Meet our exceptional
team of coaches.
Prospect Gymnastics Team Coaches, nurturing Confidence, Building Skills, and Fostering Fun in Every Child.
Prospect Gymnastics Team:
Julia Karis
Program Director/Head Coach
Prospect Gymnastics team of coaches is led by Julia Karis. Originally from San Diego, California, she has lived in New York for the past twelve years. She moved to New York to study Acting at Wagner College when she was 17 years old. After graduation she pursued a career in performance and did many shows in the New York Area but she always continued to coach gymnastics which is her other passion. Julia was a competitive gymnast throughout her childhood all the way through her senior year of high school and has been coaching kids for over a decade. When she moved to New York she began coaching the competitive team at the 92Y and eventually became the head coach of their Xcel Program. Julia is so excited to join the Prospect Gymnastics team and looks forward to bringing her gymnastics expertise and love of the sport to this community!
Tami Rygus
Program Coordinator
Hello everyone! My name is Tami Rygus, I’m originally from the west coast but moved to New York about 12 years ago. I’m the mother of 3 small kids and have been working in administrative roles for most of my career. I’m so excited to join the Prospect Gymnastics team!
Noelle Stone
Assistant Head Coach
Noelle grew up in Florida and began gymnastics at 4 years old. Noelle transitioned to cheerleading at 9 years old and continued through college where she ultimately competed in NCA Nationals with FGCU Competitive Cheer Club.
After college Noelle moved to New York to attend Brooklyn Law School where she graduated in 2021. Noelle loves combining her love of gymnastics and cheerleading into her life by coaching at Prospect Gymnastics.
BreLynn Mellon
Gymnastics Instructor
Coach BreLynn, or Coach Bree is excited to be part of Prospect Gymnastics. When not at the gym, you can find Coach Bree ordering coffee or taking a class at NYU. She is currently studying drama at NYU and is apart of the NYU cheer team. BreLynn has been a competitive cheerleader for 12+ years. She has taught tumbling and dance for over 3 years where she is from in Houston, Texas and is passionate about working with children. BreLynn believes it is just as important for children to feel safe and happy in her class as it is to develop strong bodies.
Darcy Guariglia
Gymnastics Instructor
Darcy grew up in a small town in New Jersey. She started taking dance and gymnastics classes around the time she started walking and she continued both of them throughout her childhood. She then went on to attend the Boston Conservatory where she graduated cum laude with a B.F.A in dance. After graduation Darcy moved to New York where she has danced professionally and taught young kids dance and gymnastics. Darcy is super excited to be part of the Prospect Gymnastics team!
Sean Benton
Gymnastics Instructor
Coach Sean Benton, originally from Bronx, New York has taught gymnastics to students/athletes for going on 17+ years now. Sean coaches recreational gymnastics, competitive team as well as tumbling & trampoline. He is passionate about developing his students as people and growing their social, emotional, and cognitive skills through their gymnastics experience. Sean himself has been coached by several national level coaches including Coach Green and Coach Roger Walker at Flip City NJ, national athlete Tony Florez, and choreographer and world competitor Soomi Kim. Outside of coaching, Sean leads spotting workshop, tumbling clinics and safe sport lectures to coaches at various gyms. Coach Sean develops our curriculum here at Prospect Gymnastics.
Ally Riddle
Gymnastics Instructor
Coach Ally is so excited to join the Prospect Gymnastics team! She is originally from South Dakota and played many sports growing up and absolutely loves the outdoors. She recently moved to New York to pursue her Masters at NYU. When she’s not studying or coaching she loves to go rock climbing and ride her skateboard.
Jackie Carlson
Gymnastics Instructor
Jackie Carlson has been dancing and doing gymnastics her whole life. A competitive dancer turned professional ballerina turned punk-rock pro-acrobat! Jackie went from dancing in Detroit, and also training at the Michigan Academy of Gymnastics to scholarships with Milwaukee Ballet Company, then made the move to NY to join Dance Theatre of Harlem’s ballet company. She then joined the STREB Extreme Action Dance Company, and after 16 slamming years is now a Senior Extreme Action Hero! Jackie’s been spreading her love of dance and acrobatics by teaching kids, teens and adults since she was a teenager and is excited to bring her coaching expertise to the Prospect Gymnastics team of coaches!
Star Aiken
Gymnastics Instructor
Hello I am Coach Star, and I’m very excited to be a part of the Prospect Gymnastics team! I am currently in college doing my Bachelors in Architecture. When I am not studying you can find me outside in the sun or exploring new places. Kids are a constant joy in my life and I love working with them! I am very excited to spread my positivity and good energy throughout prospect gymnastics!
