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 is the director of 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.  

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.

Christa is originally from Cumming, GA, and lived in Charleston from 2013-2015 when her USAF husband was stationed here. They moved away for 7 years to be stationed at Grand Forks and Beale, but their love for Charleston brought them back when they could finally choose. Christa competed gymnastics up to Level 5 before switching to cheer, and she went on to cheer at Georgia Tech (she was the team captain her senior year) and compete Open Co-Ed Level 6. She has also coached youth swim teams, won strength and conditioning awards, interned with the marketing department at Under Armor, and earned her B.S. in Business Admin with certificates in Marketing and Organizational Psychology. 

Jordan started coaching gymnastics in 2013 at Summerville YMCA Gymnastics, a gym she'd competed for in her youth, and took over as the head coach and gymnastics director in 2017. She has coached USAG levels 2-9, as well as recreational gymnastics, with several State Champions and 6-8 Regional qualifiers to her name. She has an undergraduate degree from the College of Charleston where she was also a cheerleader!

Hannah is originally from New Lothrop, Michigan and moved to Charleston, South Carolina in 2008. She began doing gymnastics when she was three years old and continued through the age of fifteen. She competed for the Gymnastics Academy of Charleston from levels 6-9 and then started coaching for them in high school. Hannah has been coaching competitive gymnastics at West Ashley Gymnastics since 2021. 

Jadyn joined the WAG staff in the fall of 2022 and is originally from Tennessee. She followed her parents here in 2018 and has made it her home. She started gymnastics at the age of 2 and continued until her senior year of high school. Throughout this time she got as high as Level 9, qualified for every advanced optionals Regional meet, and attended Level 9 Eastern Nationals in Florida. She is currently a student at the College of Charleston earning a degree in secondary biology education while keeping her Presidents List streak going.  

Tommy is from Hilton Head, South Carolina, and he spent 10 years living in California before moving back to the East coast. He worked for both Stanford Gymnastics and Stanford University as a boys team and trampoline coach, and his hard work created State, Regional, and National champions. He has also spent time coaching 3rd-12th grade AAU basketball teams for boys and girls, and taken these teams to national tournaments. 

Ryan is originally from Ridgewood, New Jersey and moved down to Charleston in 2021 to enjoy the warmer weather. She started gymnastics at age five and started competing by the age of eight. Ryan continued competing for eight years, achieving the "All Around State Champion” title twice. She has an undergraduate degree from The University of Richmond in Sociology and Elementary Education. After college she began coaching competitive and recreational gymnastics at a local gym in New Jersey, and she joined WAG in the spring of 2023.  

Gemma Braun is originally from Chappaqua, NY and is currently a Sophmore at the College of Charleston majoring in Psychology. She was a Varsity football and competition cheerleader in Highschool, and also competed with Spirit Star Elites in New York. During high school she was an assistant and head coach at World Cup Gymnastics and a summer camp counselor at Camp Westmont.