Before starting his freshman year at the University of Minnesota, Jeff Graba was faced with a decision that would shape his career: wrestling or gymnastics?
"I had to make my mind up one way or the other, and I was loving gymnastics at the time so I stuck with that," said Graba, Auburn's gymnastics coach.
Gymnastics requires total body control and refinement of technique, and after being advised by his high school wrestling coach to take up the sport to improve his wrestling, Graba enthusiastically immersed himself in it.
"I was actually a relatively good wrestler, but my wrestling coach wanted me to go into dance or something to get better with footwork," Graba said. "So, I went into gymnastics because it was way more fun than dance."
Graba's wrestling skills improved right away because of the body control learned in gymnastics.
However, Graba said he never reached a high level in gymnastics because it is a "building block sport" that requires a lot of time to be able to be competitive.
While he didn't excel as a gymnast, Graba took what he learned and applied it as a coach. Because females involved in the sport outnumber males, Graba realized job opportunities for men would be readily available.
"There's always a job for a guy in gymnastics because we do what's called spotting," Graba said. "That's how I started out and one thing led to another and now, here I am."
Spotters are there to assist and to make sure the gymnasts don't injure themselves while practicing, and Graba said it's one of his major roles as coach.
"Spotting is an art in itself because you actually have to practice a lot to get the timing down," Graba said.
In 2006, in his first year at the University of Utah, Graba coached his first national champion, Kristina Baskett, to her first NCAA Championship appearance.
"That was a huge milestone for me because it was my first national championship in college," Graba said. "That first year at Utah had a lot of firsts for me in coaching."
Graba's experience gives him a level of understanding with the gymnasts that makes him stand out as a great coach.
"He can relate a lot to how he used to feel when he was a gymnast to how we're feeling now," said Caryn Kadous, freshman in kinesiology. "He understands if you're having a bad day that it's just that day, and you'll be able to do it again a different day."
His understanding of how to combine the mental and physical aspects of the sport creates a bond with each gymnast.
"He knows how to work with you personally," said Allyson Sandusky, senior in hotel and restaurant management. "If you're someone that likes to move slow in routines, he knows that's what you do."
His bond with his players shows in the records.
In his first season here, Graba led the Auburn gymnastics team to its highest NCAA regional score since 2004.
Friday, Auburn will travel to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas at 7 p.m.
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