Debbie Yohman Hometown: Sharon, Pa. Position: Head Coach Birthdate: 10/21/1955 Alma Mater: Clarion, '77

Phone: (412) 648-8328

E-mail: dyohman@pitt.edu

Debbie Yohman begins her 22nd season as the head coach of Pitt's gymnastics program eager to add to an already illustrious career that has been filled with many individual record-breaking moments and tremendous team accomplishments. Coach Yohman has worked tirelessly for more than two decades to help mold young women from this university into fierce competitors and productive members of society. The fruits of her labor, both in and out of the gym, have come in many forms, including quality recruits from Olympic-caliber gyms and an ever-increasing amount of national recognition for the program. These successes have Coach Yohman, and everyone associated with Pitt gymnastics, excited for the program's bright future.

Success is not a new phenomenon for Coach Yohman and the Panthers. In 2000, she coached her team to a second-place finish as they hosted the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championships. Then in 2004, she watched as Alyse Zeffiro recorded the Panthers' first two perfect 10.0 scores on the vault and floor exercise. Last season, Yohman's team received a bid to the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships for the third consecutive season and the 17th time in her 22 years at the helm.

An ECAC Coach of the Year, EAGL Coach of the Year and the 2002 Northeast Region Coach of the Year, Yohman has produced numerous decorated athletes over the years. Zeffiro was a 2004 league champion on the vault, Danielle "Freddie" Alba was EAGL balance beam champion, and Samantha Salyers won Uneven Bars both at EAGL & NCAA Regionals. Last season, Yohman coached two gymnasts to EAGL titles and senior Andrea Arlotta earned Northeast Region Gymnast of the Year Honors after becoming Pitt's all-time leader in points with 1,609.180. Arlotta was also the first Pitt all-around competitor to qualify for the NCAA National meet.

In addition to having successful competitors, Yohman said one of the major highlights in the last 22 years is the new state of the art training facility.

"The facility affords us all kind of opportunities for training skills of any level--from learning new to refining current skills," said Yohman. "We have become more attractive athletically than we were in the past. We couldn't train girls who wanted to compete. People are now aware of our current facility. We've been able to raise the level of our gymnastics and our expectations, and we're getting more looks by higher caliber athletes."

The new facility has aided to the progression of Yohman's program and has attracted national attention, drawing in new recruits from Olympic-caliber gyms. For the past two seasons, Yohman has brought in a number of influential gymnasts. Their hard work and motivation rubs off on the other gymnasts and makes them all work harder. When asked about the Panther newcomers, Yohman talks about the demands that are being put on them and the veterans.

"We are so excited about our freshman class. Talk about a complete package! These girls are all strong all-arounders who have had success at the national level. They are strongest on the events (vault and floor exercise) that we needed to shore up and are aggressive competitors in the remaining events. Their work ethic is evident both in the gym, where they are efficient in their workouts, and in our conditioning, which is new to them. They are pushing the upper classmen even harder than last year's freshman class!"

Yohman's gymnasts may have achieved many successes in the gym, but they have been equally strong in the classroom. In the last ten years, 54 Panther gymnasts have been named to the EAGL All-Academic team with seven of them being named to the team for four consecutive years. The team has also boasted over 70 NACGC/W All-American Scholar Athletes having a grade point average of 3.5 or better.

"With Coach Yohman at the helm, our women's gymnastics team has always had exemplary student-athletes proudly representing the University," said Senior Associate Athletic Director Carol Sprague. "I am thrilled with the completion of a dedicated, state of the art, Women's Gymnastics Training Center in August of 2004 and I am confident she now has all the tools necessary to guide our team to the upper echelon of the EAGL Conference."

Yohman has also had a long association with successful gymnastics programs as a competitor. During her collegiate career, she was a member of the 1976 national championship team at Clarion University. Additionally, she served as a student assistant for Clarion in 1977, also a national championship season, and then as a graduate assistant at the University of Iowa (1977-79).

Her head coaching career began at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1982. From 1982-86, she helped the Division III Panthers transition to the Division II level, giving the school an opportunity to offer scholarships for the first time. Under Yohman's guidance, the program rose from the cellar of the WWIAC to a national contender, as they finished runner-up to national champion Univeristy of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Following her tenure at UWM, she returned to the Division I level as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State. She spent four years in Stillwater before coming to Pittsburgh.

Yohman is a current representative and former chair of the Women's Collegiate Program Committee and previously was the NCAA Gymnastics Coaches representative to the Women's Technical Committee (WTC) of USGF. Yohman also served for four years as chairperson of the ECAC Division I Selection Committee. She has served as meet director for Big 8, Big 10, and MAIAW Regional Championships, and is a USAG Elite judge.