The Balance
My Years Coaching Simone Biles
Abrams Press · Print & ebook · April 22, 2025
From Paris Olympics star and legendary gymnast Simone Biles’s longtime coach, an insider’s look at the making of a champion With a Foreword by Simone Biles The Balance is coach Aimee Boorman’s inside account of the growth of a transcendent athlete and the tumultuous events—from the dictatorial coaching of Martha Karolyi to the sexual abuse by Larry Nassar—that upended the lives of many girls, including Biles.
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- Who it’s for
- A coach’s view of talent, care, and the costs of elite gymnastics.
- Genres
- Sports Lives, Gymnastics, Women's Lives
- Published
- Abrams Press, April 22, 2025
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From Paris Olympics star and legendary gymnast Simone Biles’s longtime coach, an insider’s look at the making of a champion With a Foreword by Simone Biles The Balance is coach Aimee Boorman’s inside account of the growth of a transcendent athlete and the tumultuous events—from the dictatorial coaching of Martha Karolyi to the sexual abuse by Larry Nassar—that upended the lives of many girls, including Biles. Simone Biles is one of the greatest athletes of all time.
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She’s won six all-around world championships and eleven Olympic medals (seven gold). Five gymnastics moves are named after her, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the youngest recipient ever), and at an age when most elite gymnasts have retired, Biles is not just still competing—she’s dominating. She soared in the 2024 Paris Olympics, bringing home more Olympic gold. She’s having so much fun that LA 2028 is not out of the question. But when coach Aimee Borman met her at a gym in Texas, Simone was just a seven-year-old kid. An exceptionally athletically gifted one, to be sure, but not yet great. That would take time, care, love, and balance. Boorman helped shape Biles, both pushing her and holding her back, protecting both her mental and physical health. “She’s like a second mom to me,” writes Biles, and Boorman was the National Team coach in 2016, where the US—and Biles—took home all-around gold. The Balance combines unprecedented insider perspective on a legend, newsworthy details on gymnastics history, and compelling lessons on coaching, leadership, and development.
Beyond the Medal
A coach’s view of talent, care, and the costs of elite gymnastics.
Come here for
- An insider’s view of Simone Biles’s development
- Gymnastics history close to its human stakes
Expect
- A coach’s perspective on ambition and wellbeing
- An account that includes abuse and upheaval
Where it sits
| Gymnastics | 72% |
|---|---|
| Sports Lives | 70% |
| Women's Lives | 36% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Sports Lives
- Women's Lives
- Gymnastics
- Olympics
Show all 5 publisher categories
- Women in Sports
- Authors
- Aimee Boorman, Steve Cooper, Simone Biles
- Publisher
- Abrams Press
- Published
- April 22, 2025
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Sports Lives