Entering her 10th season at Florida, Gators gymnastics head coach Jenny Rowland has pioneered UF to seven-straight SEC regular season championships and four-straight Four on the Floor appearances.
But success in the sport isn’t Rowland’s only goal for her team.
Her experience as a gymnast shaped her coaching philosophy, prioritizing enjoyment and self-improvement alongside winning.
“You can work hard, you can enjoy what you're doing and you can have success,” Rowland said. “Those are three things that I really just lean on and what I’ve lived by since I got back into the sport and especially when I started coaching.”
Rowland was a USA National Team member from 1985-1990, and she was named an All-American on the uneven bars in 1993 for Arizona State University.
Following her career, Rowland stepped back from the gym, enrolling at the University of Oklahoma to work toward her bachelor's in health and sports sciences.
“There was a point in time where I completely lost my love for the sport,” Rowland said. “But having to pay my way through school, a gym just happened to fall into my lap.”
That gym was the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in Norman, Oklahoma. Rowland credits the academy for reestablishing her love for the sport she dedicated her childhood and early adult years to.
She then began her position as an assistant coach for Oklahoma before leaving in 2010 to take the same job at Auburn.
At Auburn, Rowland became the associate head coach and was named Co-National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2015 after helping the Tigers reach the NCAA Super Six for the first time in 22 years.
Her talents as a Tiger attracted the Gators. UF hired her within months, and she became the seventh head coach in program history.
Since then, Rowland has established herself as one of the top coaches in the nation, winning the 2020 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association National Coach of the Year award and three SEC Coach of the Year awards.
Having coached some of the top gymnasts in the country in her time at UF, Rowland established a unique culture for the program — one less focused on scores but fixated on being competitive and having fun.
“We like to say, ‘Train freely, compete freely,’” Rowland said. “When you train freely, you compete freely. We like to win, but we’re going to enjoy the process.”
Rowland’s position offers her a prestigious opportunity to watch her athletes grow from their time as freshmen to progressing toward their future, whether that be in the sport or another avenue.
“It’s really important to find something else that you are just as passionate about in life other than gymnastics, because gymnastics may not always be there,” Rowland said. “So helping them find an identity and understand that we acknowledge that they are not just a gymnast.”
Her athletes embrace this philosophy.
Junior Leanne Wong is the CEO of Leanne Wong Bowtique, where she sells bows and other accessories to young girls.
She hopes the business can inspire the future generation of gymnasts.
“I started my bow business in December of 2021,” Wong said. “It’s something I love to do outside of school and gymnastics.”
Wong’s overall excellence both on and off the mat awarded her a spot as a replacement athlete for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“I’m super grateful to have such a great support staff and the best coaches here to be able to see me through both college and the elite season,” Wong said.
Florida associate head coach Owen Field joined the program at the same time as Rowland. Field will be traveling with Wong to coach her in Paris.
“I’m super proud of Leanne and all the hard work she’s put in,” Field said. “It’s really rewarding to see all that pay off and to see her accomplish some of her goals.”
Field was promoted to the associate head coach role this summer. His coaching dynamic compliments Rowland’s, both preaching to enjoy the sport.
“We remind [Wong] to enjoy every moment and stick to the plan,” Field said. “Her position as an alternate is to be ready whenever they need her, so that constant reminder of treating every day like she is competing so that if something happens she’s ready to go.”
Now heading into her tenth season as the Florida coach, Rowland and Field have the same goal for the team: be the best version of yourself in every aspect of your life.
“We want to help them become a more well rounded person, and be ready to attack life once they graduate,” Rowland said. “We’re trying to get them 1% better in the gym, 1% better at life.”
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @maxbernstein23.
