well established and here for you
The Team
service with a smile
Meet Our People
At Young’s, we make sure first and foremost that all of the staff we hire love teaching and working with children! We look for enthusiastic, energetic instructors! In addition to those qualities, most of our staff have a background in gymnastics and/or cheerleading. We also provide regular staff trainings in order to provide the best and most knowledgeable instructors possible for our students. Read below to learn more about our management and staff!
coaching today's youth as a way of life
Management
take a closer look
Alan Young
Owner
Alan is a true Wake Forest native and a 1985 graduate of Wake Forest-Rolesville High School. He is one of few who can actually claim to have been born in the town of Wake Forest. Having grown up in the town, Alan realized the need for a quality facility that offered gymnastics instruction for children as there had been none when he was a child. After graduating from NC State University, Alan began his endeavor of opening a gymnastics and cheerleading school in the town during the fall of 1993. The doors opened for business on February 28, 1994 in the upstairs portion of what is now the Cotton Company in downtown Wake Forest. Since that time Young’s Gym has grown into what it is today: a stand alone 8,000 sq. ft air conditioned facility that houses the premier gymnastics and All-Star cheerleading program in the area.
Sam Shepherd
General Manager
Sam is the General Manager and Gymnastics Director at Young’s Gym. He is also the Head Coach for the Gym's Competitive Team. Sam has a passion for coaching and loves all things gymnastics, tumbling, and cheerleading. Sam was a competitive All-Star cheerleader for 10 years before starting his coaching career at Young’s Gym in 2012. From 2012-2016 Sam worked as a recreational gymnastics instructor and competitive cheerleading coach at Young’s before spending the next five years coaching competitive gymnastics at gyms in Virginia and North Carolina. Sam is a native of Albemarle, NC and now lives in Raleigh with his two dogs, Memphis and Murphy.
Shannon Young
Owner
Shannon is a Durham native and former middle school teacher of six years. She and Alan met in 1991 while teaching summer cheerleading camps together at NC State University. She is a graduate of Western Carolina University where she was a Catamount cheerleader for three years. After cheering in college, Shannon spent three seasons cheering for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers as a member of their cheerleading squad, the Topcats. She began working at the gym at the end of 2001 and took over the day to day operations of the business office and began revamping the all-star cheerleading program, the Wake Forest All-Stars. Alan finally got smart and married her in May of 2003! Shannon is the heart and soul of the Wake Forest All-Star cheerleading program and prides herself on running a very successful and well organized program. She and Alan welcomed the birth of their twin boys, Colby and Brody, on April 30th, 2007 and their third son, Casey, was born on November 4, 2008! Team Young is quite busy now as you might would imagine!
Lisa Pitzer
Office Manager
Lisa has been managing the business office of Young’s for more years than any of us can remember and is probably more recognizable to most of our clientele than either Alan or Shannon. You will most likely speak to her on the phone when you call. She has helped relieve Shannon of the every day duties of the business office. If you asked either Shannon or Alan who is the most vital employee in the organization, Lisa’s name would be the first one out of their mouths. Both of Lisa’s girls, Jordan and Jenna, cheered for the Wake Forest All-Stars and her family has been involved in the program for years, long before she began working in the office. Lisa is a vital part of Youngs Gym!
Jasmine Driscoll
Assistant Manager & Recreational Director
Jasmine is the new Assistant Manager and Recreational Director at Young's Gym. She is also a coach for the Gym's Competitive Team and is the Head Coach for the Jr. Pre-Team. Originally from Long Island NY, Jasmine has been living in NC for 10 years now with her Mom, twin sister, and two dogs. Jasmine has been coaching gymnastics for 8+ years while working at various gyms in the area! She also loves to play softball and is involved in a Co-Ed team with her church!
Coaches & Staff
Lauren Bradley
Rec Class Teacher
Lauren is a recreational class teacher and teaches Super Tots and Tiny Tots. She has lived in Wale Forest all her life and is a senior at Heritage High School. Lauren is very excited to make fun memories with the students at Youngs Gym!
Zoe D'Arcy
Rec Class Teacher
Zoe is currently a Junior at Wake Forest High School. Zoe has been a part of the Youngs Gym family for 3+ years as an athlete and for the last year as a teacher! Zoe did gymnastics for 6 years when she was younger and has been a competitive cheerleader for the last 6 years! Zoe plans to cheer in college and is excited for the opportunity to teach kids the sport that kickstarted her career as an athlete!
