Kristina Williams is Leading
Interviewed by Lisa Mitzel, ZTM President
L-R: Yuka Sugiura, Kristina Williams, Lisa Mitzel
She coached at other gyms, she had her own ideas, and then decided to break away and in 2019, she started her own gym.
Why? “As a coach, I never wanted to work for a boss. I wanted to work for a leader.” And to Kristina Williams, the owner of Los Gatos Elite in Los Gatos, California, a leader is not someone who focuses on success, but rather someone who truly inspires incredible growth and positive change. So now she is leading her staff and gym families toward personal and professional growth.
Is it difficult developing your staff? Monitoring and, at times, correcting is not fun. Kristina said, “I don’t like having uncomfortable conversations.” It’s definitely a weakness. But, she said, “I seek out my weaknesses. I’ve intentionally done a lot of ‘self work’ for my own growth.”
Regarding parents: “We also communicate with parents often and organically.I’m always available. Carlo is always available.” Parents watch practice, communication is transparent. Kristina’s open leadership style is a continual effort and yet it leads to a culture of respect and harmony.
What about gymnasts feeling fearful? As a young gymnast, Kristina experienced many fears. Now, as an adult, her philosophy as an owner is to teach and model to her staff to help kids through their fears.
“Fear travels from event to event and person to person,” Kristina said. “So we go backwards, feel safe first, not second. Give kids the voice to do what feels good to them so they feel successful and in control.”
What tools and resources help with leadership? Los Gatos Elite has Zen Tiger Mind’s Mental Power Station with mental exercises, so I asked if it was helping her staff with healthy language and the kids feeling supported and in charge of themselves.
Kristina replied: “ZTM is supporting us 100% with positive, supportive language. In giving coaches the space and the language to help the gymnasts, we are seeing kids develop healthy mindsets and the common language to talk and work together.”
What is the vision? “Our Xcel program has a core mission to support the athletes through gymnastics and life. It starts with the vision: It’s okay if a kid repeats a level, or doesn’t compete her dismount on bars.” Every challenge is okay!
Don’t get her wrong: “I want to be competitive,” said Kristina. “It’s a sport. We are competitive, we’ve had state champions. We have standards, form, technique, presentation. We have a positive healthy approach with the kids, and we also have standards. But we don’t do gymnastics for the medals. We do it for learning, challenges, growth, and we do it for the fun.”
I’m honored to know Kristina and Carlo at Los Gatos Elite. They are a breath of fresh air in the gymnastics world. And they’re not the only ones. I will continue to interview coaches and leaders who are speaking up and creating a new wave of positive, healthy gyms, and training coaches to have compassion.
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