Forty years in the gym will give you a perspective on gymnastics that simply can’t be taught. Kim Neal, who enters her 2nd year as head coach of the GCU Club Gymnastics program, brings that kind of depth to the Lopes’ squad — as an elite competitor, a longtime professional coach, and one of the sport’s certified national judges.
Neal’s gymnastics résumé as an athlete is exceptional. A member of the U.S. National Team in the early 1980’s, she went on to compete at Arizona State University on an athletic scholarship, where she became a nine-time All-American. Her individual accolades include the USAG Elite National Vault title in 1981, the NCAA National Floor Exercise championship in 1983, and the NCAA National Vault championship in 1986 — the kind of credential that puts her among the elite gymnasts of her era. She has since been inducted into both the Arizona State University Athletics Hall of Fame and the Arizona Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
She had already begun coaching while still a student-athlete, and following a nine-year career as a professional dancer after her competitive days, Neal moved into coaching full-time in 1995 and never looked back. Her coaching career has taken her through Arizona Twisters, USA Gymnastics, Desert Devils/Diamondbacks Gymnastics, and two lengthy stints at Aspire Kids Sports Center in Chandler — GCU Club Gymnastics’ home gym — where she is currently a competitive team coach. Along the way, Neal has also served as a nationally-rated USAG judge since 1998, earning a Green Flag nomination for her judging work.
