GOLDEN STATE GYMNASTICS

Our staff...

Our coaches are the backbone of Golden State Gymnastics.  They provide a fun, supportive, and challenging atmosphere that allows young people to grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and morally. Our coaches focus not only on the athletic ability of the children, but on their overall well being.  Children learn the value of discipline, organization, determination and respect for themselves and others.  All of our coaches are USAG safety certified and CPR First Aid certified as well.

Golden State Gymnastics believes in keeping its coaches up to date on the latest progressions in gymnastics.  Our coaches attend State, Regional and National congresses and clinics each year.

NICOLE LANGEVIN, Competitive Program Director, Head Team Coach, Choreographer

Nicole has been involved with gymnastics for the past twenty-two years, as a competitor, coach, and choreographer. She is a Massachusetts State Champion for levels 7 - 10 and a two-time Junior Olympic National competitor. She began assistant coaching levels 6 - 9 while still competing level 10 at Massachusetts Gymnastics Center in Boston. Highlights from those competitive years include inventing a "c" difficulty jump on balance beam in 1994 (called the "Langevin"), performing in a commercial for the 1996 Olympic Trials with Bela Karolyi and Dominique Moceaneau, competing in J.O. Nationals, winning Balance Beam at the American Twisters National Invitational in 1998, and winning the Bay State Games in 2001. She went to college and continued coaching and doing choreography for levels 4 - 10 and pre-elite, as well as teaching modern dance, hip-hop and ballet. Her dance background includes ballet (Classical and Modern), Jazz, break dance, hip-hop, experimental/improvisational, and modern as well as studies in Stanislavsky movement and Interpretive Modes.

HEATHER OLSON, Preschool Program Director, Parties and Special Events Coordinator, and Summer Camp Director

Heather is originally from San Jose, CA, but her successful career as a child actor eventually brought her to the Los Angeles area.  Over the years she has appeared in dozens of print ads, commercials, television shows and feature films.  Heather was also a contract player for five years on the soap opera Days Of Our Lives, before deciding to pursue a career in childcare.  For five years Heather was employed as a professional nanny and working with kids has become her passion.  Heather is now pursuing her dream of positively influencing the lives of young children here at Golden State. She has an extensive background in dance, having studied jazz, tap, ballet and hip hop.  Heather is USA Gymnastics safety-certified, as well as CPR, First-Aid and KAT (Kinder-gym Accreditation Training) and Preschool FUNdamentalks H.O.T (Hands On Training) certified. She attended the 43rd Annual USA National Congress which is a three day educational event for gymnastics professionals.  Her experience as a child actor, nanny and gymnastics coach have made her very sensitive to the individual needs of each child and make her invaluable as a coach.

HERMINE JANE SARKISYAN, Recreational Program Director
Hermine Jane Sarkisyan is originally from Lusavan, Armenia, but moved to the United States with her family for the opportunity of a successful education. Jane calls Golden State Gymnastics her “second home” since she trained at this very facility for over ten years. She got started in the recreational program but moved to the competitive team at the age of 5 when she realized she loved gymnastics and wanted to pursue the sport for a long time. Along with gymnastics, Jane’s other passions include ballet, traditional Armenian dances, and the world sport of soccer.  After many competitions and medals, including “Level 5 State All-Around Champion”, “Level 8 State Bars Champion” and a USAIGC Nationals competitor, Jane believes that her involvement in gymnastics has helped her develop both as a gymnast and as an individual.Since her retirement from gymnastics, Jane has spent many years coaching at different facilities gaining experience with both recreational gymnastics and competitive gymnastics. Upon retirement from gymnastics, Jane attended Glendale Community College where she earned her A.A. degree, and furthered her successful education by earning her Bachelor’s Degree in English, which makes her the first person in her family to earn a university degree. In the future, she plans to go back to school to work towards her Master’s Degree and has dreams of getting her Ph.D in English. During her free time, Jane can be found in her room reading poetry by her favorite authors Emily Dickinson, John Milton, Robert Frost, and other historical poets that “turn this world inside out and upside down”.  

VALERIE DAWSON, USAIGC Team Coach

Val comes to us from Cleveland,Ohio ( Go Browns!) and brings with her more than fifteen years of competitive and coaching experience. She was head coach of the developmental prep-team (levels 4 and 5) at her previous gym and has taught all levels from preschool to optional gymnastics, including cheer leading and special education.  Val has a culinary arts degree from CSCA Le Cordon Bleu and is currently working towards a degree in Food Science.   

Val Has been a strong and dedicated leader to our USAIGC team. Her coaching style is both patient and extremely effective.

