don perry

    As a sixth-grader, Don Perry joined the Hamilton Tumbling and Trampoline Exhibition team at the request of Coach Jim Grimm and he performed with the team through his high school years. He went onto compete in gymnastics for The Ohio State University where he became the first four-year letter winner in any sport as a gymnast. Don also was the first Ohio State athlete to be a captain of an OSU team for three years in a row (1953, 1954 and 1955). He was undefeated as a tumbler in Big Ten dual meets in 1955 and placed second in the 1955 NCAA National Championships held at UCLA. Don was the first All-American gymnast and the first four-time All-American gymnast for Ohio State. He qualified all four years to compete in the NCAA National Championship meet. At the NCAA Championships he placed fourth in tumbling in 1953, fourth in trampoline and sixth in tumbling in 1954 and second in tumbling in 1955. He also finished fourth in tumbling at the Pan American Olympic Trials in Chicago. Don coached high school gymnastics for boys and girls for 28 years. In 1960, he helped restart boys gymnastics competition in Ohio by organizing the Ohio State Boys High School Gymnastics Coaches and Judges Association. Don was a USTA National Elite team coach beginning in 2012 coaching more than 800 state champions and more than 300 national champions in United States Trampoline and Tumbling Association (USTA) and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national championships. In 2017, Don was voted the USTA Coach of the Year  in Ohio.