Honestly, where do I start? To be fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to chat with Valerie Kondos Field has been an absolute highlight of my life. And more importantly being able to share this with you, our calisthenics community. Whether you are coach, pupil, parent, business leader, whatever, you will take so much away from this podcast that you can instil into your life. Her philosophies and approach to life has literally changed the way I now look a lot of things, and most definitely, as we are about to embark back on our training for 2021; change the way I intend to coach and interact with our dancers. "Life is about choice, and the choices you make will dictate the life you lead" is a quote you will often hear throughout this podcast and one that Miss Val (as she is affectionately known by her gymnasts) vehemently instilled in her athletes. Her reputation for teaching valuable life lessons, while encouraging individuality and joy is only one reason 46 former US national team members came through her program and why half of the last two Olympic teams committed to UCLA.

Miss Val has since retired as head coach of the UCLA woman gymnastics team, however, under her leadership, they achieved seven NCAA Championships, 22 regional and 18 Pac 12 Championships. She was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, four-time "National Coach of the Year", West Region Coach of the Year and Pac 12 Coach of the Century. WOW! If that is not seen as an impressive testament to coaching, I don't know what is!

Miss Val's many other credits include choreographing and directing many live variety shows and 26 years of cirque-type shows for SeaWorld's Summer Nights and the San Diego Zoo. Current projects include additional live stage shows, TV specials, events, and the development of a theatrical musical, plus the post-Olympic "Gold Over America Tour" featuring an all-star team of female gymnastics champions, headlined by Simone Biles and also featuring Katelyn Ohashi.

I came to know of Miss Val through her book 'Life is Short, Don't Wait to Dance.' This book captured me from the first sentence. It was one I couldn't put down. I have now purchased a copy for each of our coaches at Rosemore because I want them to develop into the best possible coaches they can be and to have the opportunity to learn from one of the world's greatest coaches.

During the podcast, you will hear me talk about a poster I developed called 'Miss Val-isms". It is a collection of some of her quotes from the book, especially the ones I loved. I created this so I could put it up in my office and remind myself daily not only what impact I can have on others' lives,  but to help me make better decisions to choreograph the life I want to lead. At the end of the podcast, you will hear Miss Val talk about an organisation she supports called the Refuge. This is an organisation that assists in the recovery of girls rescued from sex traffickers. Profits that Miss Val makes from sales on her website go to the Refuge, which is fantastic. To help support Miss Val and the team at the Refuge, we have put a pdf copy of the poster up on our website under "ABOUT>DONATIONS".  If you would like a copy, we ask that you make a donation, all of which we will send to Miss Val to pass onto the team at The Refuge. Even $5.00 will make a difference, so please get behind this cause, every little bit counts, and if we can help impact the lives of these girls, then that's our way of paying it forward.

So now sit back, relax and enjoy what is a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear from the beautiful and absolutely inspiring Miss Val.

 Miss Val-isms Poster

https://www.rosemore.com.au/donate/

Miss Val's Website

https://officialmissval.com/