One of the reasons I love coaching is because I myself had the pleasure of working under some fantastic coaches throughout my years as an athlete, and fully understand how life changing their guidance can be.

Their positive impact made me the person I am today. Without their knowledge, patience and wisdom I’d be a lost soul.

And not just when it comes to tumbling, I mean in life.

So in a way, I find it my duty to pay it forward by helping out other coaches the best I can with the knowledge that I’ve accumulated over the years.

Now make no mistake about it — I’m still constantly learning. In fact, I’m a student first and a coach second.

With that said, I want to share 11 of the most impactful tips that will guide you becoming the best tumbling coach that you can be. You don’t have to apply them all at once. Actually that’s near impossible to pull off.

But keep this list handy, and try implementing one tip or idea every week. Or heck, even every month. Over time you’ll notice your confidence and competence rise as a coach, and that will translate into better athletes.

Tip 1: Learn Some Of The Skills Yourself

If you were a former athlete, then you know that the “feel” of a skill is invaluable. While we can give out technical corrections all day long, an athlete can only apply those corrections by feeling their own muscles & limbs.

If they can feel their glutes squeezing and becoming tight as their quads flex and knees pull against each other, there’s a good chance they’ll have their legs together in a BHS.

Our job is to convey what they should be feeling and when, by using words. And this is much, much easier to do if you have first-hand experience.

I’m not saying you have to go learn a standing full — but you should know what it feels like (in first person) to do a solid handstand. In fact, there’s no reason every tumbling coach shouldn’t be able to hold all 12 body shapes perfectly. It’s basically static yoga. So learn and practice them. When you can convey “feel” to an athlete, it separates you from the average coaches that only know how to bark random corrections while saying “throw it!”

Tip 2: Learn Basic Biomechanics & The Laws Of Gravity

If I asked you what Newton’s 3rd law of motion was, and you weren’t able to tell me, I’d be worried.

That’s because tumbling is all physics and angles.

I’m not saying you have to become a physicist, but you should have a general idea of how and why the body moves through space the way it does, and what happens when different forces are applied to it.

While the internet is chock full of free resources and even full-on courses for you take, I highly suggest reading about the 3 Laws Of Tumbling. It’s basically a mandatory read for all the coaches I train.

This stuff is what I like to refer to as “foundational knowledge”. It means everything you learn should be built on top of it. If you lack foundational knowledge, you won’t be able to coach tumbling skills effectively. Or worse, you’ll end up injuring your athletes.

Tip 3: Treat It As A Skill

Just as you wouldn’t expect your athletes to master a layout in a week, you can’t expect to become a more effective coach overnight.

You need to start drilling your coaching attributes like spotting, creating conditioning plans, giving talks, lesson plan design and so forth. All of those micro skills add up to make someone a complete tumbling coach.

Back in my earlier years, I paid experienced athletes to come in and let me spot their skills like handsprings, tucks, layouts etc. I knew that if I wanted to keep someone safe, honing my timing is absolutely critical.

This is why during my Intensive Coach’s Clinic, I ensure we spend at least a third of a full 7+ hour day on practical hands-on work on live athletes. 

Trust me… you can talk about how to properly spot a skill all day long in a classroom, but when you have a kid barreling down towards you doing multiple handsprings or whips, and you’re tasked with making sure you’re in the right spot and the right time for their big end skill, theory won’t save you.

Only practical experience can do that. To really see what I mean, take a look at the video below where I’m helping coaches master their timing on live tumbling passes.

Tip 4: Watch Other (more experienced) Coaches

Now please realize that I’m not telling you to go stalk people in every gym around your area. This is to be done in a professional manner and with permission.

With that said, most experienced coaches will gladly allow you to watch/observe their practices provided you aren’t an interruption. Personally, I’ve learned more from simply watching other great coaches interact with their athletes than I ever did in a classroom.

This is why I allow junior coaches to “shadow” me when I get invited to do clinics all over the World. I remember what a great learning opportunity it was for me (and continues to be) so I do my best to pass this forward. It’s a total privilege. Woodward is the absolute perfect place to shadow coaches, by the way. You should visit if you haven’t. I’ve been going for 6 years straight for a reason.

draw lines, shapes and other doodles to illustrate corrections.

I don’t have it simply because my phone is capable of recording at a high frame-rate so I can slow things down at will, and pin point technical mistakes.

Whatever your preferred tech solution happens to be, the point is to make use of it and often.

Special Tip: If you’re looking for a cost-effective solution, download Snapchat (it’s free). It’s got a slow motion filter built right in. Simply record a video and swipe your fighters to the right about 6-7 times till you see the snail icon. The only limitation is that Snapchat restricts video recordings to 10 seconds. But for tumbling, that’s plenty of time!

