As the Penn State women's gymnasts practice their beam routines, a tall, slender assistant coach instructs them on every minute detail. While doing this, she runs over to the floor exercise and spots Leslie Bair as she practices one of her tumbling passes.

This is just a five-minute glimpse into the life of Penn State women's gymnastics assistant coach Jessica Bastardi at an ordinary practice. She demands perfection of her gymnasts and they strive to not let her down.

"She is hard-core, awesome, really determined, and she knows what she wants and she is going to get it," Penn State women's gymnastics assistant coach William Lorenz said. "She is an indispensable part of our coaching staff."

In her 12th season as an assistant coach at Penn State, Bastardi has established herself as the important piece of the coaching staff and the gymnastics program.

Bastardi, who hails from Whippany, N.J., began her gymnastics career as a young child in a very sports-oriented family of eight children. Learning from her older sister, who was a high school gymnast at the time, she grew a love for the sport. While attending Whippany Park H.S., she was a member of the Madison Club gymnastics team where she became a YMCA national champion on the uneven bars, vault and all-around in 1982. Then she decided to continue her career at Penn State.

As a Nittany Lion, Bastardi was a member of the 1985, 1986 and 1988 squads that reached the NCAA Championships. Under former head coach Judi Avener, Bastardi captured the Atlantic 10 Conference floor exercise title in 1987 and the vault title in 1988. She was also a part of the 1986 and 1988 regional championship teams.

"What I think about most when I look back on my career is my teammates, the relationships, and my coaches," Bastardi said.

A team captain in her senior year of 1988, Bastardi carried her knowledge of Penn State and the successful tradition into her coaching position in 1992.

"She is dedicated to Penn State and it is cool that she was a captain and it is inspiring because we know she loves it as much as we do," Bair said.

When head coach Steve Shephard took over the reins in 1993, Bastardi would be a perfect match for him and the program.

"Jess has provided a great deal of stability throughout the time we have been together," Shephard said. "We both know each other extremely well, we know each other's strengths and weaknesses, and we have really developed a good working relationship over the time that we have spent together."

Some of Bastardi's responsibilities are coaching the balance beam; she choreographed all of the floor exercise routines, helped choreograph the beam routines with student coach Sarah DiPasquale, and she is in charge of purchasing the clothing for the gymnasts and picking the designs of the leotards. Bastardi also helps out with recruiting and spotting the gymnasts while they practice their routines.

"Most women coaches don't spot and she is a very capable spotter which gives us three spotters on our coaching staff, which is a big help," Shephard said.

She takes pride in all she does, especially the leotard with the adornment of the sparkling lion head on the chest.

"I want to make them look unique and different and this weekend we were getting compliments on their warm-ups and stuff," Bastardi said. "It is important to look good."

Her Penn State ties do not stop after she leaves the gym. Bastardi's husband, Joe, a 1978 graduate, was a Nittany Lion wrestler from 1976-78 and has worked for ACCU Weather for close to 25 years.

Besides coaching, she is also heavily involved with bodybuilding. In fact, eight months after she gave birth to her son Garrett and six months after giving birth to her daughter Jessie, she was competing. This need for competition in her life earned her the title of Central Pennsylvania Natural Body Building Champion in October of 1996.

"It is hard as a gymnast to take a correction from someone who is out of shape sitting there eating McDonalds watching routines," Lorenz said. "It is easier for them to take corrections from someone who is fit and Jess is the epitome of being fit."

While being considered the older sister of the team, Bastardi always makes sure to push the gymnasts to their limits.

"She has high expectations for you and you want to try to reach those expectations and make her proud," senior Katie Rowland said.

Since Bastardi is so "hard-core," a compliment on a routine comes from the heart.

"When Jess says that you did something well or you did it right, you know you did it right," Lorenz said. "The compliments don't come often, but when they do you know it was good."

With that in mind, Bastardi said the relationships established by coaching are what make it all worthwhile.

"When the girls are done and we still maintain a relationship, that is the best thing for me about coaching," she said. "They are here for four years, you get to know them, they get to know you and it turns from a coach athlete relationship and evolves into a friendship."

Bastardi's toughness, stability, tradition and sense of competing make her an assistant coach that has a lot of Penn State pride.