Linda Bowser started working at Bright Raven in 1975 as the dance instructor. She was a co-owner of the gym from 1976 through 1988 when her daughter was born and Kathy King, Bright Raven’s current owner took over. Linda now works primarily in the office but has worked in many capacities at the gym over the years – from coaching all levels of gymnasts – preschool to team, to office manager. Linda holds a bachelor’s degree in Dance from SUNY Brockport and is permanently certified to teach elementary education. She is a long-time member of the National Association of Women’s Gymnastics Officials and still enjoys judging gymnastics occasionally.
Bill “Cos” Costner has been coaching for 37 years and has been at Bright Raven since 1992. He coaches the Optional Team at Bright Raven. His favorite events to coach and compete are floor and vault. He competed Class 3 Gymnastics (similar to Level 7-8). His final meet was an AAU National Meet. Cos graduated from SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Utica with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. A fun fact about himself is that his coach taught him a double back on the trampoline (spotted) before he had a round off back handspring back tuck by himself!
Gabby Costner has been a member of Bright Raven Gymnastics since 2001, having competed on the girl’s competitive team for many years until her retirement in 2015. After retiring from competitive gymnastics, she started coaching the recreational classes. Her favorite event is beam. Gabby attended Vassar College, graduating in 2021 with a major in chemistry and a minor in Russian studies. She’s been working as a chemist at Eastman Kodak since 2023.
Brian Daly has been at Bright Raven since 2013. He works with a variety of levels on the girls teams. His favorite gymnastics event is bars. He competed gymnastics while in high school.
Brian has a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Science Education and a master’s in Earth Science Education from Buffalo State College. Currently, he teaches science at Barker Road Middle School in Pittsford, NY.
Nate Daniels has been a part of the Bright Raven family since 2003, starting at 10 years old. He was on the men’s competition team for about 7 years. At the gym, he works with all ages and teams but mostly coaches the recreational classes. Nate’s favorite event growing up was floor because as soon as you learn to flip it basically feels like you can fly. He went to college for 2 years at MCC and 2 years at SUNY Brockport, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. One fun fact about him is that he also played baseball for 13 years.
Jeanne de Keyserling is a National rated USA Gymnastic judge for both men and women and has been a coach with Bright Raven Gymnastics for 15 years. She has an all-around expertise of the sport and enjoys passing that knowledge on to students and coaches. Jeanne is a source of knowledge in the gym and uses her positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed.
She started gymnastic training at the age of 6 with Hamburg Gymnastics and has used that training throughout her life. In college she was employed as a sports model for the photography department. Upon graduation she joined Ringling Bros Circus performing an aerial routine on the Spanish Web. After the circus, she coached aerial skiing for the freestyle team at Kissing Bridge Ski Resort. In the early 90s, she went back to the gym and started coaching girls and boys the sport she knows so well. She became a USAG judge in 1994.
Jeanne has many interests but loves to spend time at her summer cottage on Sand Lake, Ontario, Canada. Of course, there is a pit trampoline on the beach.
Christine Dysart Field started at Bright Raven in 1974 and became part owner from 1976 until 1988. She continued coaching until 1996 when her husband became disabled. She returned in 2009 as a coach when her granddaughter, Emily, showed an interest in gymnastics. Christine retired from the Churchville – Chili School District where she taught Physical Education, coached the Varsity Gymnastics Team, and served as the Professional Development Coordinator. She was a former high school and collegiate gymnast. Christine has also served the gymnastics community as a USAG and high school gymnastics official and has earned numerous awards related to the field of gymnastics including Section V Coach of the Year and the Ed McCall Judges Service Award. Always interested in challenges, Christine biked 100 miles in one day in 2014, ran the 2016 NYC Marathon and climbed and reached the summit of African Mt Kilimanjaro in 2019.
Christine and her granddaughter, Emily, will be the first grandmother (alumnus) and granddaughter combo to be a part of the Golden Eagle Women’s Gymnastics Team at SUNY Brockport.
Bailey Fogle has been a coach at Bright Raven since 2017. Originally from Maryland, she completed her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science at SUNY Brockport. At Brockport she continued her passion for competitive gymnastics at the college club level for all 4 years. As a previous Level 9 gymnasts in high school, Bailey excelled on the club team competing in various local and national meets. Bailey loves the ability to share her love for gymnastics to the athletes at Bright Raven.
Julianna Gatto has been with Bright Raven Gymnastics for most of her life, when she started in the Mini Olympians class in 2001 and was a part of the competition team until she graduated high school. She began coaching in 2014 and is currently one of the recreational coaches at the West Gym. Outside of coaching, she enjoys exercising, taking walks outdoors along the canal, baking, and reading, and in 2021, she graduated with her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Nazareth University. Julianna’s full-time job is at the University of Rochester in one of their adult outpatient physical therapy clinics, where she treats individuals who have sustained brain injuries, strokes, spinal cord injuries, and other neurological conditions. Most recently, she received her Board Certification in Neurologic Physical Therapy, and she is involved in the URMC Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency Program. When possible, she loves being able to incorporate the skills she has as a physical therapist into her coaching to help build strength and prevent injuries for her gymnasts. Her favorite thing about coaching gymnastics is being able to help each child make small steps towards their own unique goals, and her favorite event is the floor exercise. She considers Bright Raven a second home, and she is grateful to be giving back to the sport that helped her become who she is today.
Janelle has been coaching at Bright Raven since 2010. Originally from North Tonawanda, NY, she graduated high school as a Level 9 gymnast before continuing her gymnastics career at SUNY Cortland, where she competed for 4 years on the gymnastics team and earned All-American honors on balance beam. After graduating, Janelle remained at SUNY Cortland as a graduate assistant coach for the gymnastics team.
During the day, Janelle teaches dance and health at Churchville-Chili High School. Throughout her years in gymnastics and education, she has developed a true passion for working with young athletes and helping them reach their full potential. She enjoys coaching gymnasts at Bright Raven at every level, from Minis through Optionals and takes pride in making a positive impact on every athlete she works with.
Karen has been working full time at Bright Raven since 2005. She is born and raised in Long Island where her love for gymnastics began at 4 years old. After her competitive years of gymnastics, she began coaching always keeping the sport a constant in her life. Karen graduated from SUNY Brockport with a bachelor’s degree in dance. Karen never thought about making a career out of coaching but says she quickly found a home at Bright Raven and the rest is history. Karen loves sharing her passion and enthusiasm for gymnastics with all the children she coaches. “I’m so proud to be a part of the Bright Raven family and I cherish the memories and lifelong relationships I’ve made through the years!”
Karl Jaanimagi has worked full time as the Head Boys Team Coach at Bright Raven Gymnastics since July 2015. He has a bachelor’s in Aeronautical/Mechanical Engineering from Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute (2001). He also has a master’s in Secondary Science Education from SUNY Brockport (2007). Karl competed as a JO athlete, for his high school team, and in college as a club gymnast from 1989-2007. His favorite events are Parallel Bars, Pommel Horse, and High Bar. Karl coaches all boys team and pre-team training groups at Bright Raven.
Karl is incredibly involved in the men’s gymnastics community in New York State and beyond. Karl has served as USA Gymnastics New York State Men’s Chairman since 2023 and New York Alliance GymACT Team Head Coach since 2022. Additionally, Karl has been a nationally certified Men’s Gymnastics Judge since 2001 and the Upstate New York Men’s Gymnastics Judges assigner since 2011. Karl is a two-time NYS Boys Gymnastics Service Award Recipient; once in 2006 and another in 2012. He was USA Gymnastics Men’s Collegiate National Coach of the Year in 2013 and NYS Boys Gymnastics Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2022.
In his spare time, Coach Karl enjoys trail running, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, biking, and generally spending time outdoors.
Stacy Julian began working at Bright Raven in 1997. Originally from Buffalo, she attended SUNY Brockport, where she competed as a gymnast before an injury led her to join the diving team. She eventually moved to Webster, where she has lived ever since. Stacy is a K–5 physical education teacher and has been teaching for 22 years. She currently serves as the head coach of the Penfield-Webster Varsity Gymnastics team and the Penfield Varsity Diving team. Stacy is the proud mom of two daughters:
one who attends RIT and another who is currently a member of Bright Raven’s competition team. Outside of school and coaching, Stacy is a huge Buffalo Bills fan and attends all of the home games. She loves to travel, spend time with her family, ski, and be on her boat—her absolute happy place! She is proud to have been a part of the Bright Raven family for nearly 30 years!
Carly King has been a part of the Bright Raven Gymnastics family her entire life. She looks back fondly on a childhood in the gym, and from that point forward, her love of gymnastics has grown. She began gymnastics in the year 1996, and competed as a Bright Raven gymnast from 2003-2013, reaching Level 9 during her senior year of high school. Vault and floor were her favorite events while competing.
Carly graduated from Churchville-Chili High School in 2013 and then began study at Nazareth College of Rochester. In 2017, she received her Bachelor of Health Science degree, with a minor in psychology, and in 2019 she completed her graduate work to receive her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. She now works as a physical therapist at Rochester Hearing and Speech Center, specializing in pediatric physical therapy. Carly has been a coach at Bright Raven for 10 years, and enjoys working with gymnasts of all levels, though she mostly works with kids in the recreational classes. The Mini Olympians class is her favorite group to teach at Bright Raven. She can’t wait to get back to coaching, both at the Gates and Victor locations!