And I don’t want to hear your excuses about how that app is only for “kids and teens”. Fist of all, it’s not. Second of all, since our athletes are on it, and Snapchat has matured as a viable communication tool, I use it to ensure my athletes are conditioning during their off-days. Download the companion check-list I’ve created to see how this process works. And if you’d like to follow me on Snapchat, simply add tumblingcoach.

Tip 5: Don’t Coach Beyond Your Skill Level

While this seems obvious, I’ve met plenty of coaches in my time that simply had no business coaching certain skills (like a layout full) and yet, were still allowed to do so.

It’s one thing to learn and upgrade your skills as a coach over time. But please don’t provide athletes (and their parents) with a false sense of confidence. You need to have enough self-awareness of what you can and can’t do.

Take me for example: I can coach double back tucks, triple twists, full ins and plenty of other higher level tumbling skills pretty confidently. Yet when it comes to the elite level skills such as full-full straight or a triple twisting double layout (Miller), I’m still learning. I know a few drills and the basic technical details, but to actually help an athlete acquire this skill from scratch will take me some time.

And you know what? I’m totally ok with that. I know I’ll get there one day, but that day isn’t today. So if I can openly admit this on my own website for the World to see, you should be humble enough to refer your athletes to someone more experienced when they start needing help with skills that are outside your scope.

Tip 6: Invest In Yourself

I’ve heard plenty of coaches complain over the years that their gym owner won’t cover their costs for further education. This can be a little disheartening, sure, but if that’s the only excuse you have then you’ll have a tough time becoming the coach your athletes deserve.

Over the span of 11 years, I haven’t asked my gym for a dime when I wanted to upgrade my skills — this includes the “dark times” when I was a poor college student trying to make ends meet.

But you know what? I found a way. I hustled my butt off, did free coaching, free clinics, helped friends learn tumbling, and plenty of other favors that I could barter away in exchange for knowledge and experience.

It’s utterly baffling that someone will throw 40 thousand dollars at a university without batting an eye, yet won’t shell out a few hundred bucks to learn from a high level coach who has been honing their craft for decades. I don’t know about you, but if someone can save me a good few years of headaches and frustrations by handing down their experience and knowledge in a span of a few hours or days, I think that’s an absolute bargain!

Another standout example that comes to mind is the book Championship Gymnastics.

Too many coaches cry about it’s price tag on social media. Yes, it’s expensive for a bunch of pages glued together, but the information contained within is priceless.

A new coach can literally gain decades worth of knowledge and insight over the course of a single weekend. Do you understand how amazing that is?

Personally, I think the book should cost 3x what they’re charging. Would you pay $300 for a book? I would.

And trust me, I don’t say this as a rich man. Tumbling coaches don’t exactly have loaded pockets. Or as the kids would say, we definitely aren’t “ballin”.

Tip 7: Join A Like-Minded Inner Circle

For every industry and profession that exists, you can find a corresponding facebook group with a lively community that’s willing to help.

And for tumbling/gymnastics/cheer coaches that’s no exception. Do a quick search, join a few, and get involved. If you download the handy check list that I’ve created, then inside you’ll find a few groups that I’m a part of. You’ll need to request an invite and have to be approved by the admin (which isn’t me BTW so if you don’t get accepted I can’t help you).

Once you’re in, please don’t just start asking questions. The very first thing you need to do is use the search function — because chances are your “unique” questions have most probably been answered. The group doesn’t need yet another  thread on how to fix a low backhandspring, know what I mean?

Tip 8: Record Yourself

Now I don’t know where you live, what your gym rules are or the laws of your country. But assuming you’ve adequately dealt with all that, and are in the clear, I highly suggest you audio record yourself coaching.

Hearing yourself back at a later date can be rather enlightening. You give your athletes corrections all day long, so it’s time you self reflected on your skills as a coach, and came up with a few corrections for yourself.

For example, one of my “issues” is that when I’m passionate about something, I can be a fast talker. But effective communicators don’t try and rush out their words. They make sure each word has an impact. Recording myself allowed me to realize I need to sloooow down, and adopt the art of brevity. I still haven’t mastered this, but I’m slowly getting better.

Below is an example of one of my own recordings. It’s a chat I had with my athletes about how to achieve tumbling goals and more. Take a listen…

Tip 9: Record Your Athletes

Nothing helps an athlete understand what they’re doing (or not doing) like seeing themselves tumble. Almost everyone’s heard of the app called Coach’s Eye. If you haven’t, be sure to buy it. It’s a fantastic tool that allows you to play back a recording frame by frame while allowing you the ability to draw lines, shapes and other doodles to illustrate corrections.

