Leg cut back after mill circle..

[Deanna]

Sorry your DD is having trouble with it. But sounds like she is on track with getting it now. They all seem to struggle with that skill..the whole kitten kaboodle. The shoot through, the mill circle, and the leg cut at the end. Some where in the whole skill each child will really struggle with part if not all of it. My DD is a L4 this year (competed L2 last year) and she hooks her leg on that pesky mill circle everytime. She has the rest of the skill..but that part she can not get "right" to save her life. And sitting at meets..watching..I have learned that it is a skill that soooo many..no matter their age..have trouble with. Very few do those three things that make up that skill with out a problem. So dont worry. Either she will get it or she wont. But after L4 she wont have to deal with it anymore.
As for the SusieKip...lol. It's the next demon they tackle (L5). Right now, they have my dd thinking it's "fun" to "work" on her kip..but she has to get so many sets of such and such on such and such equipment first. So she works so hard to do things just right like they want so she can work on her kip. Poor child doesn't realize she is going to dread this skill before long..lol. Oh and her L5 vault over the table..thats something she gets to work on for "fun" too..lol

 

[wordsmith]

Leg cut on bars is just a progression to remind lower level coaches to make sure the kids have good upper body and core strength. The skill itself leads to nothing I can think of that is of any use.

Aside from simply needing a way to transition the legs back together again prior to dismount, I'd say a possible value for it is in gymnasts being introduced to weight transference (for pirouettes down the road)...which goes back to your mention of "good upper body and core strength".