Springfield College

Dr. Steve Posner will enter his 35^th season as the head coach of the men’s gymnastics program during the 2016-17 academic year. At the helm of one of the premier collegiate men’s gymnastics programs in New England, Posner is also an associate professor of sport management at Springfield College.

Posner served as the gymnastics chair for the World Maccabiah Games in Israel in 1997, and was the chairman of the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Committee from 1991 to 1994.

A collegiate gymnast himself, Posner competed at the University of California and earned All-American honors in the floor exercise in 1974. The following year, he helped lead the Golden Bears to the NCAA Division I Championship. He was a member of the U.S. Elite National Team from 1973 to 1975 and won gold medals in the floor exercise and in the all-around at the 1973 Maccabiah Games.

Posner joined the Springfield College staff in 1982 after coaching at SUNY Cortland for two years. He also served as an assistant coach at Syracuse University from 1977 to 1980. Posner earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Cal-Berkeley, his master’s degree in physical education from Syracuse, and his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut.

Coaching Highlights

• Has coached student-athletes that have garnered 165 All-America honors, including 23 National Champions in his 35-year coaching career.
• Under Posner’s direction, the Pride has sent 13 student-athletes to the NCAA Division I Men’s Gymnastics Championships in the past two years, including a program-record seven in 2015.
• Has had three student-athletes reach the individual finals of the NCAA Division I Men’s Gymnastics Championships, competing against the likes of Stanford, Illinois, Oklahoma and Ohio State.
• Has had student-athletes win 14 ECAC-EIGL Championships, including Pat Ryther, who most recently won an ECAC Championship on Pommel Horse in 2015.
• Helped Jon Zirna ‘16 to become the first back-to-back First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American in over 30 years, and to compete in the Winter Cup in Las Vegas against some of the world’s best gymnasts.
• Helped Ryan Ponce ’14 to become the first Division I All-American in 30 years, as he finished 3^rd on the Rings in 2014.
• Led the Pride to three straight USAG crowns from 1991 to 1993
• Selected as the USAG and National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC) Division II-III Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1993, and earned NCAA Eastern Regional Coach of the Year honors in 2002.
• Received the prestigious CGA Coaches Honor Award for his 25 years of meritorious service to the sport of gymnastics.
• Earned NACGC East Region Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2009, before garnering Coach of the Year honors at the ECAC-EIGL Championships in 2012.