K.J. Kindler (born June 26, 1970) is an American college gymnastics coach and the current head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners women's gymnastics team, a role she has held since 2006.

Coaching career

1992–2006: Iowa State

Following her graduation from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

in 1992, Kindler became the

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's and 1 ...

assistant coach. She was an assistant coach for nine years until 2001 when she became head coach. She was the head coach of the Cyclones team until 2006, when she was offered the position at

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

2006-present: Oklahoma

She has been the Oklahoma Sooners' Head Coach since 2006 and has transformed the program into one of the nation's elite with the program being ranked either first or second every year in the Pre-Season Poll.

Personal life

Kindler is married to Lou Ball, the assistant coach of the Oklahoma Sooners gymnastics program. The couple have two daughters, Maggie and Adelade. Kindler grew up in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

but moved to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

during high school for her junior (1987) and senior(1988) seasons. She graduated from

Wilton High School Wilton High School is a public high school in Wilton, Connecticut, U.S., considered "one of Connecticut's top performers" in various measures of school success in 2007,Cowan, Alison Leigh, "Play About Iraq War Divides a Connecticut School", ''The ...

in 1988 and was a former gymnast at Arena Gymnastics in Stamford.

Competitive gymnastics career

As a high school gymnast at Wilton, she won several Connecticut (CIAC) state division M and state open titles during her junior and senior years. Arguably, her best event was Floor Exercise where she was a two time Class M champion in '87 and '88. She also won the State Open title on Floor exercise in '87 and was runner up in '88. At the time, the CIAC did not hold a team event at State Open. If one was held, Wilton would have been in the hunt to claim the team title in both years that Kindler was on the team. In 1987, she helped the Wilton Warriors win the Class M team title and nearly swept the gold medal on every event, placing first in the All Around, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise. She placed 5th on Vault. At the Connecticut State Open championship, she won Floor Exercise. In 1988, Kindler and the Wilton Warriors repeated as the Class M team champion. Individually, Kindler repeated as Floor Exercise Class M champion. She placed 4th in both the All Around and Balance Beam, 3rd on both Vault and Uneven Bars. At the Connecticut State Open Championships, Kindler was 2nd in the All Around with a 36.800 (VT 8.850, UB 9.150, BB 9.300, FX 9.500). These individual event scores placed her 6th on Vault, 3rd on Uneven Bars, 2nd on Floor Exercise, and 1st on Balance Beam, her 2nd state open title overall. Kindler's high school and club results earned her an athletic scholarship to

and the Iowa State Cyclones women's gymnastics team from 1989 to 1992 seasons. Upon graduating from Iowa State in 1992, she joined the gymnastics team as assistant coach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kindler, K.J. 1970 births Living people Iowa State Cyclones women's gymnasts Iowa State Cyclones women's gymnastics coaches Oklahoma Sooners women's gymnastics coaches People from Lake Elmo, Minnesota People from Wilton, Connecticut Wilton High School alumni