Valorie Kondos Field

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. Inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, the four-time “National Coach of the Year” was also 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 by her gymnasts, was never a gymnast herself. Her reputation for teaching valuable life lessons, while encouraging individuality and joy is only one reason that 46 former US national team members came through her program and why half of the last two Olympic teams committed to UCLA.

Also known as the nation’s foremost gymnastics choreographer, Field’s many credits include choreographing and directing a myriad of live variety shows and 26 years of cirque-type shows for SeaWorld’s Summer Nights and the San Diego Zoo. Current projects include additional live stage shows, TV specials, events, and the development of a theatrical musical, plus the highly acclaimed post-Olympic “Gold Over America Tour” featuring an all-star team of female gymnastics champions, headlined by Simone Biles which began in Fall 2020 and visited more than 35 U.S. cities, celebrating powerful female athletes in a high-octane, fun-filled experience. The tour will be back once again after the 2024 Olympics which Field will serve in the role of Executive Producer and Supervising Choreograqpher.

Kondos Field is a dynamic and charismatic speaker with an extensive schedule of “Corporate Coaching” events for companies including Chick-fil-a, JP Morgan Chase, General Electric and Jackson National Life Insurance, and has contributed to various panel discussions including Bustle’s “Rule Breakers” and the ESPNW Summit. In her TEDWomen 2019 talk, Field inspires people to reevaluate their definition of success, encouraging leaders to inspire others without compromising the human spirit. In addition, her TED Talk has been viewed by millions and praised for her “Does all winning equal success” philosophy.

A recent breast cancer survivor, Field shared her motivating and inspirational messages with the world in her book, “Life Is Short, Don’t Wait To Dance: Advice and Inspiration from the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame Coach of 7 NCAA Championship Teams,” which was released in Fall 2018 by the Hachette Book Group. She is active with the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation, LA 84 Olympic Foundation, WISE (Women In Sports & Events), BCRF (Breast Cancer Research Foundation), Unite For Her, and many other charitable organizations, close to her heart. She resides in Fayetteville, AR with her husband, retired UCLA Football Coach, Bobby Field.