Weaver won the world individual all-around title in 2011 and the Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Games.she had Although she had never led a team, she spent months planning everything from recruiting to budgeting to building the program she had dreamed of. Yurachek said she thought the meeting at the coffee shop would last an hour. He left three hours later, wondering if he had found a new gymnastics coach.
Even after Mr. Weaver made a good impression in the formal interview, Mr. Yurachek wasn't sure if he could offer the job to someone so young. When he expressed that hesitation to then-UCLA coach Valory, At Condos Field, she told him, “If you don't hire her, someone else will, and she'll kick your ass.”
So Yurachek decided to make an unconventional hire, a gamble that probably wouldn't be accepted in football or men's basketball. It's been five years since then, and Arkansas is having its best season ever.
After finishing the regular season ranked 12th in the nation, the Razorbacks defeated Kentucky to become one of eight teams to advance to Thursday's NCAA semifinals, ensuring at least a top three finish in school history. As women's collegiate gymnastics has boomed nationwide, attendance at the Razorbacks' home meets has doubled to about 7,000 per meet. Some competitions were held at Bud Walton Arena, the school's basketball venue. After renovations, the arena will soon become the full-time home venue for Weaver's program.
During training camp in August, sophomore Lauren Williams said the team set vague but ambitious goals for the season.
The Razorbacks are now the first team under Weaver to reach the NCAA semifinals and the first University of Arkansas to surpass a team score of 198, a benchmark that only the best programs can reach. This season produced the top four scores in Arkansas history.
“Knowing that we are one of the top eight schools in NCAA gymnastics is really big,” Williams said. “That's where you want to end up. There was.”
Weaver was just a teenager when she burst onto the world stage. He faced a choice unlike today's athletes: compete in college or capitalize on his fame. She chose the latter, appearing in commercials, speaking at events, and traveling around the country on a post-Olympic tour.
Still, she really wanted to be a part of the team, so she enrolled at UCLA. She said the only position Kondos Field could offer was team manager. There, the Olympic champion spent three years helping the Bruins with tasks such as procuring meals, setting up equipment and vacuuming chalk from the bar area.
She became an assistant during her senior year. She had no desire to be a head coach, she said. She spent her childhood in the gym, and she didn't want to spend her adult life there either. But as an assistant, Weaver realized that much of coaching in college was about managing people and personalities, developing marketing strategies, and taking on all of the other CEO-like responsibilities.
She was also able to coach, and even though she was only 21 years old, she was able to earn respect and trust. Kondos Field drew from her own experiences, both positive and negative, she said. Weaver is a survivor of sexual abuse by Larry Nassar, and her longtime club coach, John Geddert (a friend of the former national team doctor), forgave Nassar's crimes and abused gymnasts himself. was accused of doing so. Geddert died by suicide in 2021 while facing criminal charges.
At UCLA, Weaver attended a program rooted in joy.
“She lived that coach empowers her to be more than she ever imagined,” Kondos Field said. “And she lived when coaches crushed your dreams and suffocated you.”
Weaver led UCLA's floor team to No. 1 rankings in 2018 and 2019. And before the UCLA gymnasts competed, Kondos Field noticed how they looked to Weaver for comfort and guidance.
“She's a very powerful person in terms of the way she lives her life,” said Felicia Hano, who was a gymnast at UCLA while Weaver coached and was an assistant at Arkansas in 2021 and 2022. It can be quite nerve-wracking,” he said. -Racking. She definitely makes you feel empowered when she's going out on the floor. ”
When Weaver met Yurachek at a coffee shop, she admitted she didn't know exactly how to become a head coach. But Yurachek never let his fears get in the way of asking questions. Yurachek also noticed how much he sought, and still does, the opinions of others when making big decisions.
Weaver knew his name would be talked about in Arkansas, but that alone doesn't sustain interest from year to year. Building on his experience at UCLA, Weaver worked to perfect every aspect of the home meet that turns the event into a show, including athlete introductions, lighting, and equipment layout.
“Every little thing is important to me,” said Weaver, now 28.
Her name is also important, especially when it comes to recruiting. Although Williams grew up 25 minutes from her campus in Arkansas, she initially wanted to go further from her home for college. Things changed when the Razorbacks hired Weaver. Her portrait of Weaver once hung above her childhood bed in Williams.
Jocelyn Roberson, a representative from Arkansas and a member of the U.S. team at last year's world championships, said Weaver is one of her favorite gymnasts. His 2025 recruiting class at Arkansas is considered one of the best in the country.
Weaver loves that her job is multifaceted. To help us understand each other's personalities, we have everyone take the Enneagram test. But her favorite past time is still practicing. Her gymnasts describe her as technical and detail-focused. She makes sure that Maddie Jones' legs are side by side, rather than slightly crossed as she twists through the air. She cares about where gymnasts focus their eyes when they do floor exercises.
Jones, a junior, initially committed to Rutgers and had a scholarship offer. However, she was attending a summer camp in Arkansas and decided to walk there instead. Since arriving on campus, Jones has learned new skills on her floor and changed her way off the beam to something she had never mastered before. Now she has added three pieces of equipment to her lineup.
Weaver wants her programs to combine grit and fun. Every year, she has felt that “we're chipping away at different parts of our culture.” This season's performance kept the team setting school records en route to a significant breakthrough at the NCAA regional tournament.
Heading into the final event on the floor, a combination of Arkansas' best facilities and Weaver's coaching expertise, the Razorbacks held a 0.15 point lead over Kentucky for second place and needed that finish to advance. . Weaver said he watched the scoreboard “in secret” and knew the Razorbacks held the lead as the rotation progressed.
By the time Williams competed as the fifth of six gymnasts, all she needed to do was avoid making any major mistakes. After performing her solid routine, she jumped into Weaver's arms. Williams didn't know the exact score she needed, but her coach's tone told her she had done enough. The team advanced to the NCAA semifinals, and the celebration began.
“It wasn't just a few tears,” Williams said. “We were crying ugly.”
Weaver showed a rare display of emotion that night, her piercing brown eyes filling with tears. Her mentor, Kondos Field, sobbed. And her boss, Yurachek, admitted a week later that “the secret is out” regarding Weaver's ability as a college head coach.
