Our Staff

Gymnastics is one of the best individual sports to help children build self-confidence, flexibility, agility & body control. Students work & develop skills at their own pace in a fun and active environment. The Recreation Department is proud to have as gymnastics instructors Trish Merck, Deven Pressley, Paul Daniel, Cathy Campfield, Sandy Mahler, Mary Nelson, Rachel Satori, Tina Davis, Lauren Weeks, & Taylor Eason.

Deven is the director of our after-school gymnastics program & was formerly the Director of Gymnastics at the North Georgia Activities & Fitness Center in Dawsonville. Deven has over 17 years experience teaching gymnastics and is certified through United States American Gymnastics & is an accredited professional in safety and skill evaluation with USAG. She is the head coach of our level 2 & 3 competitive team and has been with the team since its inception.

Paul competed in gymnastics for 7 years & has been coaching gymnastics for over 20 years. He has worked at the Krafft Academy as an assistant with compulsories & optional for Level 8 to Elite; served as Dynamo Gymnastics' Level 8 coach; worked as head coach & team director at Gymnastics Unlimited, & began the gymnastics program at All-Star Gymnastics. He is the head coach for our level 4 - 10 competitive team. Paul has been instrumental in moving the program forward in his 3 years here, assisting the booster club in hosting over 8 meets, 1 state meet and creating the boys team program.

Cathy has been involved with the sport of gymnastics for over 30 years. She was a competitive gymnast for 11 years, qualifying for National Championships five times. Cathy received a gymnastics scholarship to the University of Nebraska where she graduated with a degree in engineering. Cathy  teaches gymnastics and is a nationally ranked level 10 gymnastics judge, judging competitions throughout the state. She assists all levels on the competitive team and has been instrumental in the development not only of the program, working with CRPD since it began, but helping the booster club in putting together top notch events and solid parent group.

Lauren, a former Gymsations member and National champion, is a senior in high school and has been assisting with various classes for several years. She assists Deven with the level 2 and 3 team.

Rachel graduated with a B.S. in Education ( Health Promotions) from Auburn University. She coached at the Alpharetta Recreation Dept. for 5 years, and was also a member of the first State Championship gymnastics team at the Roswell Recreation and Parks Dept. She is the head coach of the AAU Prep Op team.

Tina attended North Georgia & State University where she obtained both B.S. and M.S. degrees in Early Children Education. She has 12 years of teaching experience. Tina works with the pre-team classes.

Trish is the director of our pre-school gymnastics program and is the former co-owner of Cyndi's School of Fitness in Cumming. She has over 28 years of gymnastics teaching experience and is USAG safety certified, a USAG professional member, and has completed the KAT (Kinder Accreditation for Teachers certification program). Trish is a graduate of Auburn University where she competed on the gymnastics team, and majored in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. Trish has been with the CRPD program since its beginning.

Sandy has been teaching gymnastics for over 30 years & was a competitive gymnast for 7 years. She has a degree in Elementary Education & taught school in Florida before moving to Cumming.Mary, a former high school gymnast, has been teaching with CRPD for the past 2 years & assists with Forsyth Central's gymnastics team.