On this Mother’s Day weekend, let us celebrate the mother of Alabama gymnastics – Sarah Patterson.
After graduating college in 1978, Sarah was appointed the head women’s gymnastics coach at The University of Alabama by then-Athletics Director Paul “Bear” Bryant. She would be the last coach ever hired by Bryant. The fledgling gymnastics program had struggled at first with four different coaches and not a single winning record those first four years.
Bryant clearly saw potential in the young graduate who quickly turned around the Tide gymnastics team winning a record seven meets that season, as many as the first four years combined.