Mads Nguyen
Gymnastics Instructor
Mads is initially from Denver, Colorado but moved to New York to start graduate school at NYU. They were a competitive gymnast for five years and then switched to dance, where they continued Ballet in college. Mads has been coaching gymnastics for over six years in both competitive and recreational environments. They are super excited to join Prospect Gymnastics and are thrilled to work with the Brooklyn community!
Elliana Lynch-Daniels
Gymnastics Instructor
Elliana Lynch-Daniels is a native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for high school and holds a BFA in Dance from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Elliana is very excited to join the Prospect Gymnastics Team and strives to create a welcoming, safe, and fun environment for her students to grow and develop new skills.
Nic Brown
Gymnastics Instructor
Coach Nic is a multi-hyphenate artist from Winston-Salem, NC, and a graduate of the UNCSA Drama program. After graduation, he moved to BK to pursue acting, but his love for gymnastics led him to continue training and coaching. Nic competed in Men’s Gymnastics up to level 10 and has been coaching for a decade. He started with recreational and pre-team boys, then moved on to compulsory and optional levels. Currently, Nic is the head coach of the Girls Artistic Team at the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation, and he’s thrilled to also be joining the Prospect Gymnastics team. He can’t wait to share the joy of gymnastics with the community!
Bridget Conlon
Gymnastics Instructor
Biography coming soon.
Karlyn Murphy
Gymnastics Instructor
Karlyn began coaching in 2009 at Tri Star Gymnastics near Chicago, which is the same club where she trained from ages 6-18. For Karlyn, who was a painfully shy six-year-old, gymnastics was the first exciting activity that she was curious to try, even without her big brother by her side. She went on to become a competitive gymnast and co-captain of her high school team alongside her best friend. Now, as a steady and encouraging coach, she’s enjoys helping kids of all ages find their confidence at gymnastics.
Andrew Queen
Gymnastics Instructor
Andrew originally grew up in Calgary, Canada, and moved to New York 5 years ago. As a kid, he began taking classes in dance and acrobatics, which led him to study dance at NYU. Post graduation Andrew has been dancing professionally, teaching, and working in tech. He is so excited to join the Prospect Gymnastics team!
Betty Czitrom
Gymnastics Instructor
Betty, originally from Massachusetts, is thrilled to be part of the incredible Prospect Gymnastics team. She grew up nurturing a love of gymnastics, dance, and musical theater, and recently got back into adult gymnastics. She holds a Masters in Public Health from Brown University where she studied behavioral health. Betty is the founder of ‘Queer Flips’, an initiative to bring adult gymnastics to the LGBTQ+ community. As a coach, she is constantly inspired by her students, and learns from them as much as they learn from her.
Felix Hess
Parkour Instructor
Felix has studied and practiced multiple disciplines of movement ranging from parkour, dance, acrobatics, stunts, circus, and Pop Action. With over 10 years of teaching and performing experience both nationally and internationally, he is comfortable working with all ages and skill levels to help anyone achieve their goals. In addition to introducing the BigCat Parkour program at Prospect Gymnastics, Felix also holds the title as Lead Parkour Coach at 92NY in Manhattan. He is very grateful to be a part of the Prospect Gymnastics community and share the opportunities movement can create to his students.
Marjorie Heard
Assistant Instructor
Hey! My name is Marjorie, and I’ve been coaching at Prospect Gymnastics for 3 years. I go to NYC Museum School in Chelsea, and I’m in 10th grade. I’ve lived in Brooklyn my whole life and I love teaching gymnasts new skills and helping them crush their goals!
Skai Aiken
Assistant Instructor
I’m Skai and I’m so excited to be part of the prospect gymnastics team! I love working with kids and seeing them grow through learning opportunities. I currently attend pace high school as an 11th grader. I’ve been dancing for about 3 years now and hope to have fun and share some insights with the little ones!
Millie Thornhill
Assistant Instructor
Millie is a former Prospect Gymnastics team student and we are so excited to have her joining our coaching staff.
Mina Marsow
Founder
Mina Marsow is a Brooklyn native and entrepreneur who is passionate about education, wellness and community. She founded Prospect Gymnastics and gathered this team of coaches in pursuit of developing confident bodies and minds through fun and focused sports training. Mina has a background in coaching and directing gymnastics programs throughout NYC. She also worked as an HR Manager for the Department of Education, hiring and training 400+ preschool teachers across the 5 boroughs. You can usually find Mina at the gym or around the neighborhood. If not, she is probably riding her bicycle, swimming at Brighton Beach, or whipping up a tasty concoction. Her Mantra is: “A strong and well connected you makes a stronger better connected us, let’s build us together.”