Juston and Jaclyn Ziegler
Juston and Jaclyn Ziegler are the proud new owners of Brestyan’s Gymnastics. They purchased the gym from Mihai and Sylvia Brestyan in November of 2022.
Juston is a familiar face at Brestyan’s as a team coach this past year and during his prior seasons with the team. He was a successful competitive athlete qualifying and competing at Junior Olympic competitions. He has been coaching for nearly 25 years with a majority as a Program Director and Head Coach. Early in his career he was the State Chair of North Dakota Men’s Gymnastics and has also been the optional representative in NH and the level 9-10 optional representative for MA. Juston has worked with athletes from Women’s and Men’s developmental levels up through level 10 and elite. Many of his athletes have gone onto qualify to State, Regional, and National Championships. He has had many gymnasts go on to successful NCAA collegiate careers. He is frequently requested to coach for camps and clinics around the country as well. Gymnastics has been his life’s work, with his experience and dedication he is ready and eager to take on this new role.
Jaclyn has been involved in the sport of gymnastics for many years, both as an athlete and with over 20 years as a coach. She has worked with developmental levels up through level 10. Along with this coaching experience she has been treating these athletes as a Doctor of Physical Therapy for the past 16 years. She has significant knowledge in the areas of Orthopedics and Strength and Conditioning. Her business experience also includes managing an outpatient orthopedic clinic and owning her own private practice. She will take on this new role with the skills to help the business and athletes succeed.
Debbie Naka
Debbie was a competitive gymnast for the Stanford University Cardinals. She's our Head Boys' Team Coach and has had many years of national experience with the boys she has coached.
Robert Zhang
Rob has been a competitive Xcel team coach and recreational class instructor for over a decade. His team has earned many state titles and have produced many individual state/regional champions. He earned his degree in Exercise Physiology and has great understanding in human motor functions. Rob also served the U.S. Army for 8 years before fully committing to his passion of working with young athletes.
Savannah Gigandet
Savannah was a competitive gymnast for 18 years, and competed through level 10, before going to college. She competed at Ithaca College for two years before retiring and finishing her undergrad at UMass Lowell, where she earned a Bachelors in Exercise Science. She is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and worked as a strength trainer at Champion Physical Therapy and Performance upon graduation.
She has been coaching gymnastics on and off since she was 15 (about 10 years), but most recently with a focus on all compulsory levels.
Cate Nickerson
Cate has been with Brestyan’s Gymnastics since 2022 as our primary recreational coach. She has 6 years of competitive dance and 13 years of competitive cheerleading experience. She has coached competitive cheerleading for varsity high school teams along with her gymnastics coaching experience.
John Behrle
John has been coaching men’s and women’s developmental gymnastics for over 15 years in Region 6, Region 7 and Region 3. He has had multiple athletes qualify for J.O nationals and sign with NCAA colleges around the country. He was also the assistant coach at Ball State University for two years while completing his masters degree there.
A four-year letterwinner at Temple, he competed in men’s gymnastics where he was an NCAA National Championship qualifier on the floor exercise and pommel horse. A Bill Braverman award winner, John was co-captain of the team his senior year.
In addition to his coaching experience, John has become an international sports entertainer working for organizations such as the Seattle Mariners, The Philadelphia 76ers, World Athletics, European Athletics and the Harlem Globetrotters to name a few.
Behrle is excited for the opportunity to work at Brestyan’s primarily with the developmental teams up through the Elite Program.
Giovanna Lomartire
Giovanna (Gi) has been involved in gymnastics for nearly 25 years! She started her gymnastics journey at just 5 years old in an attempt from her parents to contain her flipping and jumping around the house. She excelled in the Junior Olympic program and went on to compete for her club gym throughout the years, successfully reaching level 9, until the unfortunate setback of an injury. After healing, Gi joined her high school gymnastics team where she contributed her skill and love for the sport- leading to multiple individual and team victories. She took a break from the gym to pursue a degree in Psychology from Salem State. An unexpected opportunity was presented and she began coaching recreational, compulsory and Xcel levels at the very same club gym she trained at and competed for her entire gymnastics career. When the gym closed, Gi made the immediate switch to Brestyans gymnastics in 2020 and has been here since- learning more with each passing year. Giovanna uses her experience as a competitive gymnast, passion for psychology and overall love for the sport to help each child succeed to their greatest potential. Giovanna is currently coaching our Xcel Silver and Gold Teams.
Casaundra Cox
Casey has been competing and coaching gymnastics for the past 16 years. For 11 of those years she was competing on a Junior Olympic team taught by regional staff and learning a great amount. She was a two time Eastern National Qualifier as well. For the last 5 years she has coached all levels of Xcel and Developmental Levels 1-8. She also has significant experience in floor choreography.
Ashley McKinnon
Ashley was a gymnast for 16 years and then continued her journey with acrobatics and tumbling in South Carolina. She is currently working toward her psychology degree from Salem State University. Her coaching focus has been with dance presentation and technique, which will be her primary focus while working with the team.