When I first heard the name Valerie Kondos Field, I thought it was a sports venue. Since then, I’ve come to have a great appreciation for the name of UCLA’s women’s gymnastics coach and the extraordinary woman who owns it.

For one thing, she has impeccable credentials. Her name was among the first mentioned when I asked Coach John Wooden years ago for a list of coaches who best exemplified the teacher-coach concept he introduced to the CHARACTER COUNTS! Pursuing Victory With Honor sports initiative.

He told me he was an avid fan of women’s gymnastics and attended every meet he could. He loves the way Coach Val teaches her girls to be not merely great gymnasts – her teams have won five NCAA national championships – but to be good people.

So I got to know Val a bit and found out why Coach Wooden thinks so much of her. As a model teacher-coach, she takes seriously the notion that her team is comprised of student-athletes. Her team’s cumulative grade-point average is always among the top in the conference.

And in a sport that highlights personal performances, Coach Val insists that her athletes work and think as a team. But what touched my heart most was watching her athletes enthusiastically cheering for each other during a meet.

Coach Wooden’s endorsement is hard to beat, but the clincher for me was when my wife Anne, who runs her own gymnastics school and treats her gymnasts like they were her own kids, told me that no parent could hope for more than having a child coached, mentored, and loved by Valerie Kondos Field.

Coached, mentored, and loved – that's quite a combination.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.