Kara Willard will step away from her role as the head coach of Azusa Pacific Acrobatics & Tumbling at the end of the 2024 season. Willard will not pursue other coaching opportunities at this time, as she is eagerly looking forward to spending more time with her husband Brent and their two young children. 

"Kara is an outstanding woman, and I have immense respect for her," said Director of Athletics Gary Pine, "She and I had some long discussions last fall about the challenges of being a full-time coach and full-time mom, and her heart yearns to invest her time with her children.  While I will miss her on our staff of coaches, I wholeheartedly support and understand her decision.  There may be a day in the distant future that she returns to coaching, but for the coming years she'll be coaching her most important team – the Willard family – and do a fabulous job at it."
  
Willard is currently in the midst of her fourth season as the Cougars' leader, as she was named as the program's second head coach in November of 2020. Since Willard took over, Azusa Pacific has made three appearances at the national championships, with a fourth likely this season. In her first season at the head of the program, the Cougars were the national runner-up, and they also reached the semifinals the following season in 2022. Azusa Pacific has also captured six individual event national titles under Willard's coaching. 

Coach Willard's statement on her decision:

"I am honored to have been a part of a program that was built from the ground up by Colleen Kausrud.  I have always strived to continue her vision of developing young women's hearts and souls through the sport of Acrobatics and Tumbling.  Colleen was instrumental in developing my faith and strength as a young woman, and I have always strived to do the same for my athletes.  

My greatest accomplishment in coaching came from the growth I witnessed in each of my athletes' lives, and knowing I got to play a part in their college experience. 

I've told my teams over the years that the trophies and accomplishments they've achieved as an athlete will fade, but they have been given the tools and strengths to conquer whatever challenges life throws at them.  

I have decided to take a break from coaching the sport I have so passionately poured my heart into for more than a decade, and will be pouring that same passion and energy into my family.  I look forward to what God has in store for the Willards, and I fear nothing knowing He is at the helm.  

GOD FIRST, GO COUGS!"

Prior to becoming the head coach of the Cougars, Willard served as an assistant under Kausrud for seven seasons. During her time as an assistant coach, Azusa Pacific reached five national semifinals, and the Cougars were the national runner-up in 2014.

While much of Willard's time has been dedicated to the acrobatics & tumbling program at Azusa Pacific, she also served on various NCATA committees in an effort to grow and develop the sport nationwide. The summer before becoming head coach, Willard and the entire acrobatics & tumbling community was able to celebrate a huge accomplishment, as the sport was given NCAA emerging sport status on August 1, 2020.

Prior to stepping into the coaching world, Willard had a decorated collegiate athletic career. In 2010, she was a member of Azusa Pacific's competitive cheerleading team that won the National Cheerleading Association National Championship. The National Championship capped off the final season for the Cougars in competitive cheer, as Coach Kausrud transitioned the program into acrobatics & tumbling the following year. Willard was a critical piece of the Cougars' first two acrobatics & tumbling teams, as she was given the Leadership Award as a junior in 2011, and then was named team captain as a senior in 2012, and received the award a second time. On the mats as a senior, she won a 7-Element national championship.

Willard will continue to coach the Cougars through the end of the 2024 season. In the latest NCATA Championship Rankings, the Cougars are in position to continue the streak of reaching the National Championships in every season in the program's history. Azusa Pacific is currently ranked No. 6, with the top-8 teams earning a spot in the championship field. The 2024 NCATA National Championships will be held in Fairmont, West Virginia, April 25-28.