Miss Val of UCLA Gymnastics On The Future of Gymnastics and Developing Student Athletes -

I got a bit of a surprise for everyone! I’m really excited to share an interview I recently did with the legendary Valorie Kondos Field, or “Miss Val” as she more commonly referred to, who is the legendary head coach of UCLA Gymnastics.

I’m really grateful that Val offered to jump on the podcast with me. Over 45 minutes, we ended up having an incredible chat about many great topics including,

Val’s thoughts as she goes through her last coaching season with UCLA Gymnastics
Why Val feels personal accountability and establishing strong values is the first step for coaches to lead the gymnasts they work with
Tactics she uses when “coaching the person before the gymnast”, using Katelyn Ohashi’s transformation and recent viral routines as examples
Why leading by example and having no “say – do” gap is crucial for everyone in gymnastics
The one message Val aims to share with every gymnast she coaches
Her thoughts on embracing the fear of failure, the fear of other people’s opinions, and the fear of the unknown
How going through chemotherapy and cancer treatment changed her views on personal values
What Val think needs to happen for the sport of gymnastics evolve into one that has healthier and more successful gymnasts

The entire interview is now available on The SHIFT Show, which you can listen to on iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher below. If you like it please share with your gymnastics community!