by a head coach.