Kevin Kirkland has been a coach at Bright Raven since 2005. Growing up he was a competitive gymnast for Bright Raven, finishing his competition years as a Level 8. Kevin has experience coaching boys and girls recreational and team levels as well as, most recently, the Raven Warrior programs. As head coach of the Raven Warrior groups, he loves being able to incorporate gymnastics principles of strength and balance into the new recreational sport of Ninja Warriors.
R.J. LeClair has been with Bright Raven since 1995. Most of his time has been with the Optionals, however he has worked with every level of team. His favorite event has always been vault. RJ graduated from Brockport with a bachelor’s in communications and achieved his master’s from Roberts Wesleyan in elementary education. He played football and ran track but now his passion is weight lifting. One fun fact about RJ is that he never did gymnastics. “I didn’t know anything about it when I started at Bright Raven. ‘Cos’ taught me everything I know.”
Maddie Maas has been coaching recreational classes at Bright Raven since 2018. She was on the competitive gymnastics team until 2020 and has a passion for coaching beam and bars. She is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, recently graduated from Ithaca College. In her spare time, she loves to go for walks, hike, and workout. I love sharing my gymnastics knowledge and passion with my gymnasts!
Colleen Merchant has worked for Bright Raven since 1993, and prior to that, was a gymnast there from 1978-1988. She attended West Virginia University, where she coached in a recreational program throughout college. Currently, she works with the Xcel team but has coached compulsory and optionals in the past. Colleen loves coaching and making a difference in each of her student’s lives. She hopes they take away the love of the sport that she has carried throughout her life.
Jody Micoli has been coaching with Bright Raven since 1997. She currently works with the Optional Team coaching floor and beam. She has been the Optional Team choreographer for about 15 years. Jody graduated from the University of Buffalo with a degree in environmental design and a minor in architecture. She was a gymnast for 13 years and competed Level 8, high school and college club gymnastics and competed in the Empire State games. Her favorite event to coach is floor.
Ella Poplaski is in her senior year at Brockport High School and has been at Bright Raven since 2019. She came over from a different gym and has been a part of our team ever since. She started volunteering as an assistant coach when she was 14 and has been consistently working up until now. She is currently a level 9 gymnast with hopes of competing in college and becoming a physical therapist within a school. She is great with the kids, comes up with fun ways to keep them motivated, and loves being at the gym. Between practice and working, she currently is at the gym 6 days of the week.
Christy has been with the Bright Raven family since 2001. She started in Mini Olympians and went on to compete for four years. She works with the recreational classes, from Mini O’s to Pre-Team. Her favorite event is beam. When she is not coaching, Christy enjoys practicing aerial silks and trapeze.
Kristi Ross got her Bachelor’s of English with Elementary and Special Education certification from Nazareth University in 1999. She then went on to get her Master’s degree in Reading from Walden University and her Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certification from Molloy University. Kristi taught Special Education to students from preschool through high school for about 20 years before becoming an English as a New Language (ENL) teacher a few years ago. Kristi did dance, acrobatics, cheerleading, and gymnastics growing up. She has been coaching for about 25 years. She has been at Bright Raven for five years now and mainly coaches the Xcel teams at Bright Raven East. Kristi has a passion for gymnastics and enjoys watching children progress in the sport while learning life skills such as resilience, discipline, and mental toughness.
Morgan Ryan started coaching at Bright Raven in 2026. She grew up in Elmira and started gymnastics at 3 years old, finishing at the Xcel Diamond level in high school. She then attended the University of Connecticut, where she competed on the UConn Club Gymnastics team for three years while earning her bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences. Morgan started coaching rec and preschool gymnastics when she was 15 and has coached at the competitive team level since 2020. Her favorite events to coach
are bars and floor. Morgan enjoys helping her gymnasts build confidence and loves sharing her passion for gymnastics with everyone she coaches.
Anna Silivestro has been a part of Bright Raven since she was born, accompanying her sister in Tot’s class from her stroller! She participated in recreational classes until 2017 when she joined the competitive team. She retired from competitive gymnastics in 2022 but still loves to flip around from time to time! She began coaching at Bright
Raven in 2021 and loves working with all ages!
She is currently attending Daemen University where she is pursuing her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Anna also works at Agape Physical Therapy as an aide when she is home from school. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, going for walks, watching the Buffalo Bills, and working out. You can find her at Bright Raven in the evenings during the summer, and when she is home on breaks.
Asa Smith is a senior at Brighton High School with plans to pursue a degree in STEM in college. As the youngest of five kids, Asa has grown up watching his siblings compete, and has been involved in gymnastics his entire life. After the closure of his previous gym in 2022, Asa came to Bright Raven and has since been a dedicated member of the boys’ competitive team. He serves as a level 10 team captain and is a three-time Level 10 National Championship qualifier and one time Level 9 Eastern National Championship qualifier. Outside of the gym, Asa is involved with multiple local organizations, advocating for climate action throughout the region. Alongside his studies, athletics, and advocacy work, Asa has taken up coaching, using his extensive knowledge of the sport to help younger athletes thrive in gymnastics.