Fletcher Brown
Rec Class Teacher
Fletcher is a rec class teacher and teaches Super Tots, Girls 1 & 2, and Tumble 1 & 2. Fletcher did gymnastics for 10 years and is a former level 10 competitive gymnast. He is a student at Wakefield High School and is excited to have the opportunity to teach at Young's!
Hannah Hall
Rec Class Teacher
Hannah is a recreational class teacher from Beulaville, NC where she was on her high school varsity cheer team all 4 years and coached gymnastics for a year before moving to Wake Forest in August 2022. She is currently a student at The College at Southeastern studying to get her BA in Elementary Education and is set to graduate in December 2024!
Evie Benton
Rec Class Teacher
Evie teaches Girls 1 and Super Tots! Evie did gymnastics as a child and spent much of her time at Young’s Gym growing up. Evie is also a swimmer for the noncompetitive Granite Falls team. She is a junior attending Rolesville High School. She is passionate about teaching in a classroom in the future and is super excited for the opportunity to teach at Young’s this year!
Paydin Etheridge
Rec Class Teacher
Paydin grew up in Wake Forest and is a senior at Wake Forest High School where she is on the gymnastics team. She did gymnastics for 7 years and cheerleading for 3 years and has been coaching for 4 years. She is super excited to start the new season at Youngs!
Noah Manneh
Rec Class Teacher & Day Camp Counselor
Noah graduated from Rolesville High School in 2024 and is currently working on getting his degree in recreational therapy! He is a heavy weight wrestler and manager of the Rolesville wrestling team! Mr. Noah has coached gymnastics and tumbling at other gyms in the area and is very excited about the opportunities given to him at Young’s Gym!
Jan Maznicki
Day Camp Counselor
Jan is a native of North Carolina and has been a part of the Youngs family for 12+ years. She has raised two children of her own and has a grandson, Gavin, that she loves to spend time with outside of work! She also enjoys gardening, music and reading in her free time.
Colby Young
Rec Class Teacher
Colby is a recreational class teacher and teaches Tumble 2, 3 & 4 as well as Tiny & Super Tots. He has lived in Wake Forest all of his life and has been a competitive gymnast since the third grade. Colby is currently a student at Wake Forest High School and is very excited to start teaching at the gym this year!
Elli Mitchell
Rec Class Teacher
Elli is a former competitive gymnast that competed for 8 years. She ended her competitive career as an Xcel Diamond. Elli is currently a junior at Wake Forest High School and have been part of the varsity gymnastics team for the last 3 years. She is super excited to have this opportunity to teach kids the sport she loves so much!
Erika Taimela
Rec Class Teacher
Erika is a rec class teacher and teaches Cheer 1, Girls 1, and Tumble 1, 2 & 3. She is a former cheerleader at Young's Gym's Wake Forest All-Stars where she cheered for 4 years and also volunteered as a part of the Wonder Wolves Cheer Abilities Team. Erika is a junior at Wake Forest High School and a fun fact about her is that she can speak Finnish!
Nate Mooney
Competitive Team Coach
Nate is a competitive team coach here at Youngs! Nate started gymnastics classes when he was 4 years old. He grew up in Raleigh where he was a competitive gymnast for over 10 years. Nate has a passion for coaching gymnastics and tumbling, and loves helping students learn new skills! Nate still lives in Raleigh and is a recent graduate of Wake Tech with a degree in Interior Design!
Chloe White
Substitute Teacher
Chloe is a substitute gymnastics teacher and summer camp counselor! She started gymnastics when she was 3 years old and competed competitively for 8 years. Chloe is now a senior and varsity track and cross country runner at Heritage High School. She is looking forward to teaching and sharing fun memories with students at Young’s Gym!
Emery Newman
Rec Class Teacher
Emery is a sophomore at Cardinal Gibbons High School. She has been cheering competitively for 8 years and got her start right here at Young’s Gym! Emery loves to tumble, loves kids and is super excited to teach classes this year!
Annabelle Williford
Substitute Teacher
Annabelle has been a competitive cheerleader for the last 7 years, many of those years spent as a part of Young's Gym's Wake Forest All-Stars competitive cheer program. She loves tumbling and being at the beach and is currently a back spot for her cheer team! She is excited for the opportunity to work as a substitute teacher this year!