I don’t have it simply because my phone is capable of recording at a high frame-rate so I can slow things down at will, and pin point technical mistakes.

Whatever your preferred tech solution happens to be, the point is to make use of it and often.

Special Tip: If you’re looking for a cost-effective solution, download Snapchat (it’s free). It’s got a slow motion filter built right in. Simply record a video and swipe your fighters to the right about 6-7 times till you see the snail icon. The only limitation is that Snapchat restricts video recordings to 10 seconds. But for tumbling, that’s plenty of time!

And I don’t want to hear your excuses about how that app is only for “kids and teens”. Fist of all, it’s not. Second of all, since our athletes are on it, and Snapchat has matured as a viable communication tool, I use it to ensure my athletes are conditioning during their off-days. Download the companion check-list I’ve created to see how this process works. And if you’d like to follow me on Snapchat, simply add tumblingcoach.

Tip 10: Watch Videos Of The Best

If you haven’t taken the time to analyze the videos of athletes such as Kenzo Shirai, Kristof Willerton, Jai Fangfang, Jordan Sugrim, Simone Biles and more, you’re basically living under a tumbling rock.

While that is no means a complete list of amazing tumblers, the athletes I just mentioned are some of the best of our generation. Watch them carefully and breakdown exactly what they do, what they don’t do, and see if you can spot any similarities which are constant in their technique regardless of age, height and gender.

It will give you vast insight on how to refine your coaching methods and modify your drills to make them more effective.

Tip 11: Learn To Talk To Parents (Applies to Comp Programs)

I’ve come across some seriously ridiculous gym policies in my time. From purposefully having no viewing areas, to not allowing parents to communicate with coaches, I’ve seen it all. While I can understand that some parents can be a pain in the rear end, most are simply looking for some peace of mind, and general status updates on their child.

I try and give my parents everything they want to know. I even go above and beyond by showing them basic shapes and drills their kids can do at home to improve, I tell them my game plan, what my goals are, my expectations, and generally how I roll.

Basically, my job is to make sure the parents are on my side by showing them I have their child’s best interest at heart — this way when I have to make tough choices, there is no need for them to question my decision.

You may think you only train kids, but remember that parents basically make up half of the customer profile. In fact, they’re the most important half because they pay your salary! Some coaches may disagree with this general philosophy, and while they’re entitled to their opinion, I want you to put yourself in the shoes of a parent.

Not just any parent. The parent of a competitive gymnast, tumbler or cheerleader.

If you’re paying a few thousand dollars a year for someone to train your child, wouldn’t you at least expect some level of communication on how they’re progressing? I sure would. And while not all parents are perfect (and some are more invasive than others), you should deal with that problem when it arises. But it isn’t a great policy to paint them all with the same brush.

Some Closing Thoughts For Aspiring Tumbling Coaches…

Coaching has to be one of the most rewarding jobs out there. But coaching tumbling? That’s the icing on top of all other coaching jobs. I’ve coached individuals in plenty of different disciplines such as: powerlifting, martial arts, marketing, nutrition and general fitness.

And let me tell you, coaching gymnastics/tumbling takes the cake. It’s a total privilege. I know coaches from many different disciplines and when they see videos of what I do, slight jealousy is a very common outcome.

“You get to do flips and get PAID to teach others how to do this? I’m in the wrong profession!”

But as Spiderman was once told by a very smart man: With great power, comes great responsibility.

A tennis coach doesn’t have to worry about their kids landing on their head.

A soccer coach never has to worry about “spotting” an athlete to help kick the ball.

But we as tumbling/gymnastics/cheer coaches have to make sure our kids can go upside down, do some crazy things, and then land back on their feet, safely.

And not just once, but consistently. So if you’re not willing to take this responsibility seriously, then please, find something else to do.

For the rest of you, I salute you for making it this far into the article and taking the steps necessary to upgrade your skills. If you found this information useful, then you’ll totally love participating in my Intensive Tumbling Clinic For Coaches.

It’s a jam-packed 7+ hour day where I cover very tip, trick and drill in order to upgrade your skills as a coach, and help you produce amazing tumblers. I leave no stone unturned, and you’ll get to do multiple hours of real hands-on spotting and coaching on live athletes.

I do these all around the World based on interest, so if you’re a gym owner (or a coach that wants me to come to your gym/country) get someone to fill out my interest form by clicking the button below, and I’ll be in touch very shortly…

Coach’s Clinic Info

Here’s to your success!