WISCONSIN RAPIDS — After the end-of-season team banquet in April, former Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln girls gymnastics coach Kylie Barnes informed her athletes that she would be stepping down from her position.
Six seasons after joining the squad as an assistant, Barnes decided that it was time to step away from coaching for a while after completing her third season as the Red Raiders head coach.
“They were surprised. They were very surprised,” Barnes said about the team’s reaction. “I’ve got eight girls, four of them are seniors, so they weren’t as impacted just because they’re leaving, but obviously sad that I’m leaving the program. It was the underclassmen that kind of came in, and we just … it’s sad because we just developed a relationship in four or five months, and I feel bad leaving them.
On May 14, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln’s busy athletic department announced the search for a new girls’ gymnastics coach on school-affiliated social media sites, officially ending Barnes’ tenure as the Red Raiders head coach. There was no official announcement of Barnes departure.
Barnes recalled her time as the Red Raiders leader as the best job she’s ever had, and thanked Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln’s athletic department for their unwavering support and guidance throughout her coaching career.
Still, it was a tough but necessary personal determination.
“It was probably the hardest decision I’ve ever made, but still the right one for myself,” said Barnes.
She plans to continue her teaching career at Lincoln as a social studies teacher.
However, for prospective and upcoming Lincoln gymnasts, that does not mean she is gone for good.
“But I like to tell myself that I’ll probably come back to the program someday. And I’ll still be involved, whether that means helping run a meet here or working at state gymnastics,” Barnes said. “I’ll still poke my head in and say hi. I could never completely remove myself from the program and the girls’ lives; it’s just who I am and the relationships that I’ve built with them.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Reporter Alfred Smith III at alfred.smith@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AlfredS_III.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Kylie Barnes steps down from Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln girls gymnastics coaching position
Reporting by Alfred Smith III, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune / Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
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