About Apollo Beach Gymnastics Academy
A family-owned gym rooted in three decades of competitive coaching, serving the Greater SouthShore. We built this place on what we learned in Idaho and what we believe in Florida.
From flip factory to Florida
Tammy started coaching at seventeen in the gym where she learned the sport. She and Todd built something real in Idaho, a program that sent state champions and scholarship athletes into the world. Their son Austin grew up in that gym, surrounded by the work. When family called them home to Florida, they brought the program with them. ABGA opened in 2020 and now serves the Greater SouthShore from a full facility in Gibsonton.
Meet the owners
Three decades of coaching experience built this place.
Michelle – Gym Operations Manager
“Call Me”
Michelle keeps ABGA running. As Gym Operations Manager, she handles the day-to-day work that makes the gym feel like a place families want to return to, from answering the phone to keeping the lobby in motion. The kids call her the gym Auntie, and most of them know she carries smiley-face Band-Aids for the inevitable scraped knees.Before joining ABGA, Michelle served in the U.S. Coast Guard and co-founded Florida Exotic Realty Group with her husband André Ciappetta. She also spent years as a stay-at-home mom raising her son Christian, with stints as class mom and Cub Scouts den parent. Outside the gym, Michelle volunteers with local community causes and continues to run the realty business with her husband.
The coaching team
Coaches who grew up in the sport
Sydney grew up in a gym and competed from the time she could walk.She is a multi-time Idaho State Champion with podium finishesacross the Pacific Northwest and Southwest. She has been coachingfor over eight years and brings a strong dance background to herchoreography work with the competitive teams. Sydney directs therec program and co-directs team.
Austin grew up around gymnastics because his parents own the gym.He stepped away at 10 to play football and came back to the sportat 15. As a competitor he was the first ABGA gymnast to qualifyfor regionals and the first to qualify for Eastern Nationals,jumping three levels to compete as a Level 7 in his senior season.He now coaches everything from one-year-olds to adults,specializing in tumbling and boys team.
Jewel-Lee competed in gymnastics through Level 4 and optionalsover nine years before transitioning into coaching. She has coachedgymnastics for six years and cheer for five, with All-Star andhigh school cheer experience of her own. Her favorite class tocoach is team, where she gets to watch gymnasts work toward theirupper-level skills and land them. At ABGA she coaches all levelsincluding adults.
Tori cheered for 13 years on All-Star squads and coached All-StarCheer Special Athletes for six. She joined ABGA to coach Pre-teamand rec classes through Intermediate. Pre-team is her favorite,with the chance to see routines improve week over week.
Coach Katie brings more than six years of coaching experience at the compulsory and recreational levels. Her own competitive career spanned twelve years, reaching Level 9. Floor was her favorite event, and the double back tuck was the skill she was proudest to compete.Katie attended USF, where she spent a year with the USF Gymnastics Club. She graduated with a degree in Secondary Math Education and now teaches middle school math during the day, then coaches at ABGA after school.When she's not in the gym or the classroom, Katie sews and lifts weights. Born in Michigan and raised mostly in Florida, she lives with two dogs and a cat. She has one younger brother. Her favorite color is purple.
Rachel was a gymnast for 10 years growing up and served six years in the Navy before becoming a coach at ABGA. She coaches Advanced Girls and Rookies, with part-time coverage of the boys classes.
Advanced Girls is her favorite for the work ethic and the stress-free energy the gymnasts bring.
Kiley competed for 16 years and has been coaching gymnastics and
tumbling for seven. She works with the competitive teams and rec
classes for both girls and boys, and especially values the bonds
she builds with her athletes inside and outside the gym. She holds
a degree in exercise science and works as a stretch practitioner
while studying to become a physical therapist.
Brandon competed in gymnastics for 15 years and has been coachingfor three. He coaches Boys Team and Boys Rec, with team as hisfavorite for the chance to develop new drills and teach advancedskills. He is studying computer software engineering in college.
Coach Makayla spent two years in recreational gymnastics before moving up to team, where she competed for two and a half years. The part of coaching she loves most is watching a kid learn a new skill and level up.What keeps her at ABGA is the people. Makayla has built real bonds with the gymnasts she coaches, and the families and staff she's gotten to know feel like part of that, too.
Come see the gym for yourself
Book a free trial class and meet the coaches