WHITNEY NEVILL, USAG Team Coach

Whitney comes to us from Columbia, Missouri where she was the level 4 and 5 head coach for 3 years at FLIPZ USA.  Before that, she coached all levels for 3 years at Ozark Mountain Gymnastics in Springfield, Missouri.  Additionally, she competed gymnastics for eight years through level 8.  She graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and is currently working at Entertainment Tonight.

Whitney's coaching is heavily based on the perfection of drill progressions, leaving her athletes with technically mastered skills.  She is a huge asset to GSG's program from developmental team through optional level gymnasts.

COLETTE-NICOLE DIOKNO, USAG and USAIGC Team Coach

Colette-Nicole Diokno comes to Golden State Gymnastics from Northern California where she has spent more than 20 years as a competitive J.O. gymnast, dancer and professional choreographer and performer. Colette is professionally trained in over 14 genres of dance and has traveled the world performing in both live and staged/televised shows. During her 4 years as a captain and ambassador for the San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush Cheer leading Team, Colette performed in the 2002 Chinese New Years Parade in Hong-Kong, choreographed and led the first official N.F.L. Cheer leading tryouts in Japan, and performed in an emotional USO Show at the Fort Hood-Texas Armed Forces Base just 3 days after the September 11th attacks.  She has also had the opportunity to promote, perform, and volunteer for many charities she holds dear such as the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation, the 49ers Foundation for Kids, and Toys for Tots, among many others. Colette is ranked as the 4th top Irish Dancer in the U.S. and was chosen to represent Northern America at the World Championships of Irish Dance in Belfast, Ireland, where she was ranked among the top 150 Irish Dancers in the world.

Colette's talents enabled her to earn thousands of dollars in scholarships and put herself through college by holding the local representative titles of Miss Teen South Bay Cities, Miss Teen San Jose, Miss San Jose USA, and Miss Santa Clara, which allowed her to compete for the title of Miss California. 

After wrapping up her gymnastics career as a Level 10, Colette focused her energy on coaching dance and gymnastics to young athletes and to furthering her acting and modeling career. As a classically trained actress, Colette has been in 3 feature films, 9 television programs, and has choreographed, produced, directed, written, and starred in over 10 musicals and staged dramatic plays. 

Through it all, Colette has remained committed to coaching and nurturing the athletic talents of young athletes and dancers. She has extensive knowledge and experience in coaching preschool, recreational, developmental and competitive gymnastics and has coached along-side Olympic coaches such as Mark Young (coach of 1996 and 2000 Olympian Amy Chow). Colette thrives on identifying challenges and taking them head on and looks forward to the inevitable progress of Golden State's USAG and USAIGC Competitive Teams!

ANNIE ARMSTRONG, Recreational Coach

Annie has been with us since 2005. Her gymnastics career started at the age of six at a small recreational program, she then progresses to two other gyms before finally settling at Golden State. When she came to GSG she began training for level 7 with the USAG competitive team; following her 7 state competition, Annie retired. Only a few months later she began coaching at GSG. She works mostly as a recreational coach but she also enjoys working with team, since that is where she originally started. Annie absolutely loves coaching and working with kids but is also aspiring to be a professional photographer.

AMY TAYLOR, Girls Recreational Coach

To stay active after gymnastics she joined her high school track team where she learned the mechanics of the long and triple jump. After high school Amy attended the University of California, Riverside where she got her degree in Woman's Studies and continued training in track at the division one level. Her abilities earned her an athletic scholarship and during her 4 years in college she held the school record in the triple jump and made lasting memories.

Her love of Disney has brought her to Burbank where she works for Walt Disney Imagineering. She sought out Golden State Gymnastics out of her passion of the sport and to share her love with a younger generation.

In her free time she can be found at Dodger Stadium cheering on her favorite team or at the Happiest Place on Earth.

RYAN CARR, Boys Recreational and Tumbling Coach

Coach Ryan Carr has been living in L.A. for the last two years. Prior to his move out west he was a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he  received his BFA in drama and a minor in visual arts. Currently he is one of the boys coaches at Golden State Gymnastics and the head tumbling coach of the Beverly Hills Tigers All-Star Cheerleaders. He started his own gymnastics training when he was 3 years old with his mother in a mommy and me class back home in Ft. Lauderdale Florida at Ft. Lauderdale Stars Gymnastics. He later started special-needs coaching when he was 15 years old at the same gym. A jack-of-all-trades, some of his other jobs and skills include: The environmental liaison between Birch State Park and Camp Live Oak, in Ft. Lauderdale FL. He served as the writer and concept creator of "The Dummy Project." An over sized acrobatic puppetry show. And also has over 4 years experience as an executive assistant at the Ft. Lauderdale Children theater. It is Coach Ryan's goal to expand all of his students body and energy awareness, and shift the contemporary mind set from a "No I can't" attitude to a "I can do anything I put my mind too" mentality. Since moving to California he has had the privilege of coaching and working with many talented young gymnasts, rhythmic gymnasts, acrobats, stunt-men and women, cheerleaders, mascots, parkour enthusiast, professional clowns, modern, tap, jazz, and  ballet dancers and the occasional juggler. He is known for his contagious smile and outrageous hair. He enjoys slurpees, motor bikes, cowboy boots and making Mrs. Miranda smile. :)

SEAN FITZPATRICK, USAG and USAIGC Team Coach

Sean comes to us from Lansing, Michigan. He is an avid fan of Michigan State University where he graduated in 2006. Shortly after, he moved out to sunny California where he currently works full-time as an imaging engineer for Dolby Laboratories here in Burbank. Sean was a competitive gymnast for 6 years in Michigan where he won the all-around state championship and was very successful in many other meets and invitationals. He, along with coach Ryan Carr, are working to expand our boys recreational program and are very passionate and dedicated to their kids success both physically and mentally.  

DANIELLE GUITARD, Preschool Coach

Born and raised in Burbank, CA, Danielle started gymnastics at the YMCA in Glendale during her elementary years. She soon began training her tumbling as she joined the local competitive cheer leading squad. Presently, she attends John Burroughs High School and is entering her junior year. During her first two years of high school, she participated in her school's show choir which included singing and dancing. She also volunteered at GSG her freshmen year and continued into her sophomore year. She now coaches preschool boys and girls, and she hopes to continue her dancing and gymnastics training. 

MICHELLE FAGER, Preschool Coach

Michelle was first introduced to gymnastics at the age of two and has been involved ever since. She started her career in competitive gymnastics at age seven here at Golden State. By the age of 13, she had competed at levels 4-7 and practiced at level 8. As a competitive gymnast, she was a frequent first place winner. At the age of 14, after retiring from gymnastics due to a back injury, Michelle briefly took up ballet. Michelle is currently a varsity cheerleader at Burbank High School as well as a flyer and tumbler. She would not be the cheerleader she is today without her gymnastics foundation. Last year, her cheer squad was highly competitive and was named first place in the nation. Important as cheerleading is to Michelle, her true passion is gymnastics which is why she returned to Golden State as a coach. She hopes to share her love of gymnastics with young children as was once done with her.

SARA KRAHENBUHL, Office Manager

Sara grew up around Salt Lake City, Utah before coming to California with her husband in 2009.  She attended the University of Utah and completed a degree in English with a minor in International Studies.  Sara loves to read (especially the classics) and plans to start writing soon.  She shares a passion for travelling with her husband and hopes to explore all the world has to offer. Most recently, she worked at 1-800 Contacts as an Rx Analyst, which gave her great customer service and office work training.  She is excited to work in the front office of Golden State Gymnastics and continue providing excellent service.

MARIKA DIXON, Administrative Assistant

Marika serves as Camille Goldberg’s personal assistant while also helping with Golden State’s marketing efforts.  She joined the Golden State Gymnastics team with extensive administrative and business experience.  Marika has a versatile skill set that includes graphic design, marketing, customer relationship management, and general business operations. 

Marika is originally from Prague, Czech Republic where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in International Business Management and Marketing.  She moved to Burbank in 2007 with her husband, Evan.  In her free time, Marika enjoys tennis, skiing, hiking, painting and watching the "Little Leapers" of GSG!

CAMILLE GOLDBERG, Director of Business Operations; President

Camille has been involved with Golden State Gymnastics since 1998 when her daughter, Jordan, joined the team.  In the process of being her daughter's biggest fan, she became a fan of gymnastics, as well.  In 2000, she began serving Golden State Gymnastics as a volunteer parent, which eventually evolved into the position of gym manager.  In Camille's previous life b.g. (before gymnastics!), she received a degree in Political Science from U.C. Davis and worked as a Legal Administrator.  She recently earned a Master's degree from the University of Redlands School of Business.  She is the mother of two terrific kids, Jordan (21), who is currently a student at UC Berkeley, and David (19).

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Golden State Gymnastics is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which is governed by a Board of Directors.  Board Members are Camille Goldberg, President; Sonia Arce, Treasurer; Ron Dahlia, Secretary; and Alan Goldberg.  If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or concerns about any aspect of the Golden State Gymnastics program, please feel free to contact any of the Board Members.