Chris Waller Promoted To Assistant Head Coach For UCLA Women's Gymnastics Team
May 11, 2007
Chris Waller has been promoted to assistant head coach of the UCLA Women's Gymnastics team, head coach Valorie Kondos Field announced today.
Waller, who has been an assistant coach since the 2003 season, has been successful at every level of gymnastics as a gymnast and now as a coach. He won three NCAA titles at UCLA (1987 - team, 1989 - pommel horse, 1990 - high bar). A member of the National Team from 1989-97, he was one of the United States' all-time greats, capturing the U.S. all-around crown in 1991 and pommel horse titles from 1991-93. He was an all-around finalist at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and took fifth on the pommel horse, just one-tenth of a point away from the gold medal. In addition, Waller placed in the Top 6 on the pommel horse at the 1993 World Championships and won three medals at the 1990 Goodwill Games and a team gold at the 1995 Pan American Games. He was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2003.
After his competitive career, he went on to coaching. He helped guide the Bruins to NCAA titles in his first two seasons, and in 2004, he was elected the National Assistant Coach of the Year by his peers. Waller also has a pair of victories as acting head coach, guiding UCLA to a dual meet victory over Utah that snapped the Utes' 23-year national record home court winning streak and leading the Bruins to a win over Washington in the season opener this year. Since Waller has joined the UCLA staff, Bruin athletes have won two NCAA team and seven NCAA individual titles.
Waller is also a highly successful coach at the club level. He is currently the owner and head coach of Wallers' GymJam Academy, and in 2004, he coached former Bruin great Mohini Bhardwaj as she earned not only a spot on the U.S. Olympic team but the honor of team captain as well. Bhardwaj competed in the all-around for the USA in the team prelims and on three of four events at team finals, helping the USA win the silver medal. Bhardwaj had the eighth-highest all-around score in prelims and placed sixth in the floor exercise finals. Another athlete Waller was coaching at UCLA, Kate Richardson, placed seventh in the floor finals.
"As a friend and colleague of Chris Waller's, I am thrilled at his promotion to Assistant Head coach for the UCLA Gymnastics team," said Kondos Field. "Chris is one of the few coaches in the country who has competed and coached at every level. It has been exciting for me to personally watch his journey from UCLA student-athlete and three-time NCAA Champion, to 1992 Olympian, to UCLA Asisstant Coach, 2004 Olympic coach, and now UCLA Assistant Head Coach. I look forward to working with Chris for many more years to come."