Chris Smith, or Mr. Smitty to the children, is the lead instructor and manager for the Southern Village location of The Tumble Gym.  Most days you can find Chris acting silly on the floor with the children and having just as much fun as the kids. With his 18 years of tumbling experience along with 10 years of coaching school-aged children, Chris is able to create an environment that is fun, friendly and exciting.  Prior to working at The Tumble Gym, Chris coached tumbling and stunting for an All-Star cheerleading program in Greenville, NC.  With his help, the teams he coached won multiple national championships at varying levels.  Chris has a B.S. in Exercise Sport Science with a concentration in Health & Fitness from East Carolina University. While enrolled at East Carolina University, Chris was passionately involved in the cheerleading squad and set multiple strength and conditioning records.  Chris has a passion for fitness and hopes that his work with the children of The Tumble Gym will launch a similar passion in each student. During his free time, Chris is constantly pursuing a higher level of general fitness by using Crossfit.  Along with physical training, Chris enjoys the academic aspect of training and is continuously trying to improve his understanding of exercise sciences through personal studies.  He lives with his wife Megan, who is attending the pharmacy program at The University of North Carolina.

Markus Clark, Tumbling Instructor

Markus is a former UNC Cheerleader and has been working with children since he was a child himself.  He started volunteering a St. Joseph's preschool when he was in middle school, and since then as volunteered, tutored, coached and even babysat for kids of all ages.  Currently Markus works with Spirit Xpress, teaching camps and producing competitions.  His background includes Cheer, Dance, Step and Gymnastics.  In his spare time, Markus loves to sing opera and play tennis.

Sarah Doughty- Front Desk Administrator, Tumbling Instructor

Sarah comes to us with 10 years of child-care experience. She previously taught non-competitive gymnastics for over 4 years to children of all ages and feels that this type of setting is most conducive to increasing childrens self-confidence.  Sarah recently received a Master of Public Health degree from The University of South Florida and is passionate about health education and healthy lifestyles. In her spare time, she likes to read, travel and go to the beach, spend time with family and friends, and loves to learn new things. Sarah is excited about bringing her teaching experience to and growing with The Tumble Gym. She looks forward to working with you and your children!

Brittany Miller, Gymnastics Instructor

Brittany is a senior Psychology major at UNC-CH with a concentration in child development and a minor in biology.  She has ten years of dance experience in modern, jazz and ballet, along with two years of pointe.  Brittany has experience working with kids from her work as a counselor, science instructor, drama teacher, babysitter, and president of a service organization geared towards children.