The current Oklahoma head coach and the former Iowa State gymnastics coach, K.J. Kindler, recently took a swipe at Iowa Gymnastics after it announced the discontinuation of their women’s gymnastics program. The ISU Athletic Department reported the end of the Cyclones’ gymnastics program halfway through the season.
ISU’s gymnastics program’s coaching staff, including Ashley Miles Greig, Jazmyn Estrella, Mary Wise, and Ragan Smith, was informed that their contracts will not be renewed. On February 17, the athletics director, Jamie Pollard, wrote a letter to the gymnastics team and alumni that the program’s season would be concluded halfway due to internal disputes between teammates, coaching staff members, and parents. He added that the program did not have enough athletes to compete with.
The Iowa Gymnastics’ former coach and athlete, K.J. Kindler, expressed her disappointment in the decision to shut down the program, highlighting a lack of proper support and facilities for athletes. She pointed to the growth of college gymnastics and said it is wrong to blame the sport.
“I am profoundly disappointed in the decision to eliminate lowa State’s women’s gymnastics program,” Kindler wrote. “This outcome follows a troubling pattern of chronic underinvestment, unsafe and inadequate facilities, and a failure to provide the consistent oversight and care that student-athletes deserve. What is most disturbing is the attempt to place blame on the sport of gymnastics itself. That narrative is not just inaccurate, it is unjust.
“Collegiate gymnastics is thriving nationwide. It is one of the fastest-growing women’s sports in the NCAA, with rising participation, expanding programs, and surging fan engagement across the country. To diminish a sport built on achievement, integrity, and academic distinction is to overlook the extraordinary young women who define it. These women deserve better. The alumni deserve better. The sport deserves better,” she added.
Soon after competing for Iowa Gymnastics from 1989 to 1992, Kindler joined the program as an assistant coach. She was promoted to head coach in 2001. She was the first individual regional qualifier in Iowa Gymnastics history. She led the program as a head coach for six seasons, during which they made their first appearance in the Super Six.
Former Iowa Gymnastics Assistant Coach Ryan Snider Slams Head Coach Ashley Miles Greig
Former Iowa Gymnastics Assistant Coach Ryan Snider took a swipe at the program’s head coach, Ashley Miles Greig, for being incompetent. He also criticized the ISU Athletic Department for appointing a person with no coaching experience. He mentioned how the athletes, other coaches, and parents warned the administration about Miles Greig’s appointment.
“Sad day for this sport,” Snider wrote. “Shame on that entire ISU Athletic Department. All you had to do was take accountability for hiring the wrong person. How many athletes, coaches, and parents went to administration and told you about Ashley? You have issues in every sport, it’s college athletics.”
He added:
“You’re dealing with young humans in the most influential part of their lives. The issue recently with gymnastics? You hired a used car salesman to lead a storied division 1 program. In what other sport or professional does hiring someone with zero experience make sense?”
Miles Greig joined the Iowa Gymnastics as head coach on April 26, 2023. Under her guidance, the team fell short of qualifying for the NCAA postseason last year. Snider joined the program as an assistant coach on July 5, 2023, and was promoted to associate head coach on May 17, 2024.
Read more:
Jordan Chiles Stays No. 1 As UCLA Gymnastics Draws Record-Breaking Crowds at Every 2026 Away Meet
Jordan Chiles Reacts to Earning Highest All-Around in Nation Amid 2026 NCAA Gymnastics Season
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in tennis, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
