About Me
Born in South Korea and adopted into a family of gymnastics school owners and coaches in Dallas, Texas, I literally grew up in the gym. I started gymnastics when I was 3 years old and continued on into college at the University of Missouri. During my time there, I obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Communications with a focus in Interpersonal Relationships and a Master's Degree in Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology with a focus in Positive Coaching and Athletic Leadership. Five years later I decided to go back to school and earn my Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW) and worked as a mental health counselor working with adolescents who struggled with low self esteem, anxiety, depression, and other mental obstacles. During my time as a counselor, I became a Life Coach on the side, focusing on helping insecure women become their most confident selves, and also started my own clothing brand called, Uni Co., a unisex streetwear clothing brand that represents the power of being unique. In addition, I have been a gymnastics choreographer since the age of 16 and still do it to this day.
Today, I am a gymnastics head coach, helping shape young girls into strong confident women and athletes. Gymnastics is such an intense and focused sport that takes up so much of someone's life and time. I feel it is important to maximize that time to teach them skills that go beyond the competition floor and set them up for success in their future career, relationships, and personal life. Many of these skills are mental techniques that I have learned along my journey that will help them win more in the sport and life in general!
My resume and philosophy today is simply a reflection of all of my strengths, experiences, and passions coming full circle into loving what I do today and knowing that I am making a difference.
My Story
When I think of my career as a gymnast, it is not my accomplishments on the competition floor that I am most proud of. It is actually the many mental obstacles I faced and overcame throughout my career as a club and college athlete. I experienced several serious injuries (torn ACL, torn Achilles and 3 other knee surgeries) and struggled with mental blocks, high performance anxiety, low confidence, and controlling my emotions.
In college, I struggled with my performance as an athlete. I was solid and consistent in practice every day but when it came to competing I would always fall. It was never my physical ability or technique that held me back, it was my mind and my self-perception. I never believed I was a great gymnast throughout my career and it impacted my performance when it mattered the most. I worked with sports psychologists to help me through these issues and once I learned to master my mind and emotions, my experience as an athlete made a huge 180. Once I began to believe in myself, I became a lot more consistent in competitions and my overall experience as an athlete was a lot more relaxing, fun, and enjoyable. I ended up winning many additional awards such as SEC Scholar Athlete of the year, Most Improved Athlete of the year, and was also nominated as team captain my last two years of college.
My story is an example of how the mental aspect of gymnastics can greatly impact one’s career and success. This is why this is a subject I am very passionate about and want more coaches and gymnasts to learn and grow more in. The passion behind my philosophy comes from personally knowing the frustration from having your own mind hold you back. It is true that once one masters their mind, their potential can be unlocked in all areas of life, including gymnastics!