Kayla Marie Hoffman (born August 13, 1988) is a former American artistic gymnast from Union, New Jersey. A former senior international elite, she competed for the University of Alabama gymnastics team from 2008 to 2011. In 2011, she won the Honda Sports Award as the top woman gymnast.[1][2]
| Kayla Hoffman | |
|---|---|
| Country represented |  United States |
| Born | August 13, 1988 |
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics |
| Club | Rebound Gymnastics |
| Head coach(es) | Diane Farrell |
Career
Hoffman took up gymnastics in 1991, after her mother put her in classes. Because of a love of the sport, she encouraged her mother to take her out of classes and put her on a team.[3] For the vault event, she does a nine step run up.[4]
Hoffman has represented the United States internationally.[3][5] She competed at the 2006 World Cup in Russia.[3] She also competed at the 2006 Friendship Classic.[5]
Collegiate career
Hoffman competed on the collegiate level at the University of Alabama. While competing for the school, she trained 20 hours a week in the gym and managed a 4.0 grade point average.[6]
In the 2008 season, she competed in a meet against Auburn University.[7] At the 2008 Women's NCAA Championships, she finished fifth in the vault with a score of 9.762.[8]
At the 2010 SEC Championships, Hoffman posted a score of 9.9 on the floor to tie with two other gymnasts for second place.[9]
A senior in 2011, she helped guide her team to a fifth national championship win with a performance that included a 9.95 on the floor exercise.[10][11][12][13] She also finished second in the balance beam with a score of 9.8875.[14][15] She had a third-place finish in the uneven bars, tying with three other gymnasts.[15] The Crimson Tide gymnast went into the competition as a favorite to do well.[16] She went into the competition ranked fourth nationally in the all around, and second in the vault.[17] Her team was ranked second in the nation, after having been ranked ninth earlier in the season.[18][19]
Hoffman was also a key gymnast for the team in their 2011 SEC and NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Championships wins after being a leader on the team for most of the season.[10][20][18] At the 2011 SEC Championships, she won the vault competition with a score of 9.950.[6][21] A score of 9.875 on the bars put her in fourth place.[21] She tied for third in the all around competition at the SEC Championships with a score of 39.350.[21] Hoffman won the 2010-11 Roy F. Kramer SEC Female Athlete of the Year as a result of her performance, the first Alabama woman to win the award since 2004.[10][20]
Competing in the season opener of the 2010–2011 season, Hoffman had a score of 9.9 on the floor competition, which was enough to give her a first-place finish.[22] At another meet that season against Georgia, she scored 9.95 on the floor and put up an all around score of 39.675 to win both events.[23] Another meet against the Arkansas Razorbacks saw her put up a score of 9.35 on the uneven bars and a 9.95 on the vault. The vault score included two scores of 10 from judges. She finished second at the meet on the beam with a score of 9.825.[24] On senior night of her senior season, she scored a 9.95 in the vault, which was a season high for her in the event. She also put up a score of 9.925 on her floor routine. She had some issues on senior night, including a fall during her beam routine.[25]
Hoffman finished her collegiate career in 2011 as a 5 time All American.[10][26][27] Other honors included earning the SEC Gymnast of the Year and SEC Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the same year.[10] She also earned SEC Gymnast of the Week honors twice.[10]
Background
Born on August 13, 1988, Hoffman is originally from Union, New Jersey.[10][3][4] She is 5'1" and weighed 120 pounds.[11][4]
In 2010, Hoffman started the process of applying for graduate school. Going into her senior year at the University of Alabama, she had a 4.0 grade point average.[6] She completed an internship at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore.[6]
During her time at the University of Alabama, she dated Michael Hughes, a member of the university's track team.[11] In her senior year, she lived off campus in Tuscaloosa.[11] Following her win at the 2011 National Championships, she was outside her apartment when a tornado struck the building, suffering a six inch long cut along her calf as a result of flying glass. Hughes found her after the tornado.[11][28]