By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Legendary UCLA gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field motivated a roomful of St. Joseph residents on ways to be better leaders with stories of her journey.
Kondos Field says she hopes people take from her message that whatever they do, they enjoy it, it's challenging and fulfilling, and that they win the day, but says while that's what you do, that's not who you are
"And when we can focus on who we are and sharing that with every single person we come in contact with throughout the day, I mean imagine if everybody in the world literally just shared their inner light with everyone, every moment of the day," Kondos Field tells reporters. "I mean this world would literally just be palpable and pulsating with light, that is my goal."
Kondos Field coached at UCLA for 28 years, winning seven national championships, and four Pac-12 coach of the year awards. She retired in 2019.
Kondos Field says when she retired, she knew she wanted to be able to share everything she had learned and have an impact
"It's not about the money, it's not about more celebrity, it's not about any of that, I just want to be able to share what I have learned through my experience in the coaching world," Kondos Field explains. "Especially having the blessing to be around people such as the great John Wooden, I mean what a blessing that was to have him in my life as like my grandfather."
Kondos Field had a pretty legendary mentor in another coaching legend, John Wooden.
Kondos Field says she learned from Wooden the value of being yourself, and remembers a moment after winning her fourth national championship, when a reporter called her "the next John Wooden" during an interview alongside Coach Wooden
"Before I could just say no, no, no that's blasphemy, Coach Wooden chimed in and he said, why would she want to be another Coach Wooden when she could be a great Valorie Kondos Field," Kondos Field recalls.
Kondos Field says Wooden saying that helped release her from even trying to be like him
"And just really realize who I was created to be, what God created me to be and all my blessings, and let's just fortify those and bring those to my work every day," Kondos Field says.
Kondos Field spoke at Word of Life Church as part of a series put on by the Joseph Company.
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