2024 RICH TREVINO: Rich was a Varsity Baseball player, marching band member then started gymnastics in high school when his home room teacher at Robert E. Lee High School in San Antonio, Texas invited him to try a practice session in 1972. He enjoyed the strength challenges, the sense of flying and camaraderie with members of the team. His teammates took him to practice at the YMCA with Ruben Villalobos and really took a liking to the sport. Soon after he attended a local gymnastics school Gueguen’s Gymnastics where he started coaching in exchange for training. Fellow participant, Jack Hyman, and Past GAT President, began a new club called San Antonio Gymnastics School (SAGS) and Rich transferred to his club. By his Senior year in High School, Rich quit the band, quit baseball to pursue gymnastics full time.

Rich was working at 3 clubs then would train at night. Throughout high school Rich would teach at many camps and clinics including Texas Summer Gymnastics camp from 1974 to 1981. He transferred to the University of Arizona gymnastics team in 1977 however, injuries took their toll. He transferred to University of Texas El Paso to coach with Life Member, Pat Hamilton who also owned Texas Summer Gymnastics Camp along with Life Members and mentors Pat and Nikki Yeager, Marcus Yancey, Mr. GAT, Brian Schenk and Rudy Magdeleno. The experience at Texas Summer Gymnastics Camp allowed him to work with many talented coaches and learned the history and to respect and honor the coaches who came before him when the sport was very young. One thing stuck with him from his time spent with Pat Yeager, the 1960 Olympic Games Coach. He said that he wanted to pass on to Rich and of course others, that we were to “pass the torch to the next generation of coaches and athletes”. This request is what Rich has tried to do throughout his career.

While coaching at UTEP Rich also coached with Pat Hamilton at his private club gym, Super Novas training Level 10’s, Elites and World Class competitive tumblers. After the Olympic boycott of 1980, Pat left El Paso and Rich became Head Coach of the University and began a Con-tinuing Education team of local athletes and an age group team from Jua-rez, Mexico. Rich while coaching, recruiting, traveling and doing camps and clinics all over the country including Muriel Grossfeld’s camp 1979 plus his age group teams, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engi-neering from UTEP graduating in 1981. When Bela and Marta Karolyi defected in 1981, Pat Alexander connected with Bela and decided to or-ganize a traveling summer camp in 1982 including Rich as Master Staff. On the 5th week of the traveling camp, it made its way to Memphis, Ten-nessee. There he met and fell in love with his wife of now 40 years, Mar-ilyn. She moved to El Paso and became the choreographer for UTEP and coached the age group teams as well. Due to Title 9 issues at the University, UTEP decided to drop gymnastics and Rich and Marilyn moved to Dallas to work with Kenny Vinyard in Mach of 1983 at Gymnastics of Texas I(One) and the satellite gym in Lancaster, Texas called Gymnastics of Texas 2. The club was small and Kenny offered to sell them the satellite gym in June of 1984. When Mary Lou Retton won the 1984 Olympics, their waiting list grew to a year and a half.

The gym expanded quickly from 6000sqft to 9000sqft and then 12,000sqft. and they coached many Champion athletes at State, Region-also, Nationals and Elite athletes through the 80’ and 90’s. In 1997 they moved into their 20,000sqft facility where they ran many successful competitions including an 18 year run with the Carol Hilgenberg Invitational, where the club incorporated a new level of entertainment for meets with costumed characters, skits and extremely decorated and themed competitions. Trevino’s program was first to begin the Sports Acro program in Texas growing the sport from year 2000. They enter-tained many International visitors at their gym including World Champi-ons, a Welsh Team, Mexican clubs and exchanged ideas and techniques over the decades. They were fortunate to take many International trips with their athletes several times to train, lecture and share. Trips includ-ed a 3 week driving travel trip from Frankfurt, Germany to Vienna, Aus-tria, Romania, Budapest and back training with various clubs with the invitation coming from the Hungarian National Team. Another was a 10 day trip to Moscow, Russia where they stayed at Dynamo Club and toured the historic gyms of the time. Also trips to England and Wales, Portugal and Spain. Rich also served on several State Boards for USAG Texas, American Gymnastics Association, Texas Amateur Athletic Federation, and he also was awarded for years of service and being “an Ideal Role Model for Youth” in June of 2006 by the Texas State Board.

Throughout all of these years, they have seen so many athletes that have gone through the program to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, nurses and many who have continued to “pass the torch” to become coaches and gym owners across the country. They have passed to their kids who continue in his footsteps. They challenge all to “Please continue to pass the torch!”

This is Rich’s 52nd year of coaching gymnastics and 40th year of marriage to Marilyn and running Trevino’s Gymnastics School in Lancaster, Texas. They have 2 kids Richard, 39 years old who runs the Trampoline and Tumbling program at the gym for over 20 years producing Elites, many National Champions and traveling Internationally as well. Their daughter, Katelyn, is a highly accomplished SEC scholarship Athlete of the Year at University of Missouri, 2 Master’s degrees and has her own mental health business for gymnasts, her own clothing line and is a published author while running the artistic program of the gym.

His greatest joy is that their business has been able to keep his family working together daily where we get to see their kids grow up, develop into wonderful, successful coaches take family vacation and business trips. They’ve toured Europe, Asia and more with the family business, Trevino’s Gymnastics School. One of his proudest moments was in 2009 when his wife and he were able to coach their son and daughter to Nationals. The Championships of the USA as a Senior Elite Trampoline for Richard and to Junior Olympic Level 10 Nationals for Katelyn. Several years later, he had the blessing, joy and pleasure to be on the floor coaching their Trampoline and Tumbling team and Artistic team alongside of his kids at the same meet.

This award is a great honor and he’s proud to share it with all of you and wished he could have shared this moment with those who have already passed away.