Celebrity Mentorship: Coach Val ‘87

Valorie Kondos Field is the retired head coach of the seven-time NCAA Champion, 22-time regional and 18-time Pac 12 champion UCLA Women’s Gymnastics team. A UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, the four-time “National Coach of the Year” was named “West Region Coach of the Year” and Pac 12 “Coach of the Century” for her solid track record as a preeminent coach. Formerly a professional ballet dancer, Miss Val, as she’s affectionately known, was never a gymnast herself. Her reputation for teaching valuable life lessons, while encouraging individuality and joy, is only one reason why 46 former U.S. national team members and half of the last two Olympic teams committed to UCLA.

Miss Val’s many credits include choreographing and directing live variety shows, including 26 years for SeaWorld’s Summer Nights and the San Diego Zoo. She is currently gearing up for the post-Olympic “Gold Over America Tour” featuring an all-star team of female gymnastics champions, headlined by Simone Biles and featuring Katelyn Ohashi, to begin in fall 2020. 

Kondos Field is a dynamic and charismatic speaker with an extensive schedule of “Corporate Coaching” events, and has contributed to various panel discussions, including Bustle’s “Rule Breakers” and ESPNW’s “Summit.” In her book “LIFE IS SHORT, DON’T WAIT TO DANCE,” the recent breast cancer survivor shares her motivating messages with the world, and in her TEDWomen 2019 talk, she inspires people to reevaluate their definition of success, encouraging leaders to inspire others without compromising the human spirit.

Miss Val served as a mentor for Mariachi de Uclatlán and was a much-needed source of motivation and inspiration for the committee and cast throughout the show’s development. We are so thankful for her dedication to the UCLA community.