How did a professional ballerina become one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history? Valorie Kondos Field-or Miss Val as she’s affectionately known-has never even tumbled, flipped, or ever played any type of organized sports and yet she has been able to craft a legendary coaching career through curiosity, creativity, intention to detail, and unwavering care for the overall well-being of her athletes. For Miss Val, it’s not about the X’s and O’s, it’s about choreographing your life and owning the choices you make.
Miss Val has shaped her UCLA Gymnastics program as a life skills class, and now she’s sharing those same lessons with readers who want to own their destiny. For Miss Val, it’s not about winning and losing, it’s about choreographing your life and owning the choices you make. Her philosophies are timeless. Her coaching style is unorthodox.
LIFE IS SHORT, DON’T WAIT TO DANCE is a thought-provoking, fun journey through the personal stories and anecdotes of the 35-year career of a dancer/choreographer turned athletic coach. Included are Miss Val’s favorite memories of her mentor, legendary basketball coach John Wooden, as well as unforgettable stories of the Olympians and athletes with whom she’s worked.
Join us as Miss Val explains:
● How her coaching journey had a rocky start because she mimicked other coaches before she found her own best approach
● How she realized that her background wasn’t a detriment; it was a gift
● How her approach to her breast cancer diagnosis made that struggle into one of the best years of her life
This book is packed with great advice for anyone on a quest for success, delivered in Miss Val’s reassuring and inspirational tone.
ABOUT VALORIE KONDOS FIELD
Valorie Kondos Field is head coach of the seven-time NCAA Champion, 22-time Regional and 18- time Pac 12 Champion UCLA Women’s Gymnastics team. One of only two active coaches to be inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, the four-time “National Coach of the Year” was recently named “West Region Coach” of the Year and Pac 12 “Coach of the Century” for her solid track record as a preeminent coach.
Affectionately known by her gymnasts as “Miss Val,” her reputation is only one reason that 46 former US national team members have come through her program and why half of the last two Olympic teams have committed to UCLA. Valorie’s coaching success is due to her extraordinary leadership and mentorship of young student-athletes, and the way in which she uses gymnastics as an avenue through which to teach valuable life lessons.
