On March 21, 2022, Utah State hoisted the MRGC championship trophy for the first time since the conference’s conception in 2015. After a season of rewriting the record book and having its highest ranking since 1999, junior Brianna Brooks described it as one of the greatest feelings in her gymnastics career.
Just two months later, things took a 180-degree turn. Head coach Amy Smith and associate head coach Erik Lewis left the program for the same roles at Clemson, triggering an exodus of six Utah State gymnasts, which included 15 of 24 competition routines from that MRGC-winning meet, to South Carolina. Furthermore, assistant coach Stephen Hood took an open assistant position at Denver. The team that only two months prior had won MRGCs was looking nearly unrecognizable.
Enter Kristin White, née Smith, an Oklahoma alumna and two-time All-American who had been coaching at Arizona State for the last two years. While it may seem like a classic “college gymnast to coach” situation, coaching hadn’t always been in the cards for White. While at Oklahoma, she was a nursing major, and it wasn’t until her senior year when Oklahoma head coach KJ Kindler asked her to be a graduate assistant for the team that being involved with the sport after graduation was even an option she wanted to explore.
In transitioning from student-athlete to graduate assistant, White was exposed to the administrative side of coaching, logistics that go along with scheduling, and of course the planning behind a season’s worth of training to be a national champion.
“A lot of times you think it’s just the coaches coming to the gym and coaching gymnastics, but you don’t fully understand how much work goes on behind the scenes,” she said of what she learned during her time as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma. “That’s what I loved the most.”
With a greater appreciation for all the work her college coaches did behind the scenes, remaining consistent in both mindset and preparation were White’s biggest takeaways from working with Kindler’s staff. But more importantly, her experience at Oklahoma set her on the path to become a college head coach herself.
“I was able to get my passion for gymnastics again through my college experience, and I wasn’t quite ready to leave,” she said. “It was really during those two years of being a grad assistant that I realized gymnastics is really what I want to do and coaching is what I want to do.”
After setting down this new path, White knew her long-term goal would be to be a head coach. From Oklahoma, White went on to work at Dynamo Gymnastics before being hired as an assistant at Iowa State and eventually Arizona State. Grateful for what she could learn from each of those stops, when the job opened up at Utah State, it just felt right.
“It got to the point where I knew I was ready to be a head coach, and then when the opportunity presented itself, it was exciting,” she said. “They had just come off of their conference championship and knew that they had an incredibly talented team. I just wanted to be a part of that and continue to help grow this program.”
White’s passion for gymnastics at Utah State specifically and helping student-athletes started before she was even officially hired. Brooks stayed on campus after the 2022 season, and jokingly referred to it as “the struggle times” with so much uncertainty swirling around the team and little guidance without coaches. When White was on her official visit, Brooks could tell that it would be a good fit and that White was “in her element.” She recalled that White was helped her change her beam dismount to reflect the new rules change, knowing that the athletes were practicing only with each other.
And while the team she was coming in to lead was depleted compared to the one that won MRGCs only two months prior, rather than being discouraged and nervous, White was ready.
“For me, challenges are always exciting,” she said. “Was it going to be difficult? Absolutely. But I knew at the end of the day, I was going to learn and grow from that, and it was gonna make me a better coach in the long run.”
Once she moved to Logan, White got to work, acknowledging that there were gaps to be filled, especially on vault and floor. The first priority was assuring the athletes still there that there was a plan. A key part of this was adding to the coaching staff. Smith reconnected with former Arizona State volunteer assistant coach and Florida alumna Rachel Slocum, and also added Robert Ladanyi, who has a plethora of experience from stints at Florida, Utah, and Nebraska.
Between the three of them, the coaching staff has a championship pedigree, as well as a mutual trust and collaborative mindset; while Ladanyi is primarily a bars coach and White focuses on beam, it’s not rare for one or the other to point out a new way of thinking about a skill or correction on the other’s event.
With the coaching staff in place, White got to work recruiting, including bringing in three transfers. Alivia Ostendorf had been a consistent competitor in three seasons for Ball State but decided the summer after her junior year that she wanted to transfer. With help from her club coaches at Twin City Twisters, Ostendorf entered the transfer portal, and after talking to White, she knew Utah State was the perfect fit.
“She really cared about me more than logistics or gymnastics,” she said.
From the first day with the whole team to this first conversation with Ostendorf, White’s philosophy has been that everyone is a person before they are a student or an athlete. The staff believes that the most success comes from development of personal relationships and having athletes know that the coaching staff is truly in their corner no matter what may happen. From tailgating at football games to Christmas parties, a lot of emphasis has been placed on developing a strong team chemistry in and outside the gym, creating a family-oriented culture that allows athletes to buy in, even when the outlook was somewhat bleak.
White and her coaching staff have matched this family environment with resources and support. Ostendorf applauded how “upfront” the coaches have been in terms of communication and organization. Brooks laughingly said that the team was “spoiled” and noted how the coaching staff goes above and beyond in terms of nutrition and managing injuries, which now includes weekly massages.
It’s the development of this culture that has allowed the Aggies to be resilient through a difficult preseason and season. Athletes who previously had limited competition experience have had to step into lineups while others have even had to start training events they hadn’t touched since high school. Every routine Utah State has performed this season has been a battle.
After posting an impressive 195.800 in its first meet, Utah State struggled the next weekend, only scoring a 193.425. Despite the dip, White was impressed with the team’s ability to bounce back the next week saying, “Our student athletes could have doubted everything after that second competition, and they continue to trust and believe.”
The Aggies have continually demonstrated this season that they are a resilient group. After losing sophomore Amari Evans to an Achilles injury in a low-scoring loss against Boise State, the team rebounded to eclipse 196 the following weekend. Instances like these exemplify what Kristin White’s tenure at Utah State is all about.
When reflecting on what she wants her mark on the program to be, she said it simply.
“The biggest thing that I want to take away is that I’ve made a difference in the lives of our student-athletes, provided them with an incredible experience as a gymnast, and also helped them reach all the goals that they have for themselves.”
While it may be hard to see at times, with Kristin White at the helm, the future in Logan looks bright.
READ THIS NEXT: Jordan Chiles’ Sneaker Obsession Connects Her to Family, Black Culture
Article by Rebecca Williams
Like what you see? Consider donating to support our efforts throughout the year! [wpedon id=”13158″]
4 comments