My Favorite Floor Routines

What makes a floor routine stand out? Powerful tumbling, tight lines, leaps that surpass 180, and crisp turns are all must haves. This is a list of my all time favorite floor routines, you will notice they all have something in common: amazing performance, choreography and presentation of the athlete.

My first routine may surprise you: it is the level 3 compulsory routine. Don't get me wrong, I don't love all level 3 compulsory routines, but this one is special. What I LOVE about this routine is that there is a clear focus on presentation and performance development in addition to technique and skill development. Her eyes are up, her movements are precise and performed to the text, and her body language demands your attention. One of my biggest pet peeves is coaches who say, "well I wasn't a dancer so it's harder for me to coach that part", "the dance isn't as important as the skills", or "they're just so young". The truth is, this sport is called ARTISTIC gymnastics. Artistry matters people!! Developing artistry while they are young is key, I'll write another post later about developing artistry in young athletes.

My second routine is a level 6 routine. Sophia hails from the infamous club, Texas Dreams, and she just so happens to be the little sister of former elite, Nica Hults. This routine is a personal favorite of mine because the choreography matches the gymnast to well (this is the hardest thing to do as a choreographer). It's easy to see that this routine fits her style and personality- needless to say, she clearly enjoys performing this routine and the judges loved it! I also want to add, it's very age appropriate.

This next routine is certainly towards the top of my list. The music is very different and the choreography is clean and simple (simple routines can still be artistic). Even though simple, it is certainly a stand out routine for a beginner optional. Wake up judges, something out-of-the-box!! Again, this routine is very age appropriate and extremely well choreographed, it fits the gymnast and showcases her strengths. Artistry for all ages- I love it!  

Moving up the competitive levels to level 8, the next routine on my list is a Wildfire gymnast, Kara Lussier. By now you've probably realized that I'm a sucker for gymnasts with long, lean, clean lines and a dance background. I promise if you stick through a few more you will see some killer hip hop and jazz based floor routines. Kara's routine stands out to me because it is, again, pretty simple choreography but very clean and well done. Choreography doesn't have to be incredibly intricate to be great. While Kara is clearly a beautiful gymnast, this routine really highlights some of her best attributes, such as her killer toe point and musicality. I also love the use of contractions and level changes.

Switz, this kid has it all. Let me start by saying, if you've never heard of Precision Choreography, stop what you're doing right now and go check them out. I met Nicole Langevin (owner and choreographer) years ago at Woodward West, she was coaching beam and I was working on my switch wolf. Well, long story short, Nicole competed (maybe invented?) the switch wolf and we hit it off. At the time, I had no idea how amazing she was, but to date she is one of my favorite people in the gymnastics community. My dream would be to have a floor routine choreographed by her. Anyways, she choreographed this routine. Just watch and be blown away, no captions necessary.

As promised, a hip hop routine! Former Texas Dreams club athlete and NCAA LSU Tiger, Lloimincia Hall. Now, I will be honest, hip hop isn't my favorite style, but love watching Hall's routines. For me to love a hip hop routine, it has to be very well done and really fit the personality and movement of the athlete. I credit Lloimicia for opening the artistic door in competitive gymnastics to something other than you're cookie cutter "look at me, I'm smiling and my legs look like toothpicks they're so straight and balletic" routines. It wasn't that long ago that routines like this were totally unheard of, especially in the JO level. This routine makes me smile and want to get up and dance! 

Next on my list in Helen Hu. I'll be honest, this routine really bores me and is lacking a lot of difficulty for a level 10 routine-but it's clean. It is on this list solely for two really unique tricks. I'm a sucker for unique tricks. 

UCLA gymnastics is known for their unique, story telling routines. This routine is a favorite and big crowd pleaser. Plus, who doesn't love Angi's story?! The cell phone ringing gives this routine an interactive quality which is fairly rare for gymnastics routines. Regardless of who your favorite NCAