Vice president for University of Athletics Ray Anderson saw a perfect marriage when he hired the new gymnastics team's coaching staff. The metaphor went a step further with new coaches Jay and Jessica Santos.
The husband-wife duo coached Eastern Michigan to the 2016 Mid-American Conference Championship, the program's first-ever NCAA Regional appearance, and finished the season ranked 17th in the nation – the highest national ranking in the history of the program.
They have extensive experience as student-athletes at UMass Amherst and West Virginia, respectively, and coaches in major programs such as Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa State and Pittsburgh.
While competition doesn't begin until January, the Gym Devils have finalized their roster and are already deep into preparations and training.
TheSunDevils.com caught up with Jay and Jessica Santos for a quick Q&A on their unique coaching arrangement, the value of their experiences, their coaching philosophy and their hopes for the 2017 season.
What convinced you to leave your East Coast roots and Midwest training ground behind and come to ASU?
Jay: "After meeting with Ray Anderson and hearing his vision for the program and Olympic sports and also meeting with several members of the athletic department and support staff, we thought it was a great opportunity for us."
Jessica: "Up until two years ago, both Jay and I were assistants at schools that experienced a lot of success with teams and individuals qualifying to the NCAA National Championships. I think after competing at that level year after year, we knew our ultimate goal was to be there with our own team one day. Every career move we have made over the past several years, including taking over the program at Eastern Michigan, was made with that goal in the back of our minds. Looking at the history of ASU gymnastics, we knew right away that the school has every resource to be a highly successful program and that was a huge draw. Once we met everyone within the athletic department and saw how much support our student-athletes will receive, we were sold."
Walk us through the process. How did ASU contact you, how did it progress from there and what impressed you about ASU's message and approach?
Jay: "We were initially contacted by [senior associate athletic directors] Scottie Graham and Don Bocchi. They were our primary contacts throughout the process. We had several phone conversations; they came out to Texas where Jess and I were at our national coaching meetings and we had a meeting there. From there we came out on the formal interview and several more phone conversations. What impressed us was Ray's vision for the department and for Olympic sports and the culture that is in place for the department."
Where did you lay your gymnastics roots? How did your involvement with the sport begin?
Jay: "I am from a little south of Boston and that is where I did my JO level gymnastics and my college career was at UMass. I got involved because I was driving my mother crazy around the house and she needed an activity to put me in mid-year. She put me in a recreational gymnastics class and things progressed from there."
Jessica: "I honestly don't remember life before gymnastics. I started rec classes when I was 5 and then was put on the competition team when I was 7. I did the majority of my training in Rockville, Maryland. I competed as an elite gymnast in the late 90s. Being an elite gymnast was a very positive experience for me."
How would you characterize your coaching philosophy, and who or what shaped that philosophy?
Jay: "Our coaching philosophy can be summed up in 'balance.' We really strive to prepare our athletes well and put them in positions to succeed. So we are constantly trying to find the right balance of how to train hard at a high level and still give them mental and physical breaks for recovery. That philosophy has been molded by pretty much every stop along my career in some way but I would say that the two largest contributions were my time spent at Ohio State with Carey Fagan and Bill Lorenz, and Illinois with Kim Landrus and Jess.
Jessica: "Jay said it best that we look to find the balance in everything we do. It is a fine line of trying to train at an extremely high level while balancing the physical recovery of our athletes, their mental state on a daily basis, and their overall quality of life. Every day in the gym we are working on their mindset and how they approach their training every day to get through the physical and mental rigors of being a Division I college athlete. We evaluate our own system constantly and we really try to tailor our training to both the group and the individual."
I know this is a broad question, but what experiences in your competing days at UMass Amherst and West Virginia guided your coaching philosophies?
Jay: "I would say that most of my coaching philosophy has come from me actually coaching but I feel competing in college was greatly helpful in molding competitive drive, team dynamics (since the JO level of our sport is all individual) and things like that."
Jessica: "My college experience at WVU is what made me fall in love with coaching, but it was not without its bumps in the road. I had a very rocky start to my career and it was the patience and perseverance of our head coach, Linda Burdette, which really brought the best out of me. I think going through both ends of the spectrums of really struggling through my first two years of college to finishing my last three years as a top all-around gymnast really helps me keep the big picture in perspective.
What were some of the keys to building a strong program at Eastern Michigan?
Jay: "We were only there a short time but we worked very hard on trying to develop a strong competitive culture. We had a great core of leaders that really bought into our philosophies and what we were trying to do. We were able to build an atmosphere that the athletes were pushing each other to do more."
Jessica: "We had a lot of buy-in from the team right from the start. We had inherited a team that had experienced very little structure so developing a structure and a standard made a lot of sense to them. I think they liked most of what we brought to the table and the things they did not like they knew it would benefit them in the long run. We are also very proactive in the rehab and recovery of our athletes. The past two seasons, we had a very low number of injuries that would limit our student-athletes from competing. Having quality depth and staying healthy throughout the course of a season was one of the biggest reasons why we were extremely consistent the past two seasons."
