Gymnastics Coaching.com

Heather Parker, entering her second season as a gymnast at Central Michigan after transferring from Georgia, posted an important article on College Gym News:

College gymnastics can project an image of perfection–skills look effortless, and the athletes finish successful routines with glowing smiles. Teams broadcast the wins, celebrations, recruits, and rankings on social media.

Less often discussed is what goes into making a team successful and what happens behind the scenes to make those exciting competitions happen.

Jason Vonk, a former assistant coach at George Washington, Yale, and Georgia, had 12 years of experience across the three universities when he moved on from college coaching.

According to Vonk, a lot of what defined his time in college gymnastics wasn’t reflected in the polished version of the sport that fans and recruits see. For him, it was a system marked by fear, silence, and a culture where, as he puts it, “head coaches get complete leeway, and the assistants can’t report them, or they will lose their job.” …

Read more:

College Gymnastics Looks Perfect—

Until You’re Inside It

Greg Marsden responds:

The issue is not that college gymnastics markets itself as joyful, unified, and aspirational. Those moments are genuine, earned, and meaningful. The problem arises when success is treated as proof that everything behind the scenes must therefore be healthy. https://t.co/WdGjTPP3hf pic.twitter.com/JlRlqd5h1i

— Greg Marsden (@UtahMarz) December 23, 2025