Kent State Gymnastics Camps

Coaching Staff

Assistant Coach and Camp Director Sharon Sabin

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Camp Staff - Several other well-qualified instructors, as well as current Kent State gymnasts will be on hand to coach campers.

Sharon Sabin begins her tenth year as a member of the Kent State gymnastics coaching staff in 2012.

The Golden Flashes have captured three Mid-American Conference championship meet crowns during Sabin's tenure as an assistant coach, including back-to-back titles in 2008 and '09.

Sabin's coaching resume includes experience at the Big Ten, Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference levels.

Sabin came to Kent State from Debi and Rick’s School of Gymnastics in Pittsburgh, where she served as the head coach. Prior to that position, she served as the assistant coach at the University of Illinois for two years. She spent a year as a personal trainer and aerobic instructor while volunteering as an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma. She also served as a gymnastics coach and public relations assistant for the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in Norman, Okla.

She had a three-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky -- her alma mater, from 1994-1997 -- where she was in charge of coaching, meet management and recruiting. While at Kentucky, she helped mentor Jenny Hansen, who was the NCAA all-around champion for three consecutive seasons.

In 1997, Sabin received her master’s degree in health promotion from Kentucky, where she was a varsity gymnast from 1989-94. She is married to Ray Sabin, who is a fomer Kent State wrestler. They have twin daughters, Molly Patricia and Olivia Hudd, who were born on June 24, 2007.

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Courtesy: Kent State Athletic Communications

Craig Ballard enters his first season as a member of the Kent State gymnastics coaching staff in 2011-12.

Ballard spent the last three seasons as the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Bowling Green where he helped spearhead a turnaround that saw the Falcons go from last place in the Mid-American Conference to fourth and improve seven positions in the final national rankings. He tutored six gymnasts to NCAA Central Regional berths in three years. Prior to his arrival at Bowling Green, Ballard spent the '08 season as the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Rhode Island, earning Eastern College Athletic Conference Assistant Coach of the Year honors as the Rams took second place at the conference championships. Ballard got his start in collegiate coaching as a team manager/student coach at West Virginia, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in communication studies in '06.

Follow Coach Ballard on Twitter @GymCoachCraig.