Life and death. Senior citizen sex. Alex Rodriguez and performance-enhancing drugs.

This is Education 472: Introduction to Philosophies of Coaching. Valorie Kondos-Field is in charge – and it’s a learning environment unlike any other.

“She’s just so … herself,” UCLA women’s basketball player Charlisse Leger-Walker said. “The very first class, I thought she was crazy.”

Kondos-Field, known affectionately as Miss Val, won seven NCAA championships and collected more than 800 victories in her 29 years as head coach of the UCLA gymnastics team. She’s returned to the school as an educator in the School of Education and Information Studies’ Transformative Coaching and Leadership graduate program.

A team of educators has developed a curriculum to give Bruins the tools they need to transition fr

See Full Page