Career
In 1981, at age 21, Hill bought a gym in Wheaton, Maryland. She moved the gym to Gaithersburg, Maryland in 1991. Her mother ran the gym's office while she coached. [5] Because she had no formal training in coaching gymnastics, she learned how to coach by trial and error. [5]
Hill was Dominique Dawes' only coach for the duration of her gymnastics career. In 1982, at age 6, Dawes joined Hill's Angels, one year after it was founded. Recognizing her natural abilities immediately, Kelli encouraged her to come to the gym as often as possible. By age 10, Dawes was competing as an elite gymnast. [6] When the gym moved to its new location in 1991, Dominique moved into Kelli's home in order to be closer to the gym. [7] Hill coached Dawes to three consecutive Olympic games: Barcelona in 1992, in Atlanta in 1996, and in Sydney in 2000. Dawes later attended the University of Maryland and continued to see her Hill on a regular basis. Both Hill and Dawes described their relationship as close, and Dawes once said "I wouldn't be where I am without her support and guidance...I didn't get here on my own. In my 18 years in the sport, she did a very good job protecting me from everything that was going on outside of gymnastics. She made me focus on the things I had control of and everything else was just put aside in a stack...everything from how the judges felt about me to the temperature of the gym. She was very big on instilling that lesson." [6] Hill described their relationship as "very, very close" and "more like family than anything else." [8] In 2020, Dawes announced that she was opening her own gym approximately 12 miles away from Hill's Gymnastics, claiming that she wanted to change the culture of gymnastics. [8] [9] At that time, Dawes said that she no longer spoke to Hill. [8] [9] Hill responded to Dawes' comments, saying that she had reached out to Dawes many times in the past two years and that Dawes had not responded. Hill also said she would be willing to help Dawes with opening her gymnastics academy. [8]
Courtney Kupets began gymnastics at Hill's gym in 1989. In 1991, Hill was named Coach of the Year by USA Gymnastics and U.S. Elite Coaches Association. In 1993, Hill was again named Coach of the Year by USA Gymnastics and U.S. Elite Coaches Association.
At the 1993 World Championships, Dawes was in first place in the all-around competition, but slipped on her final vault, bursting into tears. A famous moment in gymnastics, Hill encouraged her to be proud of her performance, telling her: "It's okay, you gave it a good shot. When did you ever think you would be in that position? You have to be happy with yourself. Come on. Be happy. Stand up and wave." Dawes was given a standing ovation from the crowd for doing so. [10]
In 1996, the U.S. Elite Coaches Association named Hill the organization's Coach of the Year for the third time. In 1998, Hill coached Elise Ray to the Goodwill Games, where she earned asilver medal. [11] Both Ray and Dawes competed on the 1999 U.S. National Team for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship. [11]
In 2000, Hill coached both Dawes and Ray as they competed for the Olympic team and won a team bronze medal. [11] Originally, China won the bronze medal for the team all-around competition. But in 2010, the Chinese gymnasts were stripped of their medals following an investigation which revealed that the Chinese team had falsified documents to allow the underage Dong Fangxiao to compete. [12] [13]
In 2002, Kupets won the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. In 2003, Kupets won the U.S. Classic while coached by Hill, becoming the national champion. [2] Hill also coached Corey Hartung, who was a member of the 2003 U.S. National Team. [2] In July, Hill was named the head coach of the women's national team for the 2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. [2] The team went on to win the Gold Medal at the World Championships. [2] Kupets made the team and performed well in the qualification round, but severely injured her Achilles tendon during a practice session and had to return to Maryland for surgery. [14] [15] Following the 2003 season, Hill was named Coach of the Year by USA Gymnastics for the third time and by U.S. Elite Coaches Association for the fifth time.
In 2004, Kupets scored highest in the Olympic trials, and traveled to Athens where she won bronze on uneven bars and contributed scores on bars and floor to the team's 2nd-place finish. Hill's gymnast Corrie Lothrop was an alternate on the 2008 Olympic team, but did not compete.
Kayla DiCello joined Hill's Gymnastics in 2006, when she was two years old. [16] In 2012, Hill was elected to serve a term on the USA Gymnastics Board of Directors, representing women's gymnastics. [17] In 2020, DiCello was an Olympic alternate at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. [18] Following the 2020 Olympics, DiCello attended the University of Florida, competing on their women's gymnastics team, and Hill retired. [18] [19] Following her 2023 college season, DiCello decided she wanted to try to make the 2024 Olympic team. [18] She called Hill and asked her if she would come out of retirement to coach her, and Hill said "yes." [18] One week later, DiCello was back in Maryland training for the 2024 Olympic trials. [18] At the trials, DiCello was injured and was forced to withdraw.
Elite Gymnasts
| Gymnast | Time Coached | Achievements under Hill |
|---|---|---|
| Dominique Dawes | 1982–2000 |
|
| Elise Ray | –2001 | |
| Courtney Kupets | 1989–2004 |
|
| Corey Hartung |
| |
| Corrie Lothrop | 2005–2009 | |
| Kayla DiCello | 2006–present [16] |
|
