After decades in the gym, countless routines, and more athletes than anyone could easily count, this season marks the final year of coaching for Lakewood Gymnastics head coach Tom Glunt.

For many athletes, he has been more than just a coach. He has been a mentor, a motivator, a friend and someone who created a place where every gymnast felt like they belonged.

What Coach Glunt has built cannot be measured in scores, trophies, or records. He built a space where athletes felt safe enough to fail and brave enough to try again. For thousands of his gymnasts, the gym became more than a practice space; it became a second home.

He taught athletes that their worth was not defined by a routine or a score, but by their effort, character and willingness to keep going. Long after the final meet ends, the confidence, kindness and belief he instilled in his athletes will stay with them for the rest of their lives.


Coach Glunt talks with his team during a meet.
Coach Glunt has spent over four decades coaching, but his connection to the sport started long before that. “I started teaching gymnastics when I was 15. It was something I was relatively good at. I just stayed with it,” Glunt said.

From those early days to now, his career has impacted the lives of about 25,000 athletes. Some were top scorers and some needed a little extra help, but to Coach Glunt, they were all equally important.

“I’ve coached a kid that got a 1 on bars and a kid that scored a 10. The truth is, the kid that scored the 1 and the kid who scored the 10 — they still see me. They still contact me,” Glunt said.

For Glunt, success was never just about the perfect scores; it was about the environment he created and the confidence he built in his athletes. “But the thing that they can remember about me is that I was nice to them and gave them a space, gave them a place to be,” said Glunt.

Over the years, he has seen countless milestones, but the small moments have always meant the most. He recalled one specific moment from decades ago when a gymnast named Audrey first learned a kip on bars.

This past season, senior captain Charlotte Reed became the last athlete he coached to learn the same skill.

“If no one else learns a kip, I can live the rest of my life knowing Charlotte was the last one,” Coach Glunt said.

His decision to retire did not come easily. Health challenges have played a significant role in his coaching career, but he made the choice to return for one final season to finish it out with his senior gymnasts and to give everyone a proper ending.

“Sometimes it’s sad. Sometimes I just know it’s time, but I wanted this year to be for [the] girls,” Coach Glunt said.

Even with the sadness of stepping away, he looks back on his career with immense gratitude.

“I’m happy that I had so many years of happiness. It’s one of those ‘sad you got to leave, but happy you were there,’” Glunt said.

For assistant coach Emily Perez, who was once one of his high school gymnasts, his impact is deeply personal.

When her original coaches left during her senior year, Coach Glunt stepped in. “I kind of was like, ‘Who is this guy?’ He ended up being one of my favorite and most amazing coaches to step in my senior year and teach me a lot of new things,” Perez said.

Years later, she never imagined she would return to the sport as a coach. But Glunt reached out and encouraged her to take the position, even putting her name down for the position before she had fully decided. “It ended up working out perfectly, and it’s been a really cool experience,” Perez said.

Perez said one of the most important lessons she learned from him was to focus on the team itself and make sure everyone feels welcome.

“He focuses on making everyone feel confident and comfortable. I think his main focus is just people doing the best that they can. You know, winning is fun and it’s good to win, but it’s not everything, and I think he really focuses on it like you’re just doing what you can to improve yourself,” said Perez.

She also mentioned that Glunt greatly developed the gymnastics program. “I think he’s grown the program a lot, and he’s made it more of a family and more connected, and he just is really good at bringing people together,” Perez said.

As he prepares to step away, Glunt says it will be very difficult. “It’s gonna be hard to leave, but my physical health has to eventually take priority. Yes, it’s gonna hurt, but it’s how it is,” Glunt said.


Coach Glunt announces the teams at the meet.
All of Glunt’s gymnasts have nothing but nice things to say. They appreciate and love him dearly.

“I appreciate Coach Glunt a lot, and I love how supportive he is. He’s always hyping us up to [improve] our skills and is encouraging us to try harder and try new things.

“Maybe we don’t think we can do it, but he knows we can. I feel very lucky to have had him my freshman year and to see how he’s helped me grow as an athlete and how he’s grown as a coach as well. We all love Coach Glunt very much,” said Reed.

“I’ve only been on the team for a short time, but I’m so grateful for the effort, support and strength he has shown the team. I hope he knows how much you mean to all of us,” Gregan Burge, a junior on the team said.

“Seeing Coach Glunt show up for us over the years despite personal issues has been so empowering. He has been nothing but kind to the whole team and has made me not only into a better gymnast, but a better person. It’s been such a gift to have him as my coach throughout high school,” said Sara Surace, another senior captain on the team.

Still, his connections to the athletes that he has coached will never go away. “I keep [them] in my heart,” Glunt said.

For the Lakewood gymnastics program, his retirement marks the end of an era. But his influence and legacy will live on through all the athletes he has coached. He has built confidence, resilience and a true sense of belonging.

He created a program where every gymnast, no matter their skill level, felt valued and supported. He built a team culture that felt more like a family, where athletes could be themselves, improve at their own pace and know they had a place in the gym.

Through decades of coaching, he didn’t just build routines or records; he built people who were stronger, more confident and carried his lessons far beyond the sport. Each one of his athletes will hold him forever close to their hearts.


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