BUCHHEISTER TO SPEAK AT NATIONAL CLINIC

Kris Buchheister, Southeast Missouri State University's first-year women's gymnastics coach, has been selected to speak at a youth clinic that is in conjunction with the NCAA National College Gymnastics Championship.

The NCAA Championship meet will be held Saturday in Los Angeles.

The clinic is part of the NCAA Youth Education through Sports (YES) program and will provide youth programming which focuses on participant development and the student-athlete mentoring program.

YES clinic participants will discuss with student-athletes topics such as academics, goal-setting, developing mental skills and transferring what they learn in sports to other areas of their lives. These special presentations will be specifically geared to the ages of the participants.

"I think it's a great honor to be selected to speak at the clinic," said Buchheister. "I'm looking forward to it."

Buchheister is no stranger to serving as a guest speaker at national-level clinics. In addition to coaching, Buchheister is a licensed physical therapist and has published articles in several national publications. Most recently, she was a keynote speaker at the Olympic Training Center in November of 1997.

Buchheister will be utilizing her experience as a physical therapist and as a choreographer in leading discussions on dance and posture at the youth clinic.

Joining Buchheister for the clinic will be senior gymnast Erica Smith. Smith is majoring in elementary education and will serve as one of the consultants at each of the sessions during the clinic, mainly assisting the coaches with their discussions by providing a student-athlete perspective.