Alabama Adds Ross Thompson to Gymnastics Coaching Staff
5/31/2024 8:56:00 AM | Gymnastics
Thompson will primarily serve as the Crimson Tide’s uneven bars coach, as his previous stint at Illinois featured two consecutive team berths to the NCAA Regionals
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama gymnastics head coach Ashley Johnston added Ross Thompson to the program's coaching staff, the program announced Friday. Thompson will primarily serve as the Crimson Tide's uneven bars coach.
Thompson arrives in Tuscaloosa after serving on Illinois' women's gymnastics coaching staff from 2023-24, primarily overseeing vault. In addition to vault, Thompson helped with floor exercise his first year and uneven bars last season.
His stint with the Fighting Illini featured the program's 19th (2023) and 20th (2024) straight appearances at the NCAA Regionals, as well as assisting the floor exercise group in breaking the program record rotation score in his first year on staff. Under Thompson's guidance on vault, he was responsible for increasing the program's national vault ranking by 10 places. Illinois also saw the most 10.0 vaults competed since the code change in 2015, and had the lineup tie for the sixth-highest rotation score in program history. Last season, Thompson helped the Fighting Illini reach its fifth-highest team score in Illinois women's gymnastics history.
Serving as team captain for three seasons with the men's gymnastics team at Illinois, Thompson led his team to three consecutive third-place finishes in the NCAA Championships (2016-18), while also being crowned a Big Ten Conference champion in 2018. Out of the gym, Thompson was a two-time Academic All-American as well as a CGA First Team All-American Scholar-Athlete in 2018.
What Head Coach Ashley Johnston Said
"We are thrilled to welcome Ross Thompson to our coaching staff. I've known him as both an athlete and a coach and I am confident that he will impact our program through his passion, work-ethic and vision for greatness."
What Assistant Coach Ross Thompson Said
"I am incredibly honored and beyond excited to join this amazing team and incredible staff. My time at Illinois has been invaluable, and I am grateful for the experiences and relationships I have built along the way. I am thrilled to work alongside Ashley [Johnston] and contribute to the continued success and excellence of Alabama gymnastics."
Ross Thompson | The Resume
- Primarily served as an assistant coach on the Illinois staff from 2023-24
- Oversaw vault and floor exercise in 2023, and vault and uneven bars during the 2024 season
- Helped guide the Fighting Illini to the program's 19th (2023) and 20th (2024) straight appearances at the NCAA Regionals
- Led the floor exercise lineup to a program-record rotation score of 49.525 in his first year on staff
- Increased the program's national vault ranking by 10 places
- Big Ten Conference champion as a student-athlete at Illinois from 2016-19
- Helped lead the Fighting Illini to three consecutive third-place finishes at the NCAA Championships (2016-18)
- 2018 Big Ten event finalist on high bar
- 2018 CGA First Team All-American Scholar-Athlete
- Two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2018, 2019)
- Two-time Academic All-American
- Served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for three years
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