Don Brown
Don Brown co-founded the NC Airmen to provide young male gymnasts in North Carolina and surrounding states opportunities to compete in intercollegiate gymnastics. Don began gymnastics at age 10 in Florida and later earned a full scholarship to the University of Wisconsin at Madison. After the elimination of the program, he transferred to the University of Iowa, where he competed nationally and internationally, representing Team USA in Italy, England, and Israel.
With a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Iowa, Don pursued a career in environmental review in the transportation and energy sectors but remained deeply connected to gymnastics through coaching and judging. He co-founded TRIumph Gymnastics in 2014, coaching there until 2020, and launched the NC Airmen in 2024 to help young athletes build the same skills and values that shaped his own success.
Jim Miller
Jim is a product of North Carolina gymnastics, from Clemmer’s School of Gymnastics in Charlotte, NC. Jim went on to the US Air Force Academy where he competed as a NCAA Division I gymnast. He set and held the pommel horse high score record and season high average record throughout his time there and was elected as Team Captain. He was a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference selection in the All-Around and a USA Gymnastics All-America on Horizontal Bar.
After graduating from the Academy, during his first Air Force assignment, he served as a boys and girls team coach at Antelope Valley Twisters Gymnastics in Palmdale, California. While there, he received his National Gymnastics Judging Certification. He was selected to return to his alma-mater and became the Associate Head Gymnastics Coach at the Air Force Academy. He was recognized twice there as Instructor of the Semester and received the highest award possible for faculty, the Outstanding Academy Educator of the Year Award.
Jim completed his master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Nebraska and continued his Air Force career as a senior communications officer. He later served as a Senior Program Manager for the US Intelligence Community and now is an Executive Director and Portfolio Delivery Manager for Wells Fargo. Throughout his career, he has continued judging and joined Tri-County Gymnastics as their Director and Head Coach in 2019.
Chris Young
Chris is a North Carolina native who began his gymnastics training at age 9 at Salem Gymnastics in Winston-Salem. A talented multi-sport athlete, he enjoyed a successful junior gymnastics career, winning back-to-back National Vault titles in 1991 and 1992.
After high school, Chris attended the University of Minnesota for a year before returning home to continue coaching and pursue his Olympic dreams. He trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and earned a spot on the U.S. Men’s National Team in 1998, where he remained for two years. In 1999, he competed at the Pan American Games, helping the team earn a silver medal, and at the 1999 World Championships, where the team’s sixth-place finish qualified the U.S. for the 2000 Olympic Games. Chris competed in the 2000 Olympic Trials just months after recovering from an injury. Although he did not earn a spot on the Olympic team, he soon shifted his focus to coaching.
Since then, Chris has owned and led two successful boys’ gymnastics programs, producing numerous state, regional, and national champions. Known for his coaching expertise and emphasis on character development, he has been vital to helping numerous gymnasts earn college scholarships and compete for NCAA programs, including West Point, Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy.