GymnasticsVille Podcast

Trevor Howard almost quit gymnastics after missing teams by one place, year after year. His mom told him something that changed everything. What followed was a career most gymnasts only dream about. On this episode of Back to Basics, Trevor sits down with Mubarak Simmons to share his full journey, from growing up in Columbus, Ohio to becoming a 7x All-American and NCAA National Champion at Penn State, to earning a spot on the 2019 World Championships team in Stuttgart alongside Sam Mikulak, Yul Moldauer, and Shane Wiskus. He opens up about the "iron sharpens iron" mindset that got him there, what it was like representing Team USA on the world stage, and how COVID derailed his Olympic path. Today, Trevor performs as a Tumble Monkey in Disney's Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom and runs ETHIICKS, his holistic wellness company built on everything gymnastics taught him. This conversation covers mindset, adversity, purpose, and what it really takes to reach the highest level. FOLLOW TREVOR HOWARD: Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok: Coach Trevor Howard ETHIICKS: @ethiicks FOLLOW GYMNASTICSVILLE: Website: https://gymnasticsville.com  Instagram: https://instagram.com/gymnasticsville  TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@gymnasticsvillehq  Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/gymcrewtalent  Facebook: https://facebook.com/gymnasticsville  WATCH THE FULL VIDEO EPISODE: YouTube: https://youtu.be/5drpDx-pRSc?si=lYtu0TflRY8jLZDM 

2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist Justin Spring returns to the GymnasticsVille Podcast. Now in his fifth season at Alabama Gymnastics and second as Associate Head Coach, Justin opens up about Alabama's preseason, the challenge of building championship culture in the modern era, what he learned calling the Paris Olympics live for NBC, the full-circle moment watching Team USA win bronze in Paris exactly like his own 2008 team, and why the mental game is the only thing that separates Olympic champions from everyone else. Topics covered: Alabama preseason and what Spring is building in 2027 Culture transformation and the microwave society athlete What Justin looks for when evaluating gymnasts The transition from men's to women's collegiate coaching How he landed the NBC Olympics broadcast gig Tim Daggett's three binders and the Paris prep story The Sasha Artemev story from Beijing 2008 team finals Sports psychology as a daily training requirement Why the mental game is the only X factor come postseason Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gymnasticsville-podcast/id1236969576 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3EZvLhd543Iw0YlwlkhBds?si=kURxLtagT2S98aqLTYOQkA&utm_source=sms Visit GymnasticsVille: https://gymnasticsville.com

Felecia Mulkey has won every national championship acrobatics & tumbling has ever held. She joins GymnasticsVille to talk about helping create the sport itself, building a dynasty at Baylor, and her mission to open more doors for women in college sports. Felecia Mulkey is a trailblazer. The head coach of Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling joins GymnasticsVille to discuss building a dynasty, creating a new NCAA sport, and why her mission is far bigger than championships. 00:00 – Introduction 01:14 – Felecia's journey from high school gymnast to collegiate pioneer 03:22 – Why "Acrobatics & Tumbling"? The strategic naming process 07:54 – Launching the Oregon program and winning the first championships 12:19 – Transitioning to Baylor and building a powerhouse 16:34 – Acrobatics & Tumbling is the only sport created at the collegiate level besides football 19:57 – Managing a championship culture and fighting complacency 22:42 – "This was never about winning." Felecia's mission to create opportunities for women 27:16 – The impact of A&T's elevation to NCAA championship sport status 29:28 – Felecia's advice for young gymnasts: "Stay in the sport" 32:08 – The gymnastics skills every A&T athlete needs 35:17 – Felecia's coaching philosophy: "This team has won nothing" 38:41 – What's next for Baylor and the future of the sport 41:22 – Conclusion Learn more about Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling: https://baylorbears.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling Find every program that sponsors the sport: https://thencata.org/sports/2022/7/22/NCATA%20Member%20Institutions.aspx Follow GymnasticsVille: 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gymnasticsville/ 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/gymnasticsville 👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gymnasticsville

Tony Beck was named the seventh head coach in the history of Penn State men's gymnastics on May 15, 2026. He replaced Randy Jepson, the man who recruited him, coached him, and mentored him for the better part of two decades. This is his first long-form interview since taking the job. Mubarak coached Tony his junior and senior years of high school in eastern Pennsylvania, before Tony ever put on a Penn State singlet. That history runs through the whole conversation. In this episode: The night he got the call, and what it meant when Randy Jepson showed up that same night Why Ohio State was the dream school before Penn State was Building the first boys program at Centre Elite Gymnastics with five kids in a gym so small the parallel bars had to be offset Coaching Stephen Nedoroscik and Josh Karnes, and the two very different kinds of toughness they represent The analytics platform he coded himself to track his team's hit percentages and routine scores Following Gene Whetstone, Carl Schier, and Randy Jepson at a program with 12 national team titles What he tells young gymnasts who are not the most talented athlete in the gym This is part one of a two part series. Part two will be recorded on location at Penn State in September, in the gym with Coach Beck and members of his team. Follow Tony Beck on Instagram: @tbeck021 Follow Penn State men's gymnastics: @psugym Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sEwSxy_gZAQ Read the full article: https://gymnasticsville.com/tony-beck-on-taking-over-penn-state-mens-gymnastics/ Follow GymnasticsVille: Website: https://gymnasticsville.com Instagram: @gymnasticsville TikTok: @gymnasticsvillehq YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gymnasticsville

Two Commonwealth Games silver medals. Three World Championships. A skill in the FIG Code of Points with her name on it. And then Mary-Anne "Mez" Monckton walked away from gymnastics entirely. This week on Back to Basics by GymnasticsVille, Mez joins the show to talk about the full arc: getting talent-ID'd by the Australian Institute of Sport at age 7, moving to Melbourne alone at 15, silver at Glasgow 2014, the ACL tear training for the Rio test event, retirement in 2017, and the night at a Calgary gym in 2023 when a coach's words made her cry on the floor and brought her back to the sport. Today Mez runs CAPTivate Adult Gymnastics in her hometown of Newcastle, Australia. In one year she has grown it from 20 athletes to more than 85, trained 10 coaches, and built a program proving it's never too late to fall back in love with gymnastics. Find CAPTivate: https://captivategymnastics.com.au Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fuaM0dju-yk Follow GymnasticsVille: Instagram: @gymnasticsville TikTok: @gymnasticsvillehq X: @gymnasticsville Host: Mubarak Simmons, GymnasticsVille Host