Debby Bessette, Owner, Gymnastics Coordinator, Instructor, Cheer Tumble, Parents Cheer Coach

Born: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Favorite Sport: Gymnastics
Family: Husband and my best friend, George & 3 children:
Yasmine, Cheer Cat Senior Team Member and Coach for Cheer Cats Mini and Youth Teams;
Dominique, competitive swimmer and plays for the traveling U-13 soccer team;
George, competitive swimmer, wrestler and soccer player

Gymnastics Background:
Started gymnastics at the age of 8
Invited to compete for the Dutch National Team at age 10
Represented the Dutch Team at the 1979 World Championships in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX and the World Championships in Moscow, Russia in 1981. In 1982 at the age of 17, was recruited on a full ride scholarship to compete for Indiana State University. At Indiana State University, was named Athlete of the Year in 1984.

Teaching Background:
Graduated K-12 PE Teaching with a minor in Coaching.
Started teaching at the age of 17 for the Indiana State University gymnastics children's program.
Taught at the Indiana State University Gymnatics summer camps.
Taught for the Terre Haute Gymnastics Center.
Taught at Kim Kalla's Dance Studio.
Taught at The Gymnastics Spot in Mundelein.
Started teaching for American Stars which was sold and split up in 1998 into The Gymnastics Zone and American Stars of Dance.
Coached the Girls' Gymnastics Team at Antioch High School from 1998 - 2005.

Yasmine Bassette, Cheer Cats Mini & Youth Coach
yasmine@thegymnasticszone.com

Jenna Blasko, Level 1, Level 2 & Tumbling Instructor
jenna@thegymnasticszone.com

Personal Info: Born in Lake Forest, IL. Lived in Lindenhurst til 3, then moved to Antioch where she still resides. Loves her whole family! (especially her mom, dad, sister and cat)! Enjoys all types of arts and crafts - particularly graphic arts and coloring! Besides dancing and tumbling (of course).

Dance Experience: Started dancing at age 4. Began competing in group dances and as a soloist at age 6. At age 8, she was dancing with kids almost twice hr age. By age 12, she was traveling as far as Chicago to take dance classes. Took various workshops whenever possible (ranging from Ballet to The Rockettes). As she continued dancing, she boradened her abilities to jazz, tap, ballet, hip-hop, modern, lyrical and other styles of dance. In high school, she was involved with musicals for Children's Theater of Deerfield and Actor's Theater of Glencoe. While attending Arizona State University, she received dance scholarships, performed in more than 25 shows, and danced for professional artists. She was an intern for the Institute for Studies in the Arts for two years where she worked with professionals on various dance/technology projects. Jenna scheduled and participated in the Americal College Dance Festival (ACDF) where more than 500 students took dance workshops for an entire week. She graduated from ASU in 2002 with a FA in Dance Studies.

Tumbling/Gymnastics Experience:
At age 3, Jenna would go to the gym with her dad (Paul Blasko) and workout with the boys. She started tumbling at age 6 with Debby Bessette and began competing in group routines and as a soloist at age 7. Jenna was on the Varsity Gymnastics Team at Antioch High School for 4 years, captain the last 2 years.

Teaching Experience: Started teaching dance at American Stars at age 15. Taught dance and tumbling for the Village of Fox Lake during the summer of 2000. While attending ASU, Jenna taught (level 1) jazz 100 and tap 100, dance movement classes to elementary students, Modern to high school teachers and graduate students for the Dance and Technology Workshop.

Matthew Brocker, Boy Tumbling Instructor

Cassie Coor, Cheer Cats Director and Cheer Coach, Youth Team
cassie@thegymnasticszone.com
Cheer Cats Website

Personal Info: Cassie graduated from Northern Illinois University with a B.S. M Biology. She married Chris in 1998 and they have 2 beautiful daughters Faith (Cheer Cat Youth & Mini) & Lauren (Cheer Cat Mini).

Tumbling/Gymnastics Experience:
Cassie has 15+ years of competitive Cheerleading Experience:
St. Albert the Great Cheerleader (Burbank, IL)
Reavis H.S. Cheerleader (Burbank, IL)
ICF All-American Cheerleader 1992
Moraine Valley Cheerleader (Palos Hills, IL)

Teaching Experience:
USASF Credentials Levels 1-3
St. Albert the Great Varsity Coach (Burbank, IL)
Gymnastics Zone Cheer Cats Mini Coach, Antioch, IL (2005/2006 & 2006/2007)
Gymnastics Zone Cheer Cats Youth Coach, Antioch, IL (2006/2007 - present)

Personal Info: My family consists of my husband, Duane, and my daughter, Kendall, and our newest addition.

Education/Experience:
Coached recreational gymnastics for 17+ years
Coached competitive gymnastics for 11+ years
USAG Safety Certified
USAG Professional member

Current Position at The Gymnastics Zone:
Recreational Instructor
Competitive Team Director/Coach
USAG Director/Coach

Interests, Hobbies, Goals:
I love gymnastics along with every sport (besides golf)! I hope to have our teams win lots of trophies at The Zone!