BGC STAFF

  • KEALA HOPPS

    Co-Owner / President / Coach

    Keala grew up doing gymnastics in Kirkland, WA and competed through Level 6 as well as on her Eastlake High School varsity gymnastics team.

    She began her coaching career while attending Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. She started by coaching preschool and recreational gymnasts and then started an in-house and Rec-Op Team program at the gym in Spokane. Upon her graduation from GU, she moved back to Seattle.

    Keala was called by the owner of a local Seattle gym and asked to come and manage the recreational program there. As director of the program for almost six years, she oversaw the hiring and training of the employees, helped with curriculum development and coached gymnasts in all recreational levels as well as Compulsory and Rec-Op Team girls.

    Since beginning coaching, Keala knew her end goal was to open and run her own gym. She has been passionate about watching kids develop a love for being active and involved in the sport of gymnastics. She is truly excited to bring her positive energy to Bothell and hopes to see you all in the gym!

    In her free time, Keala loves to travel and ski. She spent almost a year in 2011-12 traveling solo in Southeast Asia.

  • AMY LINHARDT

    Co-Owner / President / Coach

    Amy grew up in Oak Harbor WA. She did gymnastics at Oak Harbor Gymnastics School for ten years, retiring as an advanced optional gymnast at seventeen years old. She started coaching classes at her gym at age fourteen. After high school, she moved to Edmonds to attend college. During that time, she started working for a local gym. She was soon given the position of site manager, and decided that gymnastics was her true calling.

    During her 22 years working at the gym, she had the opportunity to run multiple different programs and sites. The first few years were spent running a site that offered a little of everything including recreational, preschool and lower level competitive teams. After her time there, she moved to another facility in the company and ran the competitive team program – USAG Levels 1-10. As the team grew, a separate facility was built to accommodate the growth. In that gym, development through level ten gymnastics was taught. Amy spent the next few years running that facility and developing staff and young gymnasts. Most recently, Amy has been running the gym’s preschool program.

    Amy is excited about opening Bothell Gymnastics Club and bringing her knowledge and experience to all of you!

    When Amy's not in the gym coaching gymnastics, you can usually find her and her husband supporting one of her two sons (aged 12 and 14) on the basketball court.

  • ADRIANE STEWART

    USAG JO Team Director / Coach

    Adriane grew up in Tacoma, WA and was a competitive gymnast at Grace Gymnastics Center. She competed through Level 8 and went on to do collegiate cheerleading at New York University.

    She began working with Amy and Keala in 2005 at a gym in Seattle. There she coached preschool, compulsory team and oversaw the Recreational-Optional Team program until 2010. Then, Adriane moved to Hawaii to complete an MBA at Hawaii Pacific University. While in Hawaii she worked for Hawaiian Island Twisters coaching USAG Levels 4 through 7 where her teams were four time state champions!

    Adriane is excited to be at BGC and grow a new Junior Olympic Team Program as the Team Director!

    In her spare time, Adriane enjoys spending time with her husband John, running and shopping.

  • MEG WHITNEY

    Coach

    Meg always loved doing gymnastics growing up, but it wasn’t until she moved to Mesa, Arizona in high school that she really started to excel in the sport. She trained at Desert Devils and competed as a level 10 for four years, during which time she won several State and Regional titles and finished 2nd in the all around at JO Nationals in 2008.

    After high school, Meg earned a full ride scholarship to the University of Washington. While at UW, she competed consistently on the vault and beam, helping to bring her team to the brink of qualifying for the NCAA National Championships three years in a row. Her favorite memories from her time as a college gymnast are upsetting Stanford to finish 3rd as a team at Pac-10 Championships in 2011, and hitting her career high score on vault during her final home meet as a senior.

    As a student-athlete at UW, Meg also excelled academically. She maintained the highest GPA on the team, and was awarded with the 101 Club Scholar Athlete of the Year award for the gymnastics team in 2013. She also received Pac-12 1st Team All-Academic Honors in 2012 and 2013. She graduated from UW in June 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and plans to go on to attend graduate school for physical therapy.

    While at Desert Devils Meg spent some time coaching, but she discovered her passion for coaching gymnastics through the GymDawgs Summer Camp at UW. She has coached at these camps for the last 3 summers and enjoys working with gymnasts of all ages and skill levels. She is excited to bring her gymnastics experience to Bothell Gymnastics Club, and can’t wait to help kids grow and build confidence through gymnastics.

    In her spare time, Meg likes to be active in any way she can. She also enjoys learning about physical therapy by volunteering in clinics and shadowing physical therapists.

  • KRIS POCH

    Registrar

    Kris is a native Washingtonian, born and raised in Shoreline. She graduated from the University of Washington with a BS degree in Math. Beginning her career at Safeco Insurance, she worked there for 7 years, lastly as a Business Analyst, before leaving when her first daughter was born.

    Kris is currently a stay-at-home mom, married with three daughters, Melanie, 16, Jessica and Rianna, 12. Kris now spends much of her time running kids to activities and volunteering at school. She has been involved with gymnastics for the past 10 years as a parent of gymnasts (Jessica and Rianna are member of BGC’s Rec-Op Team). When she has a free moment, Kris enjoys family time, gardening, reading, puzzles, and shopping with her girls.