Team Staff
Our team staff is made up of a wide range of experienced coaches as well as veteran SCGC gymnasts. As we start Fall Season, I want to welcome new coaches, Colleen Ryan and Jaime Yamashita as well as welcome back coaches who have recently rejoined our team and show appreciation for other long time coaches. We will be sad to say goodbye to Coach Sarah as she starts a new chapter of her life at UC Riverside, but as you can see below, we have an incredibly talented staff working together to make sure your team gymnast has a positive, successful competition experience!
Sarah Brumblay: Sarah was a State Champion Santa Cruz Gymnastics gymnast who retired in 2010, but luckily came back a few years ago to help coach. She has been coaching the Level 2s, 3s and helping out with all the levels and different aspects of the team program! Sarah will be attending UC Riverside this Fall.
Adriana Eskelsen: “AD” is another “homegrown” SCGC coach. A graduate of UCSC and a newly licensed nurse, she is preparing for her wedding this September. AD has been coaching for the past ten years and has had many State Champion gymnasts. You’ll usually see her on bars, her favorite event.
Chris Gonzalez: Chris has been coaching at SCGC for 12 years as well as having been a gymnast at Santa Cruz Gymnastics. Prior to coaching here she coached at Jeanne’s Gymnastics in Felton for 17 years. As well as coaching team, you can see her working with our babies and developmental girls. Chris has a teenage daughter, Lily, who you may also see helping out in the gym and working camps!
Ben Jansen: Ben has recently rejoined us. He began here almost ten years ago helping spot the optionals, particularly on bars. He went on to coach at a club in Hawaii for a couple years and then settled back here and started a family. Ben has two young daughters who are both part of our preschool program.
Ari Kessler: Ari recently retired from competition and has been so helpful to come back and help coach! Having two younger sisters, she is great with kids and has been helping in our developmental and beginning competition levels.
Mara Milam: A Level 10 gymnast at All-Olympia Gymnastics Center in Southern California, Mara moved to Santa Cruz to attend UCSC. She has a degree in Political Science as well as a minor in Art. She works full time in Marketing for a company in Santa Cruz. Mara has an extensive dance background, dancing at UCSC and at Motion Pacific. You can see her helping the optionals with Beam, Floor, Dance and Choreography.
Nikki Roberson: Nikki was a team gymnast at SCGC for many years. She was on our first XCEL team as a gymnast and is currently in charge of our XCEL program. Nikki has been coaching with us for the past six years. She attends Cabrillo where she is studying Kinesiology and is taking prerequisites for the Nursing Program.
Colleen Ryan: Welcome Colleen! Colleen has been coaching gymnastics at the highest level for the past 20 years. She has coached numerous State, Regional and National Champions as well as National TOPS team members and current NCAA gymnasts. She was been the Southern California TOPS coordinator qualifying 100% of her TOPS athletes to National Testing for 7 consecutive years. Colleen qualified an athlete to the World Age Division Tumbling & Trampoline Championships in 2009 in Russia where she won two silver medals. Previously, she has coached at West Coast Elite in Southern California and Brestyan’s, Aly Raisman’s gym, in Boston. Recently, she has been asked to be a consultant for the Japanese Women’s National Team. Colleen has a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Boston College. She lives on a ranch in Santa Cruz with her husband, where they own and train horses for Equestrian Events.
Anne Wheaton: Anne has coached at Santa Cruz Gymnastics for close to 20 years, the last five as Team Director. She has coached from Preschool to Level 10 team gymnasts at State and Regional Competitions. A club gymnast in Atlanta, Anne moved to California to compete at San Jose State. She has a degree in Advertising and has done design work for local companies as well as having designed our team logo! She has two children, Mateo, 8, and Savannah, 6.
Logan Williams: Logan was a Level 10 gymnast at Redwood Empire in Northern California. A Level 9 Regionals and Westerns Vault Champion, Logan’s favorite event is Bars. Logan moved to Santa Cruz to attend Cabrillo and is currently studying Biology and is in the lottery for their Radiology Program.
Jamie Yamashita: Welcome Jamie! Our newest hire, Jamie was a Level 10 gymnast at SCEGA in Southern California where she was Level 10 Beam State Champion. She went on to compete in the NCAA at UC Davis. Jamie has a degree in Animal Biology and moved to Santa Cruz to intern at Long Marine Lab. Currently working at the Monterey Aquarium and at Long Marine Lab, Jamie has found the time to help us out in the gym. She is currently working with the XCEL program.