Support flows in for 20-year-old Milford SCSU gymnast fatally injured in training

Melanie Coleman - Jonathan Law High School All-Area Gymnastics Thursday, March 23, 2017 (Catherine Avalone/New Haven Register) Melanie Coleman - Jonathan Law High School All-Area Gymnastics Thursday, March 23, 2017 (Catherine Avalone/New Haven Register) Photo: Catherine Avalone / Catherine Avalone/New Haven Register Photo: Catherine Avalone / Catherine Avalone/New Haven Register Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close Support flows in for 20-year-old Milford SCSU gymnast fatally injured in training 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

More than $50,000 has been contributed by some 1,1000 people to a gofundme page set up to help the family of Melanie Coleman, the Milford gymnast who died following a fall from uneven bars during a training session.

Coleman was a three-time All-State selection and captain of the 2017 Jonathan Law High School gymnastic team. She took her skills to Southern Connecticut State University where she was a junior studying nursing.

The accident occurred during a Friday practice at the New Era Gymnasium in Hamden where Coleman trained for 10 years. Southern Connecticut State University has contracted with New Era since 2003 to use its facilities for practice.

. She died Sunday at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Her organs are being used to keep others alive, according to a statement issued to WTNH-TV which employs a family member.

“We are confident that her spirit, laughter, and humor will live on through the ones who loved her most, as well as through the gift of life to those who needed it most through organ donation,” the Coleman family wrote in a statement published by WTNH-TV..

“We are humbled by the outpouring support from our Milford community (our small town with a big heart) and beyond. She will be sadly and deeply missed by all those who crossed paths with her. The family asks for privacy during this time of healing,” the Coleman family statement reads.

Services are incomplete at this time.

“It was totally unexpected in its occurrence and its outcome,” said Tom Alberti, who coached and trained Coleman at New Era on Sherman Street.

The university, in confirming Coleman’s death in a statement released Sunday, spoke of her dedication and abilities.

“Her coaches and professors describe Melanie as a special young woman, who excelled both in the classroom and in the gym,” said university President Joe Bertolino. “Our deepest sympathies are extended to her family and friends on this tragic loss.”

The university is offering free and confidential counseling services for students, who can visit Engleman Hall, Room B219, or call 203-392-5475 to set up an appointment. For more information on Counseling Services, visit www.southernct.edu/

counseling . Any student needing support may also seek out residence life staff or the Dean of Students office, the university posted.

Fran Thompson, principal at Jonathan Law High School, said his school will provide counseling to students, alumni and “any friends or family Melanie has in the area who feel a need to discuss this.”

”We will make this available all week and beyond if necessary,” Thompson said. “Her family was very committed to this school and we will support them any way we can.”

Milford Mayor Ben Blake also pledged the city’s support.

“Melanie was a world-class athlete,” he said. “This is an absolute tragedy that is reverberating through the entire community. Our thoughts go out to the family during this difficult time. The whole community is devastated by this news.”

Coleman was a junior majoring in nursing at SCSU and had said she was hoping to follow her two older sisters in that profession.

A gofundme page was set up for the family. As of Monday afternoon, $50,612 was donated by 1,100 people. There also is a page to provide meals to the family. That site can be accessed at https://mealtrain.com/

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Donors included members of the SCSU gymnastic team, those from the school’s women’s soccer and lacrosse teams, nursing program members, members of the University of Bridgeport women’s gymnastics team, and the New Era Gymnastics school.

“She was a wonderful athlete who always pushed herself to put forth a 100 percent effort,” Alberti said. “She was just as wonderful a person.”

He employed her to teach, coach and host birthday events at New Era before she entered college.

“To know her was to like her,” Alberti said. “She was a role model all our students could look up to.”

Alberti said he coached Coleman for 10 years, usually four to five days per week. He also coached her two older sisters, Valerie and Tiffany. All three were top gymnasts. Their names are on a banner in his gym.

“Melanie obtained a level 10 in the country’s Junior Gymnasts Program,” Alberti said. “Being a level 10 is all you need to say about her abilities.”

Coleman was one of five siblings.

While at Law, she received the MVP award and was selected by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Gymnastic Association to participate with other state gymnasts in the senior showcase in Estero, Fla. The Connecticut team finished first in the event.

“She made All-State and SCC three times while she was here,” said Vincent Sarullo, Law’s athletic director. “She was also the captain of our outdoor track team.”

Sarullo said what made Coleman stand out was her personality.

“She was always upbeat — the kind of kid you wanted to be around,” he said. “Anyone you talk to who knew her would tell you she was among the best kids to come out of this school.”

In her 2017 Jonathan Law High School yearbook, Coleman was picked with J. P. Amaro by their peers as the two most talented seniors. Another photo shows her with her younger brother, Jimmy, then a sophomore at the school. Jimmy Coleman graduated last June and was a three-sport athlete in cross country, outdoor track and basketball, Sarullo said.

“Melanie was very involved in gymnastics,” Thompson said. “Whenever she had the chance, she would come back and talk to our gymnasts — offering support and guidance. That should tell you the type of person she was.”

Under her yearbook photo, she picked a quotation from Dr. Seuss: “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”

Her family chose a picture of her as a smiling, blond child and wrote, “It’s the little moments that make life big, Love Mom, Dad, Valerie, Tiffany, James and Nicholas.”

Just a few weeks ago, Sam Tapper wrote an article for Southern News about Coleman and her experiences participating with her sister in gymnastics, “Playing Sports with Siblings Offer Unique Experiences.“

“We originally started at this gym, and we both kind of got to the same level, which was kind of funny,” Melanie Coleman told Tapper. “We were always at the same spot even though she was older than me, because I always wanted to play catch-up with her and go and be as good as she is or be better than her. There’s always that friendly competition.”

This year, Coleman was honored as a Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Scholastic All-American, Tapper’s article noted. Though her older sister has since graduated, the help, support and advice Coleman got from her contributed to Melanie Coleman’s ongoing success, the Southern News article reported.

“We live together still, I live at home,” Melanie Coleman told Tapper. “She’ll ask me, ‘how was practice?’ and still talk me through things and help me.”

“Coleman said there was a lot of chatter when she committed to Southern among people around her worried that going to school with her sibling was not the best idea,” the article said.

“They would even get texts from their mother telling them both to “be nice” to each other at school. Despite what people were saying, she says the decision she made was the right one,” the writeup said.

“Some people at first thought it was a bad idea to be on the same team,” Coleman told Tapper for the article. “At first I was like, ‘this might be weird,’ because I’m close with her, but we don’t talk about everything, but it was definitely a good transition to go from high school to here because it was something that’s similar.”