Founder - Brad Miller
I played volleyball and soccer at Westmont College in Southern California and later coached volleyball and soccer at La Canada High School. I have a law degree from Northwestern University and am a practicing attorney. More importantly, my incredible wife Ruth and I have four children; Trevor, Joshua, Matthew and Rebekah. Years of coaching our kids in a variety of sports and watching numerous camps have convinced me that despite the many opportunities available, there are too few consistent providers of great fundamentals and character education. So I hired the following great coaches to put together programs that will stand out for their excellence in teaching, their dedication to communicating character virtues, and their personal devotion to caring about kids. I think you will agree that these folks are what make Great Starts Sports Camps the place that builds young athletes with character:

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Gymnastics/Tennis - Head Coach Jen Martin (Assistant Director, Tri-Lakes Area)

Jennifer Martin is a mother of three and also a coach for many sports. She is our new Assistant Director for the Tri-Lakes Area and is well known as a gymnastics instructor and involved parent in District 38.  As kid, she was a gymnast and then later acquired a varsity letter in high school for tennis, softball and soccer. In high school, she was an assistant supervisor for San  Ramon Valley Community Center. Later, she was trained as a gymnastic coach at Diablo Gym in California. Jennifer graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a Bachelors in Psychology. While in College, she played tennis and also joined the waterski club. After college, she became Director of Social Services for a convalescent hospital from 1992-1998. The family then moved to  Colorado in 2000 where Jen taught at the  Sun Dance Studio for gymnastics until 2006.

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Operations - Gary Betsch, Assistant Director Colorado Springs

Gary and his wife Mary have two kids and live in Colorado Springs.  Gary's vast background as a youth pastor and children's pastor at churches including The Gathering makes him the perfect fit as our director of operations.  You likely will meet Gary next time you start a course with us, he seems to be everywhere!

 

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Men's and Women's Basketball - Head Coach Phil Johnson
Phil Johnson moved to Colorado Springs in 1958, attended area schools, and graduated from Mitchell’s first class in 1966. He went to Colorado State University on a baseball scholarship and played two years in the San Francisco Giants Organization. Phil taught in Colorado Springs Middle Schools for 31 years coaching basketball, wrestling, and track. His passion was basketball and he devoted a great deal of time taking teams to tournaments, running camps and developing a strong feeder program. He coached Doherty High schools girls for two years and took them to the state championship game both times. Phil currently coaches at UCCS in the women's program. Phil has been married 36 years to his wife, Debra, who is a teacher. He has three children, two who are teachers and one who is employed with Cingular.

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Gymnastics - Head Coaches Jason Vonk and Amanda Strnad (bio pending)

Jason Vonk

Was on a mini trampoline team with Calvary Church in

Grand Rapids, Michigan for 7 years.

Coached at Gymco in Grand Rapids from   1995-2000.

Coached preschool thru level-9 at Aerials   from   2000-2004.

One of the owners of Stars Gymnastics.

B.S. in Mathematics

B.S. in Computer Science

Minor in Physical Education

First Aid Certification

USAG Safety Certification

Enjoys Sports, being outside and Christian Faith.

 

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Football - Head Coaches Tony Kapustka, Frank Haist, Nate Sassaman
Frank Haist and Nate Sassaman Bios Pending

Tony Kapustka , a farmboy originally from a small town in Iowa, moved to Colorado Springs in 1997 after graduating from the University of South Dakota that same year. While at USD, Tony was a varsity letter winner in track and field and also coached middles school football and received his degree in Elementary Education. Tony has taught in Colorado Springs for 9 years including the last 8 at Challenger Middle School and has coached football, boys and girls' basketball, and track and field. This year. Tony will begin his first season coaching high school football as an assistant coach at Pine Creek High School . Tony has coached at a variety different camps throughout his time in Colorado including football camps at the Air Force Academy and the Fellowship of Christian Athlete's camps. Tony has been married 7 years to his wife, Kristie, who is a tremendous mom and spouse. They have 2 children. Kylie, who is 7, is active in Brownies and sports, and Donald, who is 4, who is active in sports and superheroes. Tony's hobbies include being a dad and husband and being involved in the coaches' FCA huddle.

Inka VanConant Lyall went to high school in England, where she both cheered and danced for four years.  She has won top honors for both sports, and was given an invitation to dance in the Macy's Day Parade her junior year.  She was Captain of the Dance Team her junior year and Captain of the Varsity Cheerleading team her senior year.  Inka next attended and graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she danced for two years.  She married, and coached a successful competition team and a varsity team for 3 years at a small American school in Stuttgart, Germany.  Inka then took a break for a few years to start a family, and now has two sons, a five year old and a 1 year old.  Her husband, Brad, teaches math at Mitchell High School in town, while she stays at home with the children.  She started coaching cheer again this past year, at The Classical Academy, where she assisted the Head Coach for the Junior High & Competition teams.  The competition team took high honors, and competed in Nationals, held in Orlando, Florida.  This year, she will be the Head Coach for TCA, and work primarily with the Varsity & Competition teams.

Wrestling - Head Coach Jay Eide

Coach Jay is the Assistant High school and Junior High wrestling coach at the Classical Academy.   He also runs a Freestyle/Greco-Roman wrestling club called the Titan WC.  Jay believes that early involvement in any sport is often advantageous to the student athletes of today. Jay started wrestling when he was 8 and continued competitively into his freshman year of college at South Dakota State.  Statewide, Jay placed 6th and 3rd respectively in his Junior and Senior years of High school in Nebraska . As well, he won numerous USA youth wrestling State Championships in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman. Jay is excited to have the opportunity to coach at the Great Starts camps this summer. This course offers a wonderful opportunity for any boys interested at any experience level.  The numbers will be small enough that there will be intense one on one instructions, so come and learn one of the world's oldest sports in a fun and challenging atmosphere.