MEET THE FOLGERS
Mark and Penny Folger have been operating Folger's Gymnastics since 1986. They have a son (Brad) and a daughter (Amber). Their background as gymnastics coaches and parents allows them to see youth sports from "both sides of the fence."

Penny Folger directs the programs for 1 1/2 - 6 year olds. Penny was trained by Becky Buwick, a 1988 Olympic Coach who coached Kelly Garrison to 2 NCAA All-around titles and a spot on the 1988 Olympic Team. Penny has been teaching pre-school gymnastics in Kansas and Oklahoma since 1981. She has completed the Kinder Accreditation Training Program through USA Gymnastics. Her tremendous amount of knowledge and experience is the foundation of our very successful pre-school program. In addition, Penny directs the recreational programs for 7 year olds and up and is in charge of staff training for those programs.

Mark Folger directs the competition and pre-competition programs for 5 year olds and up. His background in gymnastics has taken him many places and provided numerous rewards as a competitor and coach. After winning 2 Wichita High School Championships and 1 State Championship, Mark attended Kansas University where he earned All Big-8 honors as a freshman. After 2 years at KU, transferring to the University of Oklahoma allowed Mark to train for 3 years with Olympic and World Champion Bart Conner under the guidance of the 1980 assistant Olympic Coach. Mark earned 2 more All Big-8 honors, a Bachelor of Education degree and coached his first state champion team while at OU. He was part of the 1981 Oklahoma Sooners that won the Big-8 Championships and placed 2nd at the NCAA Nationals, a meet that featured every member of the 1984 Olympic Team that won the Gold in Los Angeles. While studying sport sciences in graduate school, Mark coached with Bela Karoyli, former Romanian and United States Olympic Coach who produced Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton and Kim Zmeskal.

It was during these hectic years as a competitor, coach, graduate student and husband that Mark formed the foundation of his gymnastics system that still supports the programs that he and Penny run today. The exposure to high level gymnastics, great coaches and many hours in the library studying youth sports lead to the philosophy that doing what's right for each child must come first. The top priority is to teach children to love gymnastics and to participate because it's enjoyable. With this accomplished, it is then possible to develop great gymnasts.

Mark has been coaching since 1976. He's coached state champion teams in Oklahoma and Kansas, served 3 terms as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation Kansas State Chairman for boys and is currently the USA Gymnastics' State Chairman for girls