Roster

Josh OVERTON

ASSISTANT COACH, 4th season

Josh Overton joined the Georgia GymDogs staff in May 2017 as an assistant coach. In his third season with the GymDogs, Overton led the bars squad to a season-high score of 49.275 against Iowa State and again against Auburn. Junior Marissa Oakley and sophomore Megan Roberts combined for five bars events titles and both notched season-high scores of 9.925.

At the 2019 NCAA Athens Regional, Georgia scored the highest bars mark under Overton’s direction with a 49.575 to help punch Georgia’s ticket to the NCAA National Championship with a decade-best 198.050. Marissa Oakley scored Georgia’s first Perfect 10 on bars since 2009 at the NCAA Athens Regional Finals, marking the first Perfect 10 on bars during Regionals since 1998. At the NCAA National Championship, Snead earned second-team All-American honors for bars. Alexa Al-Hameed and Megan Roberts earned SEC All-Freshman honors for their performances on bars after scoring a 9.900 at the SEC Championship. In his first year as a collegiate coach in 2018, Overton led the GymDogs to a season-high score of 49.425 against Boise State and an average of 49.092 on bars. He coached sophomore Rachel Dickson and freshman Marissa Oakley to NCAA First Team All-America honors. Overton took the lead on vault training mid-season which resulted in consistent improvement on the event, posting a season high 49.350 against Boise State. Under Overton’s direction, junior Sydney Snead earned NCAA First Team All-America honors on vault. Ranked 18th heading into postseason, the GymDogs finished the 2018 campaign with a seventh place overall ranking. Overton came to Georgia as 19-year coaching veteran most recently oversaw the women’s team at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in Iowa.

A native of Jackson, Ala., Overton served as the women’s team head coach at CGDI for five years. He has helped develop four Junior Olympic Program national champions and 14 national qualifiers. Overton has coached Level 4 through Elite, and CGDI had 100 percent qualifiers to the Junior Olympic Nationals in 2014, 2016 and 2017 as well as a HOPES and a Nastia Liukin Cup junior all-around champion and a Western national champion. Overton displayed his administrative skills as he improved education and communication between the staff and the parents, and he oversaw hosting The Chow’s Winter Classic (the largest meet in Iowa with more than 1,600 participants). Overton also served previously as Trainer, Coordinator and IT Manager for International Sports Federation in Acworth; Director of Organizational Development and Coach at World of Kids in Woodstock; and Coach and Team Coordinator at Gwinnett Gymnastics Center in Lilburn. During his stint at Gwinnett Gymnastics Center from 2006-13, Overton coached 2017 Gym Dog senior Lauren Johnson and worked alongside former Georgia All-American Katie Heenan-Dodson. A USA Gymnastics Professional Member with a National Level Coach Certificate, Overton has received direct training during his career from Liang Chow, Tammy Biggs and members of the U.S. National Team staff. Overton was a GymDogs Camp instructor in 2012 and 2015. Overton earned his bachelor’s degree in Communication from Kennesaw State in 2004 and his master’s in Professional Counseling in 2011. Overton also has completed several courses through USA Gymnastics University in Indianapolis.

Jason VONK

ASSISTANT COACH, 3rd season

Jason Vonk joined the Georgia GymDogs staff in June 2018 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

In his second year with the GymDogs, the vault squad was consistently ranked in the Top 15 in the nation, ending the season at No. 12. After the season abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sophomore Rachael Lukacs was ranked as the 18th best vaulter in the nation. Under Vonk’s direction, she scored back-to-back 9.925 to finish the season and added three more scores of 9.900. Together, the vault lineup hit a season-high 49.375 at Kentucky. Sophomores Rachael Lukacs and Mikayla Magee combined for three vault event titles. Vonk coached the Georgia vault lineup to a consistent No. 3 ranking throughout the 2019 season. The squad hit a season-high mark of 49.500 in the first round of the NCAA Athens Regional. Under Vonk’s direction, Sydney Snead was ranked as the best vaulter in the Southeastern Conference and was fifth in the nation. She was the only gymnast in the SEC ranked in the top-10 for vault and the next highest SEC vaulter was then-freshman Rachael Lukacs at No. 13. Additionally, Snead scored a 9.900 or higher on vault in every meet of her senior campaign, hitting a career-high mark of 9.950 five times. At the NCAA National Championship, Snead and Sabrina Vega earned second-team All-American honors for vault.

Vonk came to Georgia after serving as the assistant coach at George Washington in 2018 and previously spending six years at Yale. As the primary coach of vault and uneven bars at Yale, he played a key role in developing the program by helping the team from the bottom of the conference to winning the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship in the spring of 2017 and achieving the highest team RQS in Yale's 45 year history.

At Yale, Vonk also served as the recruiting coordinator and was in charge of the logistical operations of the gymnastics program. In addition to his coaching responsibilities at Yale, he also increased his involvement at USA Gymnastics as a Regional Clinician, where he had the opportunity to coach development and high tech camps and serve as a Coaches Congress Speaker. Prior to his tenure at Yale, Vonk served as a coach in Colorado Springs at the Stars National Gymnastics Village. At Stars, he coached an elite gymnast onto the National Training Squad and to the U.S. Classic. He also had the opportunity to coach at the National Training Center and with USA Gymnastics National Staff. Vonk graduated from Calvin College in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science with a minor in physical education. He and his wife, Kelly, have five sons.

Katie HEENAN DODSON

VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT COACH, 2nd season

Katie Heenan Dodson, former All-American and Honda Award Winner, joined the University of Georgia Gymnastics staff as volunteer coach in July 2019. As a gymnast at the University of Georgia, Heenan Dodson was a 13-time All-American, being recognized on all four events and in the all-around. She was a part of four team national championships from 2005-2008 and scored two perfect 10’s on vault and floor. During Heenan Dodson’s time as a GymDog, Georgia brought home three SEC Championships and she earned four crowns of her own. She was named SEC Champion on beam in 2005, vault in 2008, and in the allaround in 2005 and 2007, sharing the title with Kupets Carter. She was also named SEC Gymnast of the Year in 2007 and earned All-SEC accolades all four years at Georgia. Additionally, she holds the record for the most career points within the Georgia program with 2322.1688. Since graduating with a degree in Education in 2009, Heenan Dodson has coached at the club level at Bio Gymnastics and Athletics Unlimited and the Gwinnett Gymnastics Center alongside assistant coach Josh Overton. She has done choreography for various gymnastics clubs, including the prestigious Chow’s Gymnastics. She currently teaches at St. John Bosco Academy. She is married to former UGA baseball player Stephen Dodson and the couple has four children- Charlie (2009), Lainey (2013), Mary Claire (2015), Caroline (2018).