Recent content by Geoffrey Taucer

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  1. Geoffrey Taucer

    T&T Tips on adding twists to skills?

    1) See the ground 2) Arms go out before they come in 3) If you're going backwards, the arm you're twisting towards goes first. If you're going forwards, the arm you're twisting away from goes first. 4) See the ground There are some more specific progressions and tips we could get into depending...
  2. Geoffrey Taucer

    Anon Does doing gymnastics from a young age stunt growth?

    There's as much evidence that gymnastics stunts your growth as there is that basketball boosts it. In other words, gymnastics doesn't make you short, but being short is an advantage in gymnastics, and therefore taller athletes are less likely to make it to the higher levels.
  3. Geoffrey Taucer

    Women Is 13 too old for xcel silver

    Unless your goal is to join an NCAA team or go elite, there's no such thing as too old for any level.
  4. Geoffrey Taucer

    Women cast handstand

    Do you have a video?
  5. Geoffrey Taucer

    Women Phasing out compulsories?

    I mean, yes and no. It is, without a doubt, possible to get kids to optionals without using the compulsory routines. But the current level 3-5 compulsory routines are (a few minor nitpicks aside) pretty dang well-designed as a progression emphasizing the skills and connections that need to be...
  6. Geoffrey Taucer

    Women Glide swing - full extension?

    Dish shape going through the bottom is correct. Her position in that pic is pretty near perfect; if I were to pick nits, I'd say she could get her hips slightly more extended, but that's already a better glide shape than a lot of what I see at low levels. Sounds to me like her coach is doing...
  7. Geoffrey Taucer

    Parents How do they learn the skills

    Depends on the skill, but in many cases, yes. Many skills can be learned from drills and conditioning without the need for spotting. In general, I think the best approach to about any new skill is to spend about 90% of the training time breaking the skill down into components and making sure the...
  8. Geoffrey Taucer

    Coaches Hours for level four, per event.

    In a perfect world, I'd want to do it like this: -45 minutes of warm-up, handstand work (holds, press progressions, pirouettes, rolls, etc), and dance/beam basics -45 minutes of tumbling/trampoline basics -45 minutes of conditioning/bars basics -30 minutes on one event -15 minutes stretching...
  9. Geoffrey Taucer

    Women Move ups versus repeat?

    Generally, move-ups don't happen mid-season. And this makes sense: you learn a routine, then you spend a season perfecting it; you wouldn't want to learn a new routine in the couple weeks between one meet and the next. It also makes sense from a scheduling and coaching standpoint; coaches and...
  10. Geoffrey Taucer

    Anon Teaching LOSO on Beam

    Disclaimer: not a beam coach here, just going by what I've heard from coaches who know beam a lot better than I do A LOSO isn't really a layout stepout, it's a back pike where you leave one leg behind. That being the case, I'd be hesitant to work it with a kid who can't do an unspotted...
  11. Geoffrey Taucer

    Women Phasing out compulsories?

    I mean, was it ever actually enforced? T&T has a system that leaves a paper trail. For WAG, as far as I've ever been able to tell, the system is "yeah, we believe you."
  12. Geoffrey Taucer

    Anon Cast handstand falling over top of the bar

    Best problem to have. It'll fix itself in time.
  13. Geoffrey Taucer

    Women Phasing out compulsories?

    I suspect it would be possible to back off on the hours once an athlete reaches the top levels. Once perfect basics are hard-coded into muscle memory, training can become more efficient, and I suspect a sufficiently advanced athlete could train effectively with fewer hours than a mid-level...
  14. Geoffrey Taucer

    Women Phasing out compulsories?

    Here's a concrete example: a backhandspring on floor. For some kids they come easy, for some they are a source of frustration and mental blocks. You are EXTREMELY unlikely to make level 10, or college, or elite without a strong backhandspring. But you can still have a blast learning to flip and...
  15. Geoffrey Taucer

    Women Phasing out compulsories?

    I can see advantages both ways, but these days were it left to me I'd lean more towards compulsories at the low levels (at least, if the goal is to train upper-level athletes). In the abstract, xcel gives coaches and athletes a lot more room to adapt to any particular athlete's strengths and...
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