Kim Parsons Valenti, a former assistant at a pair of Division I programs, is entering her seventh year as head coach of the Ursinus College gymnastics team. She took over in the summer of 2018 after Jeff Schepers retired after 18 years at the helm.
“I am truly honored to be named the head gymnastics coach at Ursinus College, and would like to thank Laura Moliken for this opportunity to lead the Bears,” Valenti said. “I am excited to grow the UC program not only within the NCGA but the NCAA as a whole.”
Valenti helped guide two gymnasts to qualify for the 2024 NCGA National Championships that was hosted at Ursinus College. Erin Roe qualified on the vault while Kylie Ruggiero completed a tremendous comeback story by qualifying on the bars behind setting a school record at the NCGA East Regionals. As a team, the Bears were consistent all season and scored over 190 as a team three times, which included a 191.350 at Brockport that was the highest team score since 2017.
The Bears hosted the 2023 NCGA East Regionals and had three gymnasts: Alyssa DeLorme (floor and bars), Alex Panetta (Vault), and Ashley Cromer (Vault) qualify for the 2023 NCGA National Championships held in Winona State.
Valenti coached Alyssa DeLorme to All-American honors for all-around in 2022 and a spot in the NCGA National Championships at Ithaca.
During Valenti's second season, the Bears earned three Bears earned All-America honors by the NGCA including Alex Panetta who was the first Ursinus rookie to secure All-America honors since 2015.
Valenti came to Collegeville from the University of Pennsylvania, where she spent the majority of the last six years. She served as an assistant gymnastics coach from 2012 to 2015, playing an integral role in helping the Quakers capture the ECAC Championship in 2013 and the Ivy League Classic championship in 2015. Valenti developed and coached a USA Gymnastics Collegiate Nationals uneven bars champion, a pair of Ivy League Classic individual champions, an NCAA all-around individual qualifier and beam alternate, and an ECAC beam champion during her time with the program.
Following her stint as an assistant, Valenti worked in an administrative capacity at Penn, serving eight sport programs along with the CFO of Athletics, Associate Athletic Director for Strategic Communications, and the Assistant Athletic Director for Admissions and Financial Aid. Valenti helped coordinate the newly launched Penn Athletics Wharton Leadership Academy and the Positive Psychology Resiliency Program for coaches and staff, in addition to acting as an administrative liaison for various task forces and campus partnerships, organizing on-campus interviews, and assisting with divisional events.
Prior to her arrival at Penn, Valenti was an assistant at both MIT and Temple University. She helped the Engineers win the 2011 NAIGC championship, and at Temple she coached the 2012 ECAC beam and all-around individual winners.
Valenti brings a wealth of coaching experience with her to Ursinus. Between 2006-2016, Valenti coached gymnasts from all over the country and was mentored by some of the best at Woodward Gymnastics Camp. She held the position of gymnastics director at Woodward from 2011-2013. Valenti also spent time at both the University of Alabama and the University of New Hampshire at their respective summer camps.
In addition to her coaching experience, Valenti has worked as a coordinator for Gymnast Mindset since last January, offering mindset training sessions to teams at both the club and collegiate level.
Valenti was a Division I student-athlete at James Madison University, where she was a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Scholar-Athlete. She graduated in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in history, then earned her master’s degree in teaching with a concentration in social studies education, curriculum, and practice from Boston University in 2011.
Valenti resides in Philadelphia with her husband Matt, who is the Associate Athletic Director for Student Development at Penn.
