Gymnastics Coaches

In her 12th season with the Brown gymnastics team, Sara Carver-Milne has coached some of the finest gymnasts in Brown gymnastics history.

Carver-Milne began her career with the Bears serving as an assistant coach for one year, and was then named Head Coach in 2002. Carver-Milne made an immediate impact on her squad as she began to improve the team’s overall performance in every event. In 2003 she led Jayne Finst ’04 and Gina Verge ’04 to NCAA Regional all-around competition, and in 2004, led Finst to Regional competition.

Carver-Milne helped guide Finst to 2003 and 2004 ECAC Gymnast of the Year honors, and the 2004 Brown Athlete of the Year. Her squad finished 15-9 that season, and Carver-Milne was named the ECAC Coach of the Year.

More recently, Carver-Milne coached 2008 Olympic silver medalist Alicia Sacramone for one season before turning pro in 2007. In that year, Sacramone was named the ECAC Rookie of the Year and set school records on the vault, floor, and also in the all-around. She was also the first gymnast in the history of the Ivy League to finish first on every event and win the all-around at the Ivy Classic, while also setting new Ivy Classic record in the all-around and tied the record on the vault. She was the Northeast Regional Floor Champion, and qualified to NCAA Nationals.

The Bears had an outstanding 2009 campaign, earning a spectacular second-place finish at the Ivy Classic, its best team-finish since 2002. Also, Brown tallied its highest team score since the 2004 season, combining for a 189.575.

Carver-Milne’s athletes have also been regularly recognized for academic success in both the NCAA and in ECAC. In 2009, Jennifer Sobuta ’09 was named the ECAC Scholar Athlete of the Year, as 10 athletes were named to the ECAC All-Academic team. Most impressively, Brown Gymnastics has ranked in the Top 10 nationally in academic standing for the past six years. More recently, Chelsey Binkley '11 was selected an ECAC Scholar Athlete of the Year while an impressive 14 athletes were selected to the ECAC All-Academic team.  Brown's squad also ranked sixth nationally in team grade point average in the NACGC/W 2011 Academic Rankings, while eight Brown gymnasts were honored as NACGC/W Academic All-Americans.

Prior to starting at Brown, Carver-Milne was a gymnast for 18 years, and coached both an Elite-level private club gymnastics team in Texas and a high school girls' team. A 1997 graduate of Alaska-Anchorage, Carver-Milne was an NCAA gymnast and National competitor. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Public Communications. In addition to her duties at Brown, Carver-Milne is a volunteer at the American Heart Association. Carver-Milne resides in Providence, RI with her husband Stew and children Aiden and Camden.

Richard Harris, the head gymnastics coach at the Aim High Academy in East Greenwich, RI, enters his seventh year with the Brown Gymnastics team. 

At Aim High Academy, Harris's main responsibilities lie in developing and maintaining Aim High's Junior Olympic Program, as well as its elite program. He has also coached gymnastics at the Woodward Camp since 1985. In 1991, Harris founded the Harris Agency, where he handles sports management and marketing, as well as contract negotiations and career management for his clients.

Harris also served as a technical advisor coach with the United States Ski and Snowboard Federation where they won five of the six medals available in the men's and women's half pipe during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Park City, UT. One of his athletes, Hannah Teter, won the gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

Harris attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and participated on the men's gymnastics team for three years, as well as on the football team for one. He then served as an assistant gymnastics coach at Southwest Texas State University from 1985-1986 and West Virginia University from 1987-1988.

With his collegiate athletic experience and coaching background, Harris brings a wealth of knowledge to the Bears program. Harris resides in Carolina, RI with his wife Kasia, and sons Theodore & Adam.