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MEET
THE STAFF!
Director
of Men
BRYAN
PRACKO
has
been a member of Sokol since birth.
He has recently returned as Director of Men, and also serves
as head instructor for our Senior Men and Women’s class, and
Assistant Instructor for Sokolettes.
He attended two “Kurz” Instructor Schools in 1978 and
1979 and has taught all classes and levels at Lodge 306 ever since.
He was the Assistant Director of Men of Lodge 306 from
1981-83, and head instructor of the Jr. Boys class while still a
student of that class. He
attended the University of Iowa and Northeastern Illinois
University, receiving his B.A. in History in 1989 from NEIU.
He served as Director of Men at Lodge 306 for 15 years from
1988-2003. He also
served on the national level as Assistant Director of Men for Sokol
USA from 1990-2002, and Director of Men for Sokol USA from
2002-2003. He taught
and/or directed 15 National Instructor Schools throughout the
1990’s and early 2000’s, and has conducted many judging and
spotting and progressions clinics on local and national levels.
Bryan is a history teacher and also has added to his coaching
experiences by coaching at Buffalo Grove High School, Fremd High
School, and American Academy of Gymnastics.
In 1999-2001, Bryan was a part of the coaching staff at Fremd
that won the IHSA Girls’ State Championship in 1999 and finished 2nd
in 2000 and 3rd in 2001.
He was also Head Coach for Boys Gymnastics at Fremd for
2000-2001. At Sokol, he
now also serves as our Bingo Chairman and a member of the House
Committee.
Director
of Women
KRISTIN
MERKER is
the Director of Women as well as the head instructor of the
Sokolettes and an assistant instructor for the Sokolads class.
She is currently attending Northeastern Illinois University and
majoring in Elementary Education.
She has proven to be an incredible asset to our gym. She attended an amazing five Instructor’s Schools from 2001-2005,
completing the Advanced II School in 2005.
In the 2004 Sokol Canada Slet, Kristin placed 2nd in the
Level 5 Junior Girls division. She also placed 2nd in Jr.
Girls Level 6 in the 2005 American Sokol Slet in Chicago.
She competed in Sr. Women Level 7 for the Pittsburgh Slet.
We are very proud of her gymnastics abilities as well as her
willingness to lead the Sokolettes class.
Kristin is also a member of the Sokol USA Yes! Council.
Assistant
Director/Lodge 306 President
SCOTT
PRACKO has
been involved in Sokol since birth! He currently holds the office of
"President" at Lodge 306. He also holds the office of
"Vice President" on a national level in Sokol USA.
Scott attended two “Kurz” Instructor’s Schools in 1979 and
1980. He was an
assistant and head instructor for Sokolads and Jr. Boys before he
even graduated as valedictorian from Hersey High School in 1985.
He played basketball for the Elite Eight Hersey team of 1985
and won a state team championship in gymnastics in 1984.
Scott attended and graduated from the University of Illinois
in 1989 with his B.S. in Engineering.
He currently is a Project Engineer at International Truck and
Engines. Scott is now
the head instructor of our Sokolads and Jr. Boys classes and an
assistant instructor for tots. He has competed at many levels
in Sokol competitions and won many awards as a gymnast in Sokolads,
Jr. Boys and Sr. Men. He
stays active with Sokol by attending and participating in events
like Volleyball, Basketball and Gymnastics! Scott is married to Amy
and they have two children, Samantha and Matthew, who are now
involved in Sokol classes as well.
Assistant
Director
MARNI
SABIN
is
our Assistant Director of Women (previously the Assistant Director
of Men). She joined Sokol in 2004 and has been the head
instructor for Junior Girls along with coaching Sokolettes for
various sessions. She has been coaching for over eight
years. Additionally, Marni is a gymnast in her own right!
She is a former Level 9 USAG gymnast and a former cheerleader from
Capital University in Ohio. Her first competition as a Sokol
Senior Woman landed Marni up on the podium as the 1st place
champion in Women's Level 5 at the 2005 American Sokol Slet in
Chicago. Currently Marni works full-time as a Senior Editor at the
Wright Group/McGraw-Hill and has just graduated with a Masters
degree in Linguistics from Northeastern Illinois University in
December 2006 - Congratulations Marni!!! The Gym Staff is
proud to have Marni with us!
Instructor
AMY
PRACKO is
the head instructor of the Tot's class. Amy has been involved in
Sokol since 1995 and competed for the first time at the 2004 Sokol
Canada Slet and placed 2nd in the Novice Women's Division! In
the past Amy served as the Lodge Treasurer and as
Director of Men from 2003-2005. Summer of 2007 Amy helped out
with camp at the Barryville campsite in New York. Something she is
definitely looking forward towards for the future as well. She also spearheaded our Parents
Group to help raise funds for the gymnastics program and the lodge.
Amy
has a Bachelor's degree in education and is an integral part of the
staff at Lodge 306!
She
is currently the Assistant Director of Women for Sokol USA and is
employed as a pre-school teacher in Mt. Prospect.
Secretary
PEGGY
RIVERA
is
the gym staff secretary. Peggy began her involvement in Sokol
in 1995 upon registering her daughter into classes at the gym. She
attends numerous meetings and events for the lodge. She stays active
in classes herself as well as she participates in the Senior
Calisthenics class. She competed in the Masters Division at the 2004
Sokol Canada Slet and finished in 2nd place at the
American Sokol Slet Bowling competition in 2005 and also finished in
1st place at the Sokol USA Slet in Pittsburgh in 2007.
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