Shania Sonneville began with Bright Raven in 1999 and continued until 2005. She then came back again in 2017. She was a competitive Level 10 gymnast through college at SUNY Brockport. She coaches compulsory Levels 3-5 and Ravens. She is also a licensed massage therapist and specializes in muscle maintenance and care for athletes.
Lia Tobin started coaching at Bright Raven’s westside location in September 2025. She previously coached at Eagle Gymnastics in Canandaigua for 8 years. Her first gymnastics class was at the Geneva Family YMCA when she was in the second grade. She took lessons there for 7 years before moving to Fairport . After graduating from Fairport in 2011, she earned her bachelor’s degree at Utica University. Her favorite events to coach are floor and bars. Growing up, she was also a competitive figure skater and practiced at Rochester Ice Center in Fairport. Lia is also employed at WROC-TV in Rochester where has been since 2017.In her spare time, she likes to hike, travel, and go to concerts. She currently coaches the Girls, Advance, Novice, Starlings, Silver, Gold, and Bluebirds classes at Bright Raven.
Alissa Toda started gymnastics when she was 5 at her hometown gym on Long Island and began competing at the age of 9. She worked her way up to Level 6 and began competing in varsity gymnastics in 7th grade and continued all the way through high school.
Alissa is currently in her Senior year at SUNY Brockport, studying Kinesiology. After graduation, she plans to continue her education by pursuing a master’s degree in Childhood Inclusive Education. She has always had a passion for working with children, and through her experience working with children with special needs, has found how much she enjoys supporting and connecting with them. This experience has inspired her to pursue a career in inclusive education, with the goal of becoming a kindergarten teacher.
Alissa began coaching at Bright Raven Gymnastics in 2025 and really loves being a part of the gym. She feels coaching has allowed her to stay connected to a sport that has been such an important part of her life while also sharing her experience and love for gymnastics with younger athletes. One of her favorite parts of coaching is watching gymnasts build confidence, learn new skills, and celebrate their progress along the way.
Outside of gymnastics and school, she enjoys lifting, hiking, and painting.
Jessie VanDeMar started gymnastics when she was three years old. She joined the Bright Raven competitive team from 2006-2010 making it to level 8; her favorite events were floor & bars. After gymnastics, Jessie played club volleyball for a few years and joined the FLCC team in college. She graduated from FLCC & Niagara University with degrees in Tourism & Recreation Management. Jessie returned to Bright Raven as a coach in 2023 and works with the recreation classes.
Madi Walberger began working at Bright Raven in 2024, coaching many classes ranging from Tots to Novice Olympians. She started gymnastics at the age of 3 and transferred to Bright Raven to become a member of the Xcel Team. Madi remained a valuable member of the Bright Raven Team for 5 years before she moved to coaching. Madi decided to coach because of her love for the sport. She enjoys working with the kids and seeing the happiness and excitement that gymnastics brings them!
Christine Williamson joined Bright Raven in 2011 and currently works with the competitive team as a dance and beam coach. She also choreographs floor routines for competitive athletes. You will also find her subbing Parent and Tot classes, as she enjoys working with all levels.
During the day, Christine works full-time with the Creative Kids Movement Network, training and supporting new franchisees while continuing to teach dance and fitness classes in daycare centers. She is passionate about helping children build confidence, stay active, and discover a lifelong love of movement through fun, engaging, and encouraging classes.
Kathy King is the current owner of Bright Raven Gymnastics. After graduating in 1985 from the SUNY College at Brockport with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education with a concentration in Sports Management, she began working for Bright Raven. In 1988, Kathy purchased the gym. Since the day of purchase, Kathy has worked tirelessly in cultivating the program. Having moved the facility in Gates three times over the past 32 years, adding space with each change of location, her dream of opening a second gymnastics facility has finally come true. The space of the Gates and Victor facilities now culminate to a sum of 54,000 sq. ft.
Kathy’s passion has always been working with girls and boys of all ages and levels, though coaching the Tots & Company class is her favorite to teach. While gymnastics is her platform for which to work with the kids, teaching skills and concepts of the sport are only a portion of what she loves about her career.
Seeing gymnasts grow to be confident and intrinsically motivated individuals is what fuels her drive. Her favorite quote by Marc Anthony is this: “Do what you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” This quote truly encapsulates who she is, and it is reflected in her continual efforts and positivity in the gym. Kathy is devoted to consistently providing the best learning and coaching environment for both athletes and staff-members. She is very excited to open her doors in Victor as well as re-open her doors in Gates to get back to doing what she loves.