For Ceralde, change means continuity

By Molin Zhong

Staff Writer

molin@sas.upenn.edu

Look closely at the Penn gymnastics team this year and one might notice that along with a new head coach, the team members will also sport revised dictionaries. The team has learned that the word 'change' does not always mean that things will be different.

After 19 years of coaching at Penn, former head coach Tom Kovic stepped down last summer to start a consulting firm for prospective student-athletes and inject new blood into the program. New coach John Ceralde, an assistant coach for the Quakers for the past five years, was charged with filling those sizable shoes.

"I know the program well," Ceralde said, "I feel that I could continue the tradition here."

Though faced with the task of replacing a head coach who eventually became an institution, Ceralde carries an air of confidence.

When asked whether he feels any pressure in replacing Kovic, Ceralde said: "I don't feel any pressure at all."

He expressed his wish to continue the solid performances that coach Kovic's teams had been putting up year in and year out.

Looking to the future, however, Ceralde has a vision to bring the gymnastics squad to an even higher plateau.

Since he already ran the conditioning and practices in years past as assistant coach, Ceralde stressed the fact that not much would change just because a different man is now the one giving instructions.

In fact, while he asserted that every coach has his or her unique style, he struggled to find an answer when asked how he would compare what he planned to do and what Kovic did. The one difference, Ceralde stated, was that he planned on challenging the gymnasts more.

Though winning is important, Ceralde also wants his gymnasts to have fun as well as perform academically.

He is "looking forward to continuing the success of the program with a high academic standard and to give each gymnast the opportunity to have a positive experience with Penn Gymnastics," Ceralde said.

Along with the experience gained from his time here at Penn, Ceralde has an impressive resume.

Before he came to Penn, Ceralde was the head coach at Radford University before the program there was killed. But under his guidance, Radford finished in sixth place at the 2000 USA Collegiate National Championships.

And prior to his stint at Radford, he held an assistant coaching job at Yale University, making him no stranger to Ivy League athletics even before he came to Penn.

The Louisville graduate's first year as head coach at Penn looks to be an interesting one.

"I think that we're young," Ceralde said when asked about his first squad here at Penn.

Along with that fact, however, he felt that there was room for growth and improvement throughout the season, regardless of how much progress his predecessor made in his time at the program.

So as the new head coach, Ceralde looks to employ both definitions of 'change.'

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