FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 2, 2014
Contact: Kristin Moore
Marketing Director
Gedderts’ Twistars USA Gymnastics Club
(517) 322-0360
[email protected]
www.TwistarsUSA.com
U.S. Gymnastics Coach Helps Colombian Gymnast
May 2, 2014 Dimondale, Michigan - 2011 U.S. World Team Head Coach and 2012 U.S. Olympic
Team Head Coach for USA Gymnastics, John Geddert recently donated and arranged for the
shipment of thousands of dollars of gymnastics equipment to Colombia. This donation was
made to an new upstart private gymnastics club that has long term goals of producing
national and international class gymnasts. John Geddert is the owner and head coach of
Gedderts' Twistars USA Gymnastics Club in Dimondale, Michigan
(Lansing area).
John Geddert John Geddert and Twistars USA have a history of organizing and
donating large shipments of gymnastics equipment overseas. In 2007,
as a good will gesture, Geddert organized the collection of 10's of
thousands of dollars of gymnastics equipment. He then arranged for
shipping and delivery to the Colombian Gymnastics Federation. This
project helped Colombia place their first female gymnast, Nathalia
Sanchez Cardenas, at the 2008 Olympic Games in China. "What a
rewarding feeling" John Geddert said.
As a result of that 2007 good will gesture and donation, Twistars was contacted in early 2014 to assist
another Colombian gymnast, Eliana Rodriguez, with her quest to earn a spot on the 2016 Olympic
team for the Rio Games. In the process it became apparent that the equipment needs in Colombia
were still substandard. In an attempt to help with this problem, Twistars USA, under the direction of
John Geddert, organized another equipment shipment. “If just feels good to help those that struggle
in situations that are less fortunate than ours here in the USA”. “I get a big thrill out of impacting the
lives of these hard working athletes in a positive way,” John Geddert said.
According to John Geddert, "One of the goals at Twistars USA is not only to impact the lives of the
athletes that we coach, but also to impact the lives of athletes around the world. We take great pride
in our gymnastics accomplishments here at Twistars, but it is the character building and life altering
influences that organized sports and quality mentoring can provide that really make dealing with
children a special occupation."
John Geddert has been named State, Regional, National and/or Elite Coach of the Year by USA
Gymnastics dozens of times over the past 26 years. He was the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic
Chairperson for Region 5 (Michigan, Indian, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois) for 25 years.
About Gedderts' Twistars USA Gymnastics Club:
Gedderts' Twistars USA Gymnastics Club is owned by John and Kathryn Geddert. The gymnastics club
has two locations: Dimondale, located inside The Summit and DeWitt, located in Clark
Corners. Twistars was founded by the Gedderts' in 1996 to offer competitive and recreational
gymnastics opportunities to children in the Greater Lansing area. Twistars is ranked one of the most
successful competitive gymnastics programs in the United States. They have produced an a long list
of successful gymnasts including: the 2011 World Champion, and 2012 Olympic Champion, Jordyn
Wieber, Over 50 National Champions, 38 Junior Olympic and Elite National Team Members on the
individual level, over 100 State Champion Teams and Millions of dollars in full ride college scholarship
athletes.
Recreational gymnastics classes and gymnastics camps are the main focus of Twistars. Over 1,000
children participate in recreational programs and camps offered at Twistars.
Learn more at http://www.TwistarsUSA.com
About John Geddert
John Geddert is the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Head Coach, the 2011 U.S. World Team Head Coach. He
is known as one of the top women’s gymnastics coaches for USA Gymnastics for his role in developing
numerous Junior Olympic and Elite National Team Members and National Champions.
John is recognized as a leading expert on women's gymnastics coaching as an Expert Blogger and
owner of TheGymnasticsCoach.com and publisher of Success Videos for Gymnastics Coaches. He is
regularly requested and lectures on the topic at major gymnastics coaching conferences around the
world. He is the author of the forthcoming book "Gymnastics Conditioning Sucks-Proven
Conditioning Strategies for Athletes and Coaches That Want to Win."
John publishes a regular article in the U.S. Elite Coaches Association publication and is regularly
requested for interviews by leading media outlets.
Owner and Head Coach of Gedderts' Twistars USA Gymnastics Club in Dimondale (Lansing), MI, MidMichigan's largest and most successful gymnastics club with over 1500 hundred recreational and
competitive athletes, John is an award winning coach at the State, Regional, National and Elite
Level. He has volunteered over 25 years as the Junior Olympic Chairperson for Region 5, been
instrumental in the development of rules and policies for USA Gymnastics.
Contact Information
Twistars USA, (517) 322-0360
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