As an LSU gymnast from 2005 to 2009, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney contorted her body in front of the glaring eyes of nit-picking judges.
Now, the two-time national champion and five-time All-American works behind the scenes with a single judge, the Hon. Lisa Woodruff-White, who frequently makes rulings on the custody or support of a child.
As a full-time staff attorney in the Family Court of East Baton Rouge Parish, Clare-Kearney’s position may be a role reversal from her college days. But her love for LSU gymnastics remains constant. In fact, she’s entering her fifth year as a volunteer coach, focusing on beam and floor.
While Clare-Kearney’s current entry-level job allows her some flexibility, she said LSU gymnastics is a sacrifice worth making at least twice a week.
“I am firm believer in ‘you make time for what you want to make time for,’” Clare-Kearney said. “I think because I love being a part of LSU gymnastics I find a way to make it happen.”
On her way to a school-record 114 individual titles, Clare-Kearney excelled in the classroom as a Scholastic All-American in her junior and senior years. Her mother is an educator, but Clare-Kearney didn’t conquer this academic challenge in college until she sat out a year with a foot injury before her sophomore campaign.
A career in law, though, was always the goal for Clare-Kearney. After receiving her master’s degree in sports management from LSU, the Manchester, Connecticut, native received a law degree from Southern University. While she acknowledges that she is a good arguer, she doesn’t see herself as a future litigator.
“I still don’t necessarily want to be in the courtroom, but I’ve never heard anyone saying they regret going to law school,” Clare-Kearney said.
In a sport requiring complete concentration, excellence in academics is something Clare-Kearney sees in many gymnasts. One of her prized pupils, senior All-American Lloimincia Hall, also is stellar in the classroom.
Hall, a three-time Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll member, has dazzled judges and the public with creative and powerful floor routines, creating a viral splash last spring. While the four-time All-American and three-time SEC floor champion brings her own flair to the execution, Clare-Kearney is the one tirelessly choreographing the routine.
The perfectionist volunteer coach frequently alters the routine or music for a floor exercise months before Hall or another gymnast goes to competition.
“I do my best work when I’m laying in my bed,” Clare-Kearney said. “When they get their music done and I’m laying in bed, I play their music. That’s where I can think and see them doing certain things. So I type all in my phone. I come here, and, sometimes, I don’t know what I typed because I described it in words.”
While Clare-Kearney has been crucial to her success, she and Hall have a special relationship outside of the sport. Hall acknowledged that she can be difficult to deal with, but she considers Clare-Kearney to be a family member who motivates her to be her best.
“We’ve cried together, laughed together [and] prayed together,” Hall said. “We’ve done a whole bunch of things together to say that I know I wouldn’t be where I was if it wasn’t for her.”
Clare-Kearney acts as an older sibling for all the Tiger gymnasts. She said she considers herself to be a “mediator” in situations that may arise between the athletes or between the athletes and coach D-D Breaux.
It’s a level of respect Breaux gives to her former standout gymnast that developed over 10 years of being around each other. Breaux sees Clare-Kearney as a peer whose opinion is equally as valid on decisions that range from the routines to what leotard the gymnasts should wear.
“We really understand each other tremendously,” Breaux said “I have just so much respect for her, what she does and what she’s accomplished.”
In the subjective sport of gymnastics, which requires mind-numbing repetition in practice, Clare-Kearney is the harshest judge of her own choreography. She doesn’t know how long she will continue to volunteer, but LSU gymnastics runs through her veins and keeps her coming back to shepherd new gymnasts.
“I love to serve as a mentor to [the gymnasts], so they can be that much better than [my teams] were,” Clare-Kearney said.