This year marks Gophers men’s gymnastics head coach Mike Burns’ 20th year coaching with Minnesota.

Burns started coaching for the University of Minnesota in 2005. He has been with the team since they were still considered Division I, and he stayed with the team even after they lost that title.

Burns actively impacts his players every day with his coaching style. Multiple team members said that he feels like a friend and a coach.

Kellen Ryan, a University graduate who played his last gymnastics semester with DI team Penn State, has known Burns since he was 10 years old. Ryan met Burns at the Gophers gymnastics camp, and it was Ryan’s dream to be a part of the Golden Gophers.

Despite the devastating loss of DI status, Ryan said he still decided to join the Gophers with the hopes of being able to transfer to a DI team. He added that he loves the way Burns runs his program.

“I like that it still feels like a Division I program even though we don’t currently have that title,” Ryan said. “He’s been my mentor and also a really cool friend.”

Ryan added that one of the things that is important for a coach is to be able to relate to their players, and he feels like he can completely relate to coach Burns.

Burns said that one of his personal goals while coaching gymnastics is finding a cause-and-effect relationship. He said that it is sometimes easy to see how a routine failed, but it is not always easy to know why it failed.

“It is like a detective game,” Burns said. “You are trying to work your way back to the beginning of the source of the problem.”

This type of coaching style helped his players discover new things about themselves as athletes.

Brandon Kim, a junior on the gymnastics team and newly appointed captain, said Burns helped him realize that perfection is not attainable. Going into college gymnastics, Kim said he believed that the main point was finding perfection in all his routines.

Kim said that Burns helped him realize otherwise.

“My biggest takeaway from this program is that it is good to have high expectations for yourself, but you need to be reasonable about the process,” Kim said.

Kim added that as a perfectionist himself, Burns’ advice helps him focus on the process and what is happening in the moment rather than focusing on the what-ifs.

Burns supports his players in their own practice as well as their personal endeavors. 

Gymnastics sophomore Paul Acker recently competed in the French National Gymnastics Championships. 

Acker is a dual citizen between France and the U.S. and was chosen to compete in the championship. He said that he had lots of support from Burns throughout the process. 

“He was immediately supportive,” Acker said. “It was great to know that I had the support of a coach.” 

Acker said Burns encouraged him to go to the event, even though it was between two big competitions for the team. Burns also helped Acker build an individual routine for the championship. 

Kim said Burns helped him pack, drove him to practice every day and drove him to the airport. 

However, Kim also clarified that while Burns can feel like a friend, he is still very much their coach and they should communicate with him as such. 

Burns said that gymnastics has done a lot for him and changed him into the person he is today.

“I like this person more than the person I was before,” Burns said. “It has just provided a lot for me. I feel duty-bound to keep it going here.”