Bryan Raschilla

Now in his ninth season with the Crimson Tide, assistant coach Bryan Raschilla has helped coach Alabama to an NCAA Championship in 2002 and Southeastern Conference titles in 2000 and 2003.

But most importantly to him, Raschilla has seen class after class of Alabama gymnasts come through the program, grow as athletes and people and graduate, ready to make something great of their lives.

"I'm at Alabama to be a part of a program that does things the right way," Raschilla said. "I have the good fortune to coach athletes who excel in academics, athletics and community service. To be able have some part in their development is really at the heart of why I coach."

Since he joined the Tide for the 1997 season, Alabama gymnasts have earned 85 All-American honors and 67 Scholastic All-American honors. Raschilla's gymnasts haven't been the only ones to grow and prosper. He and wife Laura have a son, Adam was born in 1998, and a daughter, Kathryn, born in 2001. Adam and Kathryn seem to grow every they turn around and with their infectious smiles, are team favorites when they visit in the gym.

Raschilla's duties with the Crimson Tide are as wide ranging as his talents. In addition to in-the-gym coaching, the Mineral Ridge, Ohio native also develops the Tide's strength and conditioning program and coordinates, along with David Patterson, Alabama's recruiting efforts.

"Bryan not only brings his keen technical analysis to the team," said Crimson Tide Head Coach Sarah Patterson. "He also brings the sort of stability that is expected of this program. After all, he is now in his ninth year with us, and he is only the third coach to serve as an assistant. He adds a comforting continuity for the athletes."

He also brings a talent for graphic design to the Tide. Before joining the collegiate coaching ranks, in addition to coaching club gymnastics, Raschilla worked in the art department of one of Ohio's top advertising agencies. Every year, Raschilla brings his skills to bear on the Tide's posters, logos, advertising, media guide covers along with a host of other projects.

"I've always been able to draw," Raschilla said. "And I've always been interested in computers. What I am able to do for the team is a great marriage of those two things."

So how did the 6-foot, 5-inch redhead with a degree in graphic design get involved in the one sport he'd never tried?

"I probably get asked that question a hundred times a year," Raschilla laughed.

Asked to spot for his high school team, Raschilla's interest continued to develop throughout his time at Youngstown State University in Ohio when he coached age-group gymnastics. After eleven years of club gymnastics and countless state champions, national qualifiers and national team members, he moved into the collegiate arena. "I started in 1983," Raschilla said. "And I've been coaching ever since."

Following a two-year stretch at the University of Michigan, where the Wolverines were second and sixth at nationals during his tenure, Raschilla moved on to The University of Alabama.

As a native northerner, Raschilla knew little about Alabama. He coached at the University's summer camp with Tide Assistant Head Coach David Patterson and enjoyed the atmosphere as well as the people behind it. Once he received the call from the Pattersons asking him to join their staff, Raschilla was ready to join on with the championship program.

Nine years later, Raschilla has accumulated masses of memories. "When you have the kind of job I do, it's hard to have just one favorite memory," he said. "Winning the national championship at home certainly is right up there, but there are so many others as well. Selling out Coleman Coliseum, that's 15,043 people, the first year I was here at the second competition. That was incredible. In 1998, we weren't the superstars at the NCAA Championships, but we made it into the top-3 because we competed as a team and were solid and consistent. And then in 2003, to win an SEC Championship by .05 because we were mentally tough and stayed strong to the end, that was very satisfying."

But Raschilla's greatest memory thus far is the birth of both his children. "They are the first Southern-born Raschillas," he exclaimed.

While fathers are supposed to teach their children, his have taught Raschilla a thing or two already. "This has made me so much more patient in the gym," he said. "I think, most importantly, I've learned what's really important."

Raschilla believes he is fortunate to have the opportunity to raise his children in Tuscaloosa with the collegiate atmosphere.

"I just really like Tuscaloosa a lot, and bringing up my children where they can be positively influenced by these collegiate athletes is just great," Raschilla said.