Family is most important to Mark Freeman.

So when he decided to move across the world from Manchester, England to the United States in 2004, and give up the comfort of living within ten minutes of nearly his entire family, wherever the former Great Britain National Team gymnast landed would have to fill the void.

Despite collegiate options like Michigan and Penn State, it was Cal that stuck. Aside from the weather in Berkeley being more inviting, particularly when compared to Manchester's constant rain, it was the camaraderie of the Golden Bear men's gymnastics team that appealed to Freeman.

"The vibe of the team was appealing - they were very close nit and well integrated with each other and good friends inside and outside of the gym which was important," said Freeman, who began competing when he was eight years old.

It eventually would be that same fellowship that brought Freeman, who graduated in 2008 after multiple top-five NCAA finishes and an MPSF title with the Bears, back to Berkeley, but this time as the assistant coach.

"I was living in Pittsburgh at the time and developing my own company when JT (Okada) had been appointed head coach. I'd obviously been keeping tabs on the program throughout the years," Freeman started. "JT is a friend and so I reached out to him to say congratulations and when he messaged me back he wrote, 'I don't suppose you'd want to be my assistant coach do you?'

"And, there was no reason why I couldn't bring my business out to a more receptive market in the Bay Area, and get back involved with something that is very close to my heart - collegiate and competitive gymnastics."

Freeman brings not only his collegiate gymnastics and international gymnastics experience to the table, he also began an elite acrobatic consultancy where he's developed programming for more than 500 clients and 30 facilities across athletic disciplines and has also conducted injury prevention and performance optimization clinics nationwide. It makes sense, considering the historically technique-focused Cal program from whence he stems.
 

However, it was another route Freeman took that initially challenged him before he began his current work.

Freeman participated in Totem, a show on the Cirque du Soleil docket, for six years. It was that opportunity that stretched Freeman beyond the scope of traditional gymnastics.

"I went to Montreal to the international headquarters to lay and develop the touring show Totem from the ground up which was an amazing experience," said Freeman. "That process was about nine months and you go through very extensive training in not just acrobatics, but artistry, dance classes, clown classes, acting classes, everything. It's different for a boxed standard gymnast and very much outside of you comfort zone.

"But, you know having success in gymnastics teaches you that you have to take yourself outside of your comfort zone. It was just another step to take, but it was certainly an eye opening and amazing experience."
 

Freeman, now in his second year with the Bears as an assistant coach, developed himself to have more all-around skills to offer the variety of athletes with which he's worked.

"Your body has various links in the chain and you are only as strong as your weakest link," Freeman said. "What I'll do is break it down to the basics and assess your body as a whole and then see where it needs attention. Then I hone in on that until you've got this kind of foundation, an equilibrium, and then from there we can build accordingly."

His foundation for what he wanted to do however was set the moment he stepped foot in Berkeley, under legendary head coach Barry Weiner.

"Barry was a character, but we had a good relationship. He was the kind of personality that you loved or hated," Freeman said. "But, he was a technician in the gym. His attention to specific techniques and form and attention to detail as far as that's concerned was out of this world and his results exemplify that."
 

Now Freeman uses a combination of his experiences to translate into his coaching.

Beginning in his first season, Cal showed significant improvement as it qualified seven individuals to the 2018 NCAA finals to finish with two All-Americans in then-sophomore Kyte Crigger and then-senior Yordan Aleksandrov, compared to just three qualifiers and no top-eight finishes in 2017.

"In his second year, Mark has been an important part of keeping the team on the right track," said Okada. "His sincere, yet calm approach to challenges helps keep all of us on course and I'm very appreciative of him for that."
 

This season Cal has already shown renewed energy and is heading in the right direction. The Bears have won at least one event individually in each of their first two meets, while freshman Darren Wong most recently won the all-around at the Stanford Open, only his second-ever collegiate meet. He was also named the CGA's Rookie of the Week, the first such honor for a Bear in at least three years.

"We did create a really good culture of success through JT's and my guidance and we want to continue to build from that," Freeman said. "I feel like we've laid a nice foundation so hopefully the guys can continue that."
 

And, as a Golden Bear himself, he hopes to pass that appreciation for the Cal family along.

"You wear the name of Cal with pride," Freeman said. "I'm hoping to help develop these young men into good people beyond gymnastics, but just using gymnastics as a medium to accomplish that."

That is what family is all about.