Over a decade ago in China, Xiao Yuan was a coach for the Chinese National men's gymnastics team. Li Xiaoshuang, one of China’s most famous gymnasts, introduced the coach to a quiet, young boy as prospective student.

No one, not even Li, thought the boy would amount to much. He had bad body lines and many bad habits, both of which boded poorly for his future in international competition.

But Xiao, now an assistant coach at Michigan, gave him a shot.

And this past summer, Xiao’s former pupil, Yang Wei, won the all-around gold medal at the Olympics. Another of his former gymnasts, Oklahoma's Jonathan Horton, led the U.S. gymnasts to a surprise bronze medal in the team competition while winning an individual silver on the high bar.

So how did Xiao end up with the Wolverines?

A coach from the beginning

Xiao got his start in gymnastics at 10 years old, and just a few years later, his instructors were already speculating on his future as a coach.

“My coach said, ‘We know, Xiao, maybe you’re not a good gymnast, but you’re a good coach,’ ” Xiao said. “They (knew) I was training more with my brain than my body.”

Xiao wasn’t a bad gymnast, by any means. In fact, he won his regional high bar championship. But competing against the likes of Li Ning, the gymnast who lit the Olympic torch for the 2008 Beijing Games, and Tong Fei, who invented the pommel horse skill that now bears his name, Xiao knew his future wasn’t in competing for the Chinese National Team.

When he retired from competition in his mid-twenties, a coaching opportunity quickly lured Xiao to stay in gymnastics. Both the men’s and women’s teams from his province competed for his services, and Xiao took a job with the men's team.

Then, in 1994, a coaching position opened up with the Chinese National Team. Until 1999, he coached some of the top gymnasts in the world, developing stars like Yang Wei and Xing Aowei. In 1997, he even earned a Lifetime Achievement award.

Xiao met current United States head coach Kevin Mazeika at a high-level junior meet in Japan, and the two quickly developed a rapport. And when Mazeika eventually offered Xiao a job, Xiao, already thinking about leaving China, jumped at the chance.

“I just wanted to find a different life,” Xiao said. “The U.S. was my first choice.”

In 1999, Xiao moved with his family to Houston to coach for Mazeika at the Houston Gymnastics Academy. But Xiao, who calls himself an “education guy,” wanted to coach at the college level, which he believed would be similar to coaching the Chinese National Team.

And within less than a year, Oklahoma came calling.

Strengthening the Sooners

In 2000, Oklahoma coach Mark Williams was searching for a replacement for his first assistant coach. Williams had just taken over the program, and started to revamp, a year before.

Convincing Xiao to come to Norman wasn't hard.

But there was one major obstacle — Xiao struggled with speaking English. So Williams set up English classes for him and arranged for an interpreter to come to the gym a few times a week to make sure they were on the same page.

Xiao, along with Williams, played a crucial role in changing the attitude that pervaded the Oklahoma gymnastics program.

“At times, I think the previous head coach had allowed for the better athletes to sometimes do less because they were better and could talk him into it,” Williams said. “I just felt like if it was going to be a team, the whole team would do the same things.”

With the addition of Xiao and an Olympic hopeful, Guard Young, to the coaching staff, changes began happening fast.

Xiao provided technical expertise that neither of the other coaches possessed and helped devise a tough new training program based on his experiences. A rookie coach might not have gotten away with administering the strenuous workouts, but Xiao’s track record convinced the gymnasts to give it a try.

The results spoke for themselves. From 2001-2005, Oklahoma won three national titles. And under Xiao's tutelage, Guard Young realized his goal of making the 2004 Olympic team.

“I helped Guard make his dream, be an Olympian like his father,” Xiao said. “I’ve been a part of his life in that moment. I think that’s a great thing (from) Oklahoma, the best moment.”

Coming to Ann Arbor

After Oklahoma won the NCAA Championship in 2005, Xiao was ready to move on.