Sam Buchalter Position: Assistant Coach Experience: Third Season Alma Mater: Saginaw Valley State, 1994

Now in his Third season at Michigan State, Sam Buchalter is no stranger to the local gymnastics scene. He brings with him 19 years of coaching experience, including seven years as the team coach at Twistars Gymnastics Club in Lansing.

"I am really excited to join the MSU staff," Buchalter said when he was hired in July, 2003. "I have had several former athletes compete at Michigan State, and I am ready to help Kathie take the program to the next level."

"We can already see the excitement and enthusiasm in the gym that will help carry us through the season and enhance our efforts to improve," said Klages. "Sam has a wealth of knowledge from which he can draw, as he's worked with a wide variety of athletes. I know he is honored and thrilled to be a part of the Michigan State athletic program and we are excited that he is here."

A Michigan native, Buchalter has been around gymnastics since the age of three, when he accompanied his mother, Michigan High School Hall of Fame member Alice Buchalter, to the gym where she coached girls' gymnastics at Freeland High School.

Buchalter joined the staff of Twistars in 1997, after spending three years overseas as a member of the Finnish Gymnastics Federation staff, working with the Junior National Team. Prior to his appointment in Finland, Buchalter served as the team coach for Freeland Gymnastics from 1984 to 1994. Over his career, Buchalter has coached numerous junior Olympic and national champions.

He graduated from Saginaw Valley State University in 1994 with a degree in history before pursuing a law degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. A member of the State Bar of Michigan, Buchalter worked as a corporate attorney in the Lansing area while coaching at Twistars.

Buchalter is single and lives in Lansing.