Maureen Chagnon
Co-Owner & Head Coach
Maureen is co-owner of both locations for Gymnastics Express. She has a BA in Education from SUNY at Cortland, and has been involved with teaching and coaching gymnasts for over 28 years. Maureen opened New England Gymnastics Express with co-owner Laurie Scanlon in 1988, followed by Gymnastics Express Too in 2008. She is head coach for our Competetive Team. Besides coaching gymnastics at the Elite level, Maureen is an Elite rated judge and an USA Gymnastics Safety Certified instructor. Her passion is teaching pre-school. Last year Maureen was nominated 2011 Region 6 Junior Olympic Coach of the Year along with Blane Jefferson.
Laurie Scanlon
Co-Owner & Office Manager
Laurie is co-owner of both locations for Gymnastics Express. Laurie has over 20 years of exprience teaching and is the Head Office Manager. You will usually find her floating around the Glastonbury gym or behind the desk in the afternoons.
Blane Jefferson
Assistant Head Coach
Blane is Assistant Head Coach and has been with our program for 18 years. He has helped develop some of the best gymnasts in the country and enjoys teaching pre-school levels as well. Blane was a gymnast himself growing up. He is quite the character and the kids love him. Last year Blane and Maureen were nominated 2011 Region 6 Junior Olympic Coaches of the Year.
Hether Whittier
Hether Whittier, Newington's Office Manager, wears many hats at NEGX. A former gymnast herself, she teaches classes, coaches team and manages the Newington gym. Hether graduated from Springfield College and has been with NEGX for 11 years.
Brenda McManus
Preschool Director
Brenda is our Preschool Director for both gyms. She has been teaching gymnastics for over 25 years and helped to open the Glastonbury Facility in 2008. Brenda grew up doing gymnastics and competed through high schoool. She resides with her husband and 3 boys in Newington.
Christopher Cote
Boys Team Director, Women's Gymnastics & Cheer Coach
Chris has been coaching gymnastics and tumbling at both of our locations for the past 8 years, 5 of them as our Boy's Team Director. Chris was a former USAG Junior Olympic gymnast with Thompson Gymnastics in Massachusetts for 13 years. He competed as a collegiate gymnast for Springfield College. Chris also has a strong background in Cheer, with 3 years as a Cheerleading coach for Eastern CT State University, and 4 years as an All Star Youth Cheerleading coach. He is a Professional Member of USA Gymnastics and the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators. He is a nationally certified cheerleading coach and safety certified.
Julie Neistat
Office Manager
Julie Cartier
Camp Director, Instructor, Front Desk
Julie Cartier wears many hats at Gymnastics Express Too. You will find her teaching Preschool and Kindergarten classes, behind the front desk, teaching dance and fitness, or running your child's birthday party. She is also our Camp Director for summer and theme parties. Julie has a BA in Child and Family Development from UNC Charlotte, with a strong focus on birth to 5 and several years of experience working with children with special needs. Julie has over 10 years of experience in dance, acro, and fitness. She is a 200-hr registered yoga instructor as well as a licensed Zumba and Zumbatomic instructor.