SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Athletic Director Jennifer Bell and the Converse College Athletics Department are proud to announce the hiring of Alexandria "Allie" Alaman as the head coach of the Valkyries acrobatics and tumbling team, becoming the second coach in program history.
"Converse College Acrobatics and Tumbling surpassed everyone's expectations during the program's first two years, and we are more than excited about the future with Allie as our next leader," said Bell. "She has competed at the highest of levels and has a tremendous amount of energy, both of which will help her as a head coach, and she is determined to bring in even more quality student-athletes who will fit in nicely with our current team members. We look forward to working with her, as she continues to build on the winning culture that currently exists."
Alaman comes to the Valkyries after one year at Arizona Christian University. During her time at ACU she successfully recruited NCATA record-breaking numbers of student-athletes from across the nation to compete at the collegiate level. Alaman also prepared and developed individuals and strategies to create a competitive program, maintained compliance with NCAA and NAIA by-laws along with eligibility rules while traveling and competing at University sponsored events, coordinated travel for 28 team members and staff during the competitive season, kept documentation, and accounted for expenses to stay within the athletics travel budget.
Her role was not limited to athletics as she was also a member of the ACU admission team where she handled student applications and the admission process.
A four-time NCATA National Champion as a member of the Baylor Bears, Alaman brings a plethora of knowledge to the Valkyries program. While at Baylor she was the Bears' camp head coach where she taught extensive training in acrobatic gymnastics and tumbling. Allie was also a tumbling instructor in Riverside, California during the summers of 2016 and 2017.
Alaman was assigned to the USA Worlds Acrobatic Gymnastics Team four consecutive years where she represented the country at worlds competition from 2009-14, winning the National Championship in 2014.
Alaman received her training at various locations on the west coast, including Realis Gymnastics in Riverside, California (2012-14), Empire Gymnastics, also in Riverside (2008-12), and Precision Gymnastics in Rancho Cucamonga, California (2002-2008).
"I am truly excited to take the next step in my coaching career at Converse College," Alaman said. "It will be a chance to relocate, and work to strengthen an already successful budding program. I relished the year I spent with ACU, but am eager to take on a new challenge. I am extremely impressed with the support and engagement of the Converse administration on all levels for the Acrobatics & Tumbling program. I look forward to everything this position, year, and student-athletes will possibly bring me."