When I first started coaching at UCLA, I was asked to coach balance beam along with choreographing floor routines. I had no idea what I was doing. I quickly realized that a huge part of success on beam was the athlete’s mental game. When everything was going well, there was no need to make adjustments. However, when things started going awry, I could see the …
So much in life is about preparation and stepping up when opportunity arises. However, every once in a while you find yourself at a crossroad of preparation and opportunity with few options available and your best chance of triumph is putting faith in the support system around you; in those people you trust to be as passionate about your success as you are. Those people …
As a gymnastics coach, I help athletes come up with “cues” to say before each skill that emphasize finer points to achieve the result they want. Take balance beam for example, some athletes have a technical cue they say to themselves, such as “push through my legs” or “jump” before their flipping series. Other athletes have emotional cues, such as “patience” or “aggressive” before executing …
A happy marriage requires a bit of compromise. In my marriage that means consuming a bit of barbecue to indulge my Southern husband, Bobby. This week I’m sharing his recipe, the Bobby Field Barbecue pizza. And while barbecue is not my favorite, I actually enjoy my husband’s version of this cowboy pizza. It’s Super easy to make and it has a 100% guest approval rating. Ingredients: …
I love the concept of “Cognitive Flexibility.” The notion of being able to switch between thoughts… and sometimes doing so simultaneously. In order to maintain our sanity we will work a skill or process to mastery so we can save time and effort. After all, why reinvent the wheel? This is the practical thing to do. The downside? While we make personal progress, we’ve only …
I grew up in the ballet world and danced professionally for 10 years (that's my tutu from when I was 12). Currently I am a Director, Choreographer, and Coach of the UCLA Gymnastics team (for the past 26 years). I believe life is about choice and I look forward to sharing some of my choices here with you. I have been moving to life's music for decades and I want to help you Choreograph Your Life.
valorie@officialmissval.com
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Recent Comments
This is 200% true. We all need to listen better ❤️
This is so great and important to be able to read that ! I think we need to remind ourself
This absolutely makes my heart happy. Beautifully written and had me pouring tears of joy.
This is SUCH an important skill, especially with all of the division present in Western so
I have watched the video of this competition over and over and over, and my absolute favor