Coaches New to men’s optional level coaching

[Erik Nieves]

For the past few years I have only coached the compulsory levels. There was no coach mentoring me through anything so I’ve pretty much learned everything by myself. The compulsory is easy because it directly tells you what to do. For optionals, I have no problem teaching the skills but when it comes to routine construction... I have little knowledge. (Only competed compulsory myself) I thought I knew what to do but I am at a standstill. I am only talking about level 8 specifically. I know the required element groups, however the number of skills per routine has me stumped. For example, on floor exercise, I see videos of level 8 routines that all have a different number of passes. I know passes don’t directly correlate to number of skills. Do backhand springs count as skills if connected, or whips etc. I know the required number of skills is 7 + dismount. If anyone could help, anything would be appreciated. Thanks!