Meet our staff

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Heather (Owner) Heather began coaching in 2009. She has been a Gym Owner since 2011. She has experience as a Preschool Coach, Recreational Gymnastics Coach, and Competitive Team Coach. She has her meet director certification and all safety certifications. She has helped develop many gymnastics programs. Coach Heather is CPR, first aid, and concussion certified. 

Candi (Owner) -   

Candi Smith, APRN is a board-certified advanced practice registered nurse and entrepreneur with a passion for helping individuals feel strong, confident, and supported at every stage of life. She is the owner of A New You Aesthetics and Weight Loss in the WGV area and a shared owner of WGV Gymnastics, where her commitment to health, performance, and confidence extends from clinical care to athletic development.

With a strong medical background and a deep appreciation for movement, wellness, and preventative care, Candi believes that confidence is built through both physical strength and self-trust. Whether guiding patients through medically supervised weight loss and aesthetic treatments or supporting young athletes in developing discipline, resilience, and body confidence, her approach is rooted in safety, education, and long-term wellbeing.

Candi’s work reflects a unified mission: to help individuals feel capable, empowered, and confident in their bodies; inside and out.

From youth athletics to adult wellness, Candi’s work centers on building confidence through safe, thoughtful, and personalized care.

  Coach Thea (Floor Manager and team vault and bars coach) Coach Thea has been inside a gym since she was 3 years old. She was a competitive gymnast in Maryland for 8 years until she moved to Florida in 2013. She has coached at WGV Gymnastics since then. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of North Florida where she received her degree in Psychology with a minor in Sports Management. Thea has worked under numerous experienced mentors, including a former Olympian and Division 1 coach. Next, Thea plans on becoming a certified Judge in hopes of expanding her gymnastics knowledge even further. Thea’s coaching philosophy includes maintaining the fun of the sport while emphasizing form, technique, and discipline. She truly believes that no matter how long a child takes gymnastics, they will learn lessons that will last a lifetime. She lives by the fact that her job as a coach is to not only teach beautiful gymnastics, but to teach the girls what is like to have discipline, respect, determination, motivation, resiliency, and a strong work ethic. A successful gymnast takes what she learns and applies it outside of the gym! In her free time, Thea loves taking her dogs out on her longboard, paddleboarding on the intercoastal, going to car shows, creating logos for friends and learning graphic design, and researching new gymnastics techniques.

  Coach Alexis (Team Coach) Coach  

Alexis was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He was a gymnast for 10+ years. He was also a competitive cheerleader for some of the leading programs in the industry. Coach Alexis is a dedicated gymnastics coach with over 10+ years of experience in developing young athletes. Coach Alexis was also owner of a gymnastics program with tons of experience in running, organizing, and staffing programs. He is committed to creating a safe and engaging environment that builds skill development and confidence. He is determined to inspire gymnasts while building strong relationships with families and athletes. His goal is to build an environment where the athletes love what they do and continue to learn.

  Coach Connie (Team Coach)  

Coach Connie brings decades of gymnastics coaching experience to WGV, working with athletes from the recreational level through Level 10. Throughout her career, she has coached numerous State and Regional champions, championship teams, and athletes who have advanced to the national level. Her experience includes coaching within the USAG Development Program, working with Optional-level athletes, and attending National Team training camps, including training at the former Karolyi Ranch. She holds USAG Safety & Risk Management and SafeSport certifications and has completed W300 and W400 National Team Coach training. She holds current judging certifications up to Level 8 for JO and up to sapphire for Xcel. Coach Connie believes great gymnastics is built through strong fundamentals, attention to detail, consistency, and trust between an athlete and coach. She is passionate about helping gymnasts become confident, resilient athletes while challenging each of them to reach their individual potential.

Outside the gym, Coach Connie is a retired firefighter and paramedic and brings that same commitment to leadership, safety, teamwork, and helping others into her coaching every day.

 Coach Isa – (Rec. Coach) Coach Isa did gymnastics from the ages 9-14. She finished her gymnastics career competing level 9 and training level 10. She has experience training in elite level gyms and around elite level coaches. She has been coaching since 2021. She loves to see the kids come out of their shells, growing and blossoming as people. She also loves giving them a safe place to have fun and be themselves.

 Coach Edythe (Team Coach) Coach Edythe did competitive gymnastics for 15 years all the way up to level 10 and she has coached for 5 years. She went to the junior Olympics twice. She graduated from Michigan State in 2022. Her major was Human Development & Family Studies and she is working towards being an occupational therapist. She enjoys coaching the kids and helping them achieve the same skills she used to do when she was their age.

Coach Alice (Coach, Office Assistant, Receptionist) Coach Alice has been with WGV Gymnastics since 2018. She has a passion for working with children as she has many of her own. Alice loves seeing her gymnasts discover, enjoy, and master new skills. Her goal when coaching is to encourage gymnasts to challenge themselves in a fun safe environment; building and encouraging strong bodies and positive character.

