Tony Beck on Taking Over Penn State Men's Gymnastics

Tony Beck was named the seventh head coach in the history of Penn State men's gymnastics on May 15, 2026. He replaced Randy Jepson, the man who recruited him, coached him, and mentored him for the better part of two decades. This is his first long-form interview since taking the job.

Mubarak coached Tony his junior and senior years of high school in eastern Pennsylvania, before Tony ever put on a Penn State singlet. That history runs through the whole conversation.

In this episode:

The night he got the call, and what it meant when Randy Jepson showed up that same night

Why Ohio State was the dream school before Penn State was

Building the first boys program at Centre Elite Gymnastics with five kids in a gym so small the parallel bars had to be offset

Coaching Stephen Nedoroscik and Josh Karnes, and the two very different kinds of toughness they represent

The analytics platform he coded himself to track his team's hit percentages and routine scores

Following Gene Whetstone, Carl Schier, and Randy Jepson at a program with 12 national team titles

What he tells young gymnasts who are not the most talented athlete in the gym

This is part one of a two part series. Part two will be recorded on location at Penn State in September, in the gym with Coach Beck and members of his team.

Follow Tony Beck on Instagram: @tbeck021