Chelsea Piers Girls Gymnastics Team

Shay Williams /// Pre-Team to Level 7 Coach

Shay Williams comes to us from California where she coached gymnastics for two and a half years, and she has now been at Chelsea Piers for almost ten years. Shay has a B.A. in Psychology from Hunter College and holds a certification in Floor Pilates.

Would you share with us a little bit about your personal gymnastics experiences?
I started gymnastics at age seven after training in dance for five years. I remember that on my first day in the gym I was evaluated. One of the things I was asked to do was to perform as many pull-ups as I could. After the coach lifted me onto the bar I cranked out 30 effortlessly! Needless to say, the coach was very impressed and I began the sport at a sort of pre-team level. I began competing in less than a year in what would now be equated with level six. At age ten I was recruited to Bela Karolyi’s Olympic Training Facility in Texas. I competed through level 9 and ended my career as a gymnast at age eleven.

What would you say are your coaching highlights?
I believe that the biggest highlight for me is looking around the gym everyday and knowing that around ninety percent of the girls on our team began their careers with me. I started the Hot Shot program at Chelsea Piers almost ten years ago and have been coaching Pre-team groups for around seven years. It is amazing to see the same girls I taught at age five in Hot Shots who are now competing at high optional levels.

Do you have a quote you would like to share with the girls?
Yes, I have two quotes I would like to share:

“In order to succeed we must first believe that we can” -Michael Korda

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” -Beverly Sills