Giuseppe Verzino

Hello, I am Coach Giuseppe. Some call me Coach Joe for short. I am the proud owner of Thames Valley Gymnastics!

I have been doing gymnastics since I was 13 years old. I competed up to Level 10 before graduating High School, and making the NCAA team at Springfield College.

I have been coaching gymnastics since I was 16. And I have been coaching competitive teams for over 10 Years. I have worked with gymnasts of all ages and levels including Pre-School, Recreational Classes, Mens and Women’s Levels 3-10, and XCEL Bronze – Sapphire.

Gymnastics has been my number one passion since I started as a teenager. I plan to share my passion with all of the gymnasts that I work with!

Sue Portofee

Hi! I am Sue Portofee.

I am a proud Mom of 3 children. My position here at Thames Valley Gymnastics has evolved over the last 16 years. I started as a member of this gym family coaching preschool & recreational gymnastics. As of this time I still coach a bit yet I am now the Administrative General Manager & CT Certified Summer Camp Director for Thames. I am USAG and Safe Sport Certified. I hold a degree in Criminal Justice specializing in juveniles. For 24 years I owned and operated my own daycare. Despite the admirable qualities of our criminal justice system, I believe that proper guidance, love and nurturing will prevent our children from entering it. I also believe that GYMNASTICS is not only the best sport out there but it can play a quintessential role into all other aspects of life. It is a sport that requires physical and mental discipline that is foundational for success in anything you choose to do. My son Kevin is a shining example of this. After training at Thames Valley Gymnastics most of his life Kevin had more than one offer to join an NCAA Division 1 Men’s Collegiate Gymnastics Team. Kevin chose to attend the prestigious College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. He graduated Norwich Free Academy in the top 10% of his class (628 students and a 4.0 GPA!). I believe that Gymnastics & Thames Valley (his home away from home 30 hours a week) was an important aspect of his journey. To achieve this level of excellence in anything you need to have not only an innate ability to time manage, but also a drive and desire within yourself. Even with these traits, success is much harder to achieve without a village of support surrounding you. Thames Valley Gymnastics, along with his family, was that village of support. I am proud to be a member of that village. If you are looking for a gym to call home, I’ll be there at the front desk to welcome you😊  

The following are the remainder of my certifications: CPR , First Aide,  AED, Administration of Meds, EPI Pen, mandatory reporting, safety & risk management, hands on spotting & CT Child Care certified. I am background checked by USAG, State of CT and the FBI.

Danielle “Dee” Jewett

Dee’s interest in the sport of gymnastics began at a young age and when she was finally enrolled in class at Thames Valley at the age of 12, she never looked back. Her love of the sport has only grown over the years, despite a few painful setbacks, and she now tries to pass along her passion for the sport through coaching.

Coaching is one of the many “hats” Dee wears around the gym working with athletes in preschool classes up to the competitive team and everything in between. She is occasionally found in a tool belt acting as handyman, and also puts her photography degree to use as the gym’s photographer.

Dee is a USA Gymnastics Professional member for both the men’s and women’s disciplines, is USAG safety certified, and taken courses through the USA Gymnastics University program.

Coach Lynn

I did recreational gymnastics starting at age 6 and I learned enough to be able to compete for my high school team.  I started teaching at a township recreation program in the summer of 1994 and started teaching classes at the local gym the next year.  I taught gymnastics while I attended Cook College part of Rutgers University.  I continued to teach and eventually started coaching their rec. team as assistant coach. I continued at the same gym until they shut their doors in February 2012. In August 2012, I started to work at TVAG. I have attended regional and national congress’ to expand my knowledge in the sport of gymnastics. I also completed several of USAG continuing education courses and I am safety certified by USAG. I love gymnastics and I love to teach it too. I have enjoyed the many years of helping to nurture young gymnasts into confident young women.

Sydney

Hi! My name is Sydney and I am a proud member of Thames Valley Gymnastics. My mom introduced me to gymnastics as soon as I could walk, thinking it would be good for me to do and I hoping that I would enjoy it. I started competing at the age of 6 in level 3. I spent 12 years competing for Thames Valley and reached Level 9. I have had my fair share of injuries and mental blocks, but I pushed through. I am known very well for my fails and falls. Believe it or not, I received the “Epic Fail” award at our team banquet. It fits me perfectly because I burn and crash every day and live to tell my story. All my years at Norwich Tech, I remained in High Honors. I will be going to Three Rivers Community College this Fall, and will be majoring is Exercise Science and minoring in Psychology. I decided to stay around home instead of going away for college so that way I could stay at Thames Valley and continue my coaching and gymnastics. I have been coaching for 6 years now and went from teaching preschool classes to coaching level 8s. I connect with kids very easily and absolutely love watching them grow and learn new skills. Thames Valley is not a typical gym. We are a family here and I couldn’t be any happier to be a part of the big Thames Valley family.