GET TO KNOW THE CREW

Valerie grew up in Massachusetts where she trained at Gymnastics Training Center and was coached by Dutch Olympian, Richard Maijs, and Bulgarian Olympian Tania Fillipova. Valerie was a 3-year level 10 competitor.  She was a member of the 2004 Massachusetts National Team and qualified for Vault finals. Valerie was recognized for her Scholastic honors in the Boston Globe and Herald.  Valerie attended the College of Charleston and graduated in '07 with a bachelor's degree in political science and health. Valerie has grown her competitive team from scratch to over 100 team members.  In those years she has had countless State Champions and multiple Regional Qualifiers and Champions.  She has coached a TOPs National Team member, Level 10 JO National Qualifier, and has successfully coached many to college scholarships.

Becky was born and raised West of the Ashley in Charleston, SC. She graduated with a Business and Industrial Safety Degree from Newberry College and has been a successful business manager for over 25 years. She was a competitive baton twirler with various state and national awards. She is passionate about fitness for children and helping them find a means to further their education through the sport of gymnastics. She has one son and a daughter who graduated as a Level 10 gymnast. She is married to Randy Parrish.

"The Professional FunMaster" Randy was a former competitive college gymnast at Illinois State University. He has been coaching since 1976 and owned Quincy Gymnastics for 25 years and coached gymnasts and cheerleaders to the National level and collegiate level. He is a certified Physical Education teacher. In addition, he was the director for 20 years at FLIP FEST summer gymnastics camp in Tennessee owned by Olympians John Macready and John Roethlisberger. He coaches all levels including recreational gymnastics here at GAC. He is GAC’s Program Developer and Director. He has coached athletes to various State, Regional, and National levels. He is USAG National and Regional Clinician and USAG Men’s and Women’s Professional Coach, Meet Director and Safety Certified.  

Tim is from Annville, Pennsylvania, and has been working in East coast gymnastics facilities since 2007. He was a varsity athlete in high school and a talented amateur tumbler. While never a competitive gymnast, Tim has worked with both competitive and recreational sides of the sport, and he's been with GAC since 2014. He moved to Charleston for graduate school and earned his Masters of Communication from CofC. He is the head coach for the GAC Xcel program, working primarily with the Gold, Platinum, and Diamond groups.

Orginally from Columbia, South Carolina, Tahj moved to Charleston to attend the College of Charleston. She earned her B.S. in Exercise Science in 2019 from CofC. Tahj was a competitive gymnast for 10 years before college, and competed Level 10. She works with both our compulsory and optional programs at GAC. 

Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Will Buck has been in the gymnastics and tumbling world for most of his life. He recently graduated from Wando High School and has gone on to join American Cheer Xtreme in Irmo, South Carolina, just outside of Columbia. Will competed up to Level 10 and works with our gymnastics and A&T programs. 

Brittany is from Bountiful, Utah. She ended up in Charleston for this opportunity to coach at GAC, as well as wanting to experience life outside of Utah (and all of the snow). She did gymnastics for 18 years, and for 4 of those years she competed for Utah State University on a full ride scholarship! Upon completing her time at USU she received a degree in Exercise Science with a Minor in Mental Health Advocacy and Awareness. 

Mitch was born and raised in Fulton, NY, and moved to Charleston in 2020 with his wife and two children to escape the snow. He coached for 4 years and taught Ninja for 2 years with Blaze Gymnastics before joining us at GAC. Growing up he was a gymnast for 7 years, as well as a football and lacrosse player. He brings big energy to our gym and is passionate about seeing his students grow through both successes and failures. 

Chesny is originally from Charleston and graduated from Wando High School in 2020. She currently attends the University of South Carolina Beaufort majoring in Public Health.. She competed 3 years of compulsory levels and 3 years in Xcel, as well as coaching since the age of 16. She’s worked with Levels 3-7 and Xcel Silver-Diamond. A particular point of pride: at her last competition one of Chesny’s scores earned her 2nd place in the nation.

Chloe is from Oklahoma, where she cheered since the age of 5 all the way through college. During this time she has coached several types of gymnastics and cheer classes for 6 years. Chloe graduated the University of Central Oklahoma with a bachelors degree is Business administration with an emphasis on Sales. After graduating, Chloe moved to Charleston area to grow personally and professionally. Chloe is passionate about providing a vision for the future generations in the sport. 

Emmett is originally from Fort Mill, South Carolina, but moved to the Charleston area for his undergraduate work in Sociology. He was a gymnast from the age of two and started competing at age six. He stayed in the sport until Level 7, qualifying for Regionals twice along the way. After stopping his own competitive journey, Emmett turned to coaching at his home gym for the next 3 years. He is currently a combat engineer in the U.S. Army National Guard. 

Bridgette joined GAC in the fall of 2022 and is originally from Northern VA, but she moved to Charleston in 2021 for warmer weather and a change of scenery. She competed through Level 10 at APEX Gymnastics, was a National Qualifier, and a DIII gymnast for four years at The College at Brockport. She coached developmental, compulsory, and optionals part time for three years then Head level 5-8 Beam + Floor coach for a year, alongside some recreational coaching. Bridgette has a B.AA in English and Communications, and is also a personal trainer/kickboxing coach here in Charleston. 

Anyssa is originally from Tolland, Connecticut, but she decided after a Charleston vacation in 2020 that she wanted to move here after graduating from college. She was a gymnast for 12 years at Sri-Town Gymnastics in Tolland, and also competed in Track & Field in both high school and college. Anyssa graduated in 2021 from the University of New Haven with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Alongside coaching, she is, as of fall 2021, a 2nd Lieutenant in the SC Army National Guard. 

Ally Eidson is the daughter of Rebecca Parrish, one of the co-owners of GAC, and she is a graduate of Wando High School. She began gymnastics at the age of 3 and now competed as a Level 10 gymnast, becoming a 4x Regional Qualifier and Level 8 Regional Beam champion on the way. Ally coaches recreational classes and competitive teams.

Chloe attends Wando High School, Class of 2023, and has been doing gymnastics since the age of 8. She has been doing gymnastics since she was 18 months old and has competed up to Level 8 and Xcel Diamond with GAC. She works with our pre-team groups, as well as on our special events, day camps, and open gyms.