Kristen Maloney has compiled a trophy collection of which many athletes could only dream. It includes NCAA Championships, national titles and an Olympic medal to name a few.

Through her adventures as a world-class gymnast and the accolades she’s earned along the way, Maloney has found her way to Ames where she serves as an assistant coach for the ISU gymnastics team.

“I put my favorite things that I’ve done in categories,” Maloney said. “In club, before college, there was winning two USA Nationals back-to-back and obviously the Olympics. In college, it was winning with my team. That team atmosphere you can’t replicate anywhere else.”

In just three short seasons at Iowa State, Maloney has added to her list of accomplishments. Since Maloney joined the program, she has helped produce an All-American and a Big 12 Champion.

While her achievements may suggest otherwise, Maloney was not always so certain that coaching was her calling.

“After college I tried a bunch of different things, I really fought it for a long time,” Maloney said. “I did Cirque du Soleil for a couple years; I taught preschool for a year or so. It just felt natural to go back to coaching. It’s something that I thought I’d be good at and something I knew very well.”

Maloney had worked her way up to an assistant coach at New Hampshire when one day in the summer of 2011, her phone rang. On the other end was ISU head coach Jay Ronayne, letting her know that the Cyclones had an opening.

“When I first proposed to her to come work here, I thought, ‘She’s not even going to consider this,’” Ronayne said. “But when she said she was interested and would check it out, I thought to myself, ‘What an opportunity for these young ladies, to be able to work with an Olympian and an NCAA Champion.’”

One of the main reasons Maloney caught Ronayne’s interest was her reputation as an accomplished gymnast who knew how to get to the top of her game and stay there.

“My credibility is that I’ve had certain teams go to nationals and I’ve coached All-Americans. How much weight does that carry with these girls? Probably not as much as her saying ‘I’ve was there myself,’” Ronayne said with a laugh. “She’s somebody who’s been there, somebody who can credibly tell them what it takes to get to the top level.”

On the other hand, Maloney’s reputation for continuous excellence once struck a little bit of fear into the heart of ISU gymnast Caitlin Brown.

“When I first came in, it was really intimidating. I knew she was really good and I wasn’t, so I was like, ‘She thinks I’m so bad,’” Brown admitted with a laugh. “She’s somebody, though, as I’ve gotten to know her, I’ve learned she really cares about you inside the gym and outside the gym, as a gymnast and a person.”

Brown also said that she has grown to appreciate Maloney’s style of coaching, which is usually very straight-forward.

“She says how it is and what to do, and she’s like that with everybody,” Brown said. “If you’re not doing what you need to or if you have a bad attitude she won’t tip-toe around you. She makes you step up to the plate and do your job.”

Though she has gained a lot of respect and has experienced a good level of success in her time as an assistant, Maloney said her competitiveness has her constantly striving for more.

“I have two big goals right now, and really either one I would be happy with,” Maloney said. “Being a head coach at a top-20 or top-25 school is one of them. I think I’d be just as happy if I were an assistant at a top-10 school. I’m not going to make lateral or downward moves. I’m going to keep working up.”

As her track record would suggest, Maloney could very well realize that goal if she stays committed to it. In the meantime, though, Ronayne said Maloney and the Cyclones are a perfect fit.

“Beyond the experience and the awards and all of that, she’s just tough,” Ronayne said with a smile. “She’s really tough and that’s a nice thing for us to have. She refuses to accept things that are average, and I think that’s just what we need.”