 Coach Shan (Preschool Program Manager) Shan has a passion for building confidence in gymnasts through encouragement and kindness. She joined the gym in 2022 and has loved working as a preschool coach celebrating new skills, fostering a positive growth environment and sharing her love of gymnastics with her young gymnasts. Her background is in corporate retail management and coaching Elementary physical education and she has taken her love of building relationships and teaching to effectively coach her young athletes to build self-confidence and friendships while developing skills in a sport they love. Shan loves to spend her free time with her family! She is very proud of her children who also belong to the WGVG Family. Her daughter is on the competitive team and her son works at the gym as a support coach in recreational classes.

  Coach Christina – (Rec. Program Manager) Coach Christina began her coaching career in 2018. She has coached parent-and-tot classes all the way to pre-team gymnastics. Being the eldest of 8, she knows how to entertain and take command. She loves to watch her gymnasts excel and gain confidence in their skills and encourage their personal growth. Her greatest goal is to be a positive influence to those around her and a safe place for those that need it.

Coach Stacie – (Preschool Gym-N-Learn and Team Coach) Coach Stacie began her love for Dance and Gymnastics at the age of 2.5 years old where she became a competitive dancer and gymnast into college. She began coaching in 2019 with WGV Gymnastics and She has over 15yrs in choreographing and coaching young athletes. Stacie’s goals as a coach is to always encourage, motivate physical confidence, build strength, improve flexibility, and create a positive safe learning atmosphere where young athletes can thrive while loving the sport!

 Coach Katie P. – (Team Coach) Coach Katie has been coaching gymnastics since 2020 and has been involved in the sport as a gymnast herself for over five years. She loves coaching both because of her passion for the sport and her passion making a difference in the lives of the kids she gets to coach. Her experience as a gymnast passed on many qualities in her day to day life, including determination, discipline, and strength. She hopes to pass those skills on to the athletes she works with.

 Coach Bill – (Boys Recreational Coach) Coach Bill joined our team in 2023 moving from the New York area. Coach Bill began coaching in 2014 working with recreational classes, preteam, and team boys up to level 5. Three of those years coach Bill was working as assistant to men's head coach Yuriy Aminov.

 Coach Kimberly – (Recreational Coach)  Coach Kimberly has been doing gymnastics since 2019.  She has been a competitive team gymnast since 2020.  She has been coaching since 2021.  She loves to coach all the gymnastic events. Her goal is to build self esteem and confidence in her gymnasts. 

Coach Marlyse – (Team Coach) Coach Marlyse 

Coach Aliza – (Team Coach) Coach Aliza  and her 3 children moved to Florida and became part of the WGV family in 2019. She grew up playing many different sports including soccer, softball, swim team and cheerleading. She is a licensed practical nurse and has 7 years of experience coaching recreational and competitive gymnastics. Her son, now a student at UF, played competitive soccer for 13 years and her 2 daughters are competitive gymnasts at WGV. She believes that being part of a team, confronting your fears, and working hard for something are lifelong lessons she hopes to instill in all the athletes she coaches. 

 Coach Victoria – (Recreational and Preschool Coach)  Coach Victoria has been coaching since May of 2024. She has been working with kids for 4+ years. She loves to be active and do anything that gets her moving like hiking and working out! She has a passion for working with kids and she can't wait to help your kids grow and succeed throughout their gymnastics career!  

 Coach Naomi – (Recreational Coach) Coach Naomi started with gymnastics (tumbling) when she was younger and then switched to dance. Now she teaches gymnastics and dance to younger kids. She enjoys working with kids and gets excited when the kids finally achieve a skill they have been working hard to learn. 

Coach Paul (Tumbling) Coach Paul has over 50 years of experience coaching at numerous gymnastics facilities in many different states. He was the Program Director/Head Coach at Village Gymnastics for 24 years prior to joining the WGV Gymnastics family. He has experience with all levels of recreational and competitive gymnastics for local, state, regional, and national.

Tracey – (Booster Club Treasurer) Tracey Batten is currently serving as WGVABC treasurer for WGV Athletics Booster Club since 2014. As treasurer, she has the role of collecting fees, invoicing, auditing, submitting tax information for nonprofit status, submitting business license for club, processing payments, bookkeeping 68+ accounts, purchasing supplies and uniforms, keeping up with all non-profit 501c3 rules and regulations, attending all board meetings, attending all booster events, ensuring bills are paid in a timely fashion, registering all girls for meets, and overseeing all fundraisers. She also oversees and accounts for all physical inventory and ensures that all of the team girls have correct uniform sizes recorded. She created and runs the website wgvabc.com and maintains updates to ensure that all of the booster club members have access to their current accounts and all other relevant team information.