From EVO to Yale!

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Jason Collins, EVO Athletics’ Chief Athletic Officer and Director of our men’s gymnastics program, and women’s elite coach has accepted a position to the full time women’s team coaching staff at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

“We are extremely excited for Jason’s evolution to collegiate coaching!  He has created an elite training program from scratch for men’s youth gymnastics here in Sarasota, Florida and we are honored to be a part of his legacy. Our athletes, coaches and parents have been blessed to work with him and learn from his expertise and we cannot wait to cheer on the Yale Bulldogs in the upcoming seasons!”

Collins started his coaching career in South Carolina as soon as he could drive at age 15. Collins attended the Juilliard School in New York where he obtained his Bachelors of Voice and then attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, PA for his Masters in Opera Performance. 

His first career was as a professional opera singer, and classical musician while traveling the globe to sing in front of crowds as large as 80,000 people. He came back to gymnastics later in life with a passion for the artistic side of the sport, a passion that was spurred from his formal training at The Juilliard School and The Curtis Institute.

His knowledge in helping his athletes train not only physically and technically but also mentally makes him stand out as a coach. This, along with his deep love for coaching makes Collins an asset to any program.

Collins has developed numerous National Champions for the YMCA  and South Florida Gymnastics (where he started in Sarasota) and for USAG men’s and women’s programs. 

He was awarded 2015 USAG Coach of the Year for the state of Florida.  He served as a coach for the United States Olympic Developmental teams 2015-2018, where Evo currently now has 2 Jr. National Team Members.  Mr. Collins has been honored  to train along side with partner and friend Aimee Boorman, 3 time World’s Gymnastics Coach, and Head Olympic Coach in Rio 2016 and  Olympian Simone Biles at the World Champions Centre in Spring, Texas.  Collins was also  instrumental in negotiations to have the United States Women’s National Team train at EVO.

Although retired now from the director of the men’s and elite women’s programs, Collins remains a partner of EVO and hopes to help advise athletes and coaches and is still committed to the success of EVO and all of its endeavors.

“It is an honor to be part of this legacy and to be allowed to have a voice as a Partner at EVO. The greatness of the EVO Gymnastics Program has guided me through many tough times, brought me unending joys, and it is the bravery and dedication of your children along with your support and belief in me that gave me the bravery to accept this new career and reach my goals. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” – Jason Collins

EVO Volleyball Stars Heading to Chosen Colleges

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This year, EVO Athletics 18 Select team proudly boasts not one, but two players moving on to play at the college level after graduation. Hannah Crum and Lilly Meadows were both recruited to play college volleyball, have both earned guaranteed spots on their college teams and have both received academic scholarships to their chosen colleges.

An accomplished leader and player, team Setter Hannah Crum will be attending Hollins University in Virginia. She has been homeschooled for the last two years and graduated from high school early, in February of this year. Crum plays for Bayshore High School’s volleyball team in addition to playing at EVO. In 2017, she was both the MVP and captain of her Bayshore team, the captain of her EVO team and was recognized with the EVO Coaches Award. This year Crum is once again her team captain at EVO and has been volunteering her time two nights a week to assist with coaching EVO’s 11-year old team. Crum will be majoring in Biochemistry. Her future plans include securing a highly sought-after internship with Estee Lauder Cosmetics and eventually creating her own skin care line.

A highly-successful multi-sport athlete, team Libero Lilly Meadows will be attending Clark University in Massachusetts. A senior at Braden Christian School, which she has attended since she was three, Meadows is set to graduate with honors and a GPA over 4.0. She competes in swimming, tennis and weight lifting in addition to volleyball. She has earned awards for Most Improvement in Tennis at BCS, and for Best Defensive Player at Suncoast Volleyball, which is now a part of EVO Athletics. Meadows will be majoring in Environmental and Conservation Biology and Spanish, with goals of earning her Master’s Degree and eventually working internationally.

Coach Katie McDonald couldn’t be prouder of her players, and says she is not at all surprised. A former top-level college volleyball player herself, the coach feels that the sport attracts some of the brightest young athletes because it is an intensely mental game – challenging them to outthink their opponents on every play.  McDonald sees her players learning not only the physical game, but a lot of transferrable leadership, interpersonal and teamwork skills, that she knows from personal experience will serve them well throughout their lives. After graduating from Missouri University of Science & Technology with her degree in Biomedical Engineering, McDonald turned down multiple offers to coach volleyball at the college level and settled in the Sarasota-Bradenton area. She accepted a position as the office manager for a three-office dental practice and, in less than three years, not yet 30, has already been promoted to Marketing Director.

Coach McDonald says Crum is a natural-born leader and a hard worker; a player who always shows up early and stays late, a natural at working with the gym’s younger athletes. She sees Meadows as one of the most mature and reliable players she has ever coached, asking for feedback to improve her game and truly listening, taking both praise and constructive criticism equally well.

Both athletes are excited to start the next chapter in their lives but had the same answer when asked what they will miss about playing at EVO: they will miss their teammates and Coach McDonald. Crum praised McDonald as the best coach she has ever played under. Meadows says she cannot imaging playing without this team and without Coach McDonald.

EVO Athletics offers Volleyball programs for all ages, starting with toddlers, and all skill levels, both recreational and competitive, for women/girls and men/boys.