Does your coaching experience in major athletic departments like Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa State and Pittsburgh help when moving to another major athletic program like ASU?
Jay: "I think it does; we obviously have a strong familiarity with NCAA rules because of all the years of college experience and most athletic departments have similar policies, so again we have some familiarity on how things work coming in. "
How does your training as a judge impact the way you teach?
Jessica: "My training as a judge has definitely helped me become a better coach. To keep my certifications I am required to do about 20 hours of training a year and most of it is done interacting with other judges. I think having those discussions with the judging community constantly about how deductions are applied and how to spot some of the smaller details helps me push our athletes to be a little bit better. Some of our toughest practices come when I put my judging hat on and start nitpicking the smallest details of the rulebook. Our goal is to take away any reason a judge may have to give a deduction throughout each routine."
What are the advantages of this husband-and-wife coaching arrangement and how do you complement each other?
Jay: "We obviously know each other very well and trust each other implicitly. We are like-minded on most of the major parts of philosophy and how we want to train our athletes, so we are on the same page on most things already. We balance each other pretty well. We are both pretty detailed oriented and want to have a clear plan of what we are doing but we each have different perspectives and focus for what we are looking at so while we are on the same page on most things we still bring different ideas and perspective to what we are trying to do."
Jessica: "In the gymnastics world, particularly in the club team level, a husband-and-wife duo is not a unique thing. Many of our student-athletes come from programs where a husband and wife team has coached them, and that's what they are comfortable with. As coaches, we are very similar in what we see and how we give corrections. There is a lot of trust and honesty with each other and most importantly constant communication. Every aspect of our program is thoroughly planned out and it's something we've been developing for close to ten years at this point.
What are your expectations for Year One?
Jay: "We met a lot of the team during the summer but since school has started and we have started officially we have obviously met with the whole team and are working with them daily at this point. Our expectations for this year are simply to work on improving every day and to try to raise the competitive level of the team. We need to build a strong foundation and culture that will help us continue make to improvements in the future."
Jessica: "Our expectations really do not change too much from year to year. Our expectation first and foremost is to get this team doing extremely consistent routines with very good execution. If we can perform the skill level we have and execute at a high level we will still see plenty of success. We do have a very young team but there is a tremendous amount of talent. Getting them to believe in the importance of consistency will go a long way over the next few years as we keep fighting to be competitive on a national level."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter
The husband-wife duo coached Eastern Michigan to the 2016 Mid-American Conference Championship, the program's first-ever NCAA Regional appearance, and finished the season ranked 17th in the nation – the highest national ranking in the history of the program.
They have extensive experience as student-athletes at UMass Amherst and West Virginia, respectively, and coaches in major programs such as Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa State and Pittsburgh.
While competition doesn't begin until January, the Gym Devils have finalized their roster and are already deep into preparations and training.
TheSunDevils.com caught up with Jay and Jessica Santos for a quick Q&A on their unique coaching arrangement, the value of their experiences, their coaching philosophy and their hopes for the 2017 season.
What convinced you to leave your East Coast roots and Midwest training ground behind and come to ASU?
Jay: "After meeting with Ray Anderson and hearing his vision for the program and Olympic sports and also meeting with several members of the athletic department and support staff, we thought it was a great opportunity for us."
Jessica: "Up until two years ago, both Jay and I were assistants at schools that experienced a lot of success with teams and individuals qualifying to the NCAA National Championships. I think after competing at that level year after year, we knew our ultimate goal was to be there with our own team one day. Every career move we have made over the past several years, including taking over the program at Eastern Michigan, was made with that goal in the back of our minds. Looking at the history of ASU gymnastics, we knew right away that the school has every resource to be a highly successful program and that was a huge draw. Once we met everyone within the athletic department and saw how much support our student-athletes will receive, we were sold."
Walk us through the process. How did ASU contact you, how did it progress from there and what impressed you about ASU's message and approach?
Jay: "We were initially contacted by [senior associate athletic directors] Scottie Graham and Don Bocchi. They were our primary contacts throughout the process. We had several phone conversations; they came out to Texas where Jess and I were at our national coaching meetings and we had a meeting there. From there we came out on the formal interview and several more phone conversations. What impressed us was Ray's vision for the department and for Olympic sports and the culture that is in place for the department."
Where did you lay your gymnastics roots? How did your involvement with the sport begin?
Jay: "I am from a little south of Boston and that is where I did my JO level gymnastics and my college career was at UMass. I got involved because I was driving my mother crazy around the house and she needed an activity to put me in mid-year. She put me in a recreational gymnastics class and things progressed from there."
Jessica: "I honestly don't remember life before gymnastics. I started rec classes when I was 5 and then was put on the competition team when I was 7. I did the majority of my training in Rockville, Maryland. I competed as an elite gymnast in the late 90s. Being an elite gymnast was a very positive experience for me."
How would you characterize your coaching philosophy, and who or what shaped that philosophy?
Jay: "Our coaching philosophy can be summed up in 'balance.' We really strive to prepare our athletes well and put them in positions to succeed. So we are constantly trying to find the right balance of how to train hard at a high level and still give them mental and physical breaks for recovery. That philosophy has been molded by pretty much every stop along my career in some way but I would say that the two largest contributions were my time spent at Ohio State with Carey Fagan and Bill Lorenz, and Illinois with Kim Landrus and Jess.
Jessica: "Jay said it best that we look to find the balance in everything we do. It is a fine line of trying to train at an extremely high level while balancing the physical recovery of our athletes, their mental state on a daily basis, and their overall quality of life. Every day in the gym we are working on their mindset and how they approach their training every day to get through the physical and mental rigors of being a Division I college athlete. We evaluate our own system constantly and we really try to tailor our training to both the group and the individual."
I know this is a broad question, but what experiences in your competing days at UMass Amherst and West Virginia guided your coaching philosophies?
Jay: "I would say that most of my coaching philosophy has come from me actually coaching but I feel competing in college was greatly helpful in molding competitive drive, team dynamics (since the JO level of our sport is all individual) and things like that."
Jessica: "My college experience at WVU is what made me fall in love with coaching, but it was not without its bumps in the road. I had a very rocky start to my career and it was the patience and perseverance of our head coach, Linda Burdette, which really brought the best out of me. I think going through both ends of the spectrums of really struggling through my first two years of college to finishing my last three years as a top all-around gymnast really helps me keep the big picture in perspective.
What were some of the keys to building a strong program at Eastern Michigan?
Jay: "We were only there a short time but we worked very hard on trying to develop a strong competitive culture. We had a great core of leaders that really bought into our philosophies and what we were trying to do. We were able to build an atmosphere that the athletes were pushing each other to do more."
Jessica: "We had a lot of buy-in from the team right from the start. We had inherited a team that had experienced very little structure so developing a structure and a standard made a lot of sense to them. I think they liked most of what we brought to the table and the things they did not like they knew it would benefit them in the long run. We are also very proactive in the rehab and recovery of our athletes. The past two seasons, we had a very low number of injuries that would limit our student-athletes from competing. Having quality depth and staying healthy throughout the course of a season was one of the biggest reasons why we were extremely consistent the past two seasons."
Does your coaching experience in major athletic departments like Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa State and Pittsburgh help when moving to another major athletic program like ASU?
Jay: "I think it does; we obviously have a strong familiarity with NCAA rules because of all the years of college experience and most athletic departments have similar policies, so again we have some familiarity on how things work coming in. "
How does your training as a judge impact the way you teach?
Jessica: "My training as a judge has definitely helped me become a better coach. To keep my certifications I am required to do about 20 hours of training a year and most of it is done interacting with other judges. I think having those discussions with the judging community constantly about how deductions are applied and how to spot some of the smaller details helps me push our athletes to be a little bit better. Some of our toughest practices come when I put my judging hat on and start nitpicking the smallest details of the rulebook. Our goal is to take away any reason a judge may have to give a deduction throughout each routine."
What are the advantages of this husband-and-wife coaching arrangement and how do you complement each other?
Jay: "We obviously know each other very well and trust each other implicitly. We are like-minded on most of the major parts of philosophy and how we want to train our athletes, so we are on the same page on most things already. We balance each other pretty well. We are both pretty detailed oriented and want to have a clear plan of what we are doing but we each have different perspectives and focus for what we are looking at so while we are on the same page on most things we still bring different ideas and perspective to what we are trying to do."
Jessica: "In the gymnastics world, particularly in the club team level, a husband-and-wife duo is not a unique thing. Many of our student-athletes come from programs where a husband and wife team has coached them, and that's what they are comfortable with. As coaches, we are very similar in what we see and how we give corrections. There is a lot of trust and honesty with each other and most importantly constant communication. Every aspect of our program is thoroughly planned out and it's something we've been developing for close to ten years at this point.
What are your expectations for Year One?
Jay: "We met a lot of the team during the summer but since school has started and we have started officially we have obviously met with the whole team and are working with them daily at this point. Our expectations for this year are simply to work on improving every day and to try to raise the competitive level of the team. We need to build a strong foundation and culture that will help us continue make to improvements in the future."
Jessica: "Our expectations really do not change too much from year to year. Our expectation first and foremost is to get this team doing extremely consistent routines with very good execution. If we can perform the skill level we have and execute at a high level we will still see plenty of success. We do have a very young team but there is a tremendous amount of talent. Getting them to believe in the importance of consistency will go a long way over the next few years as we keep fighting to be competitive on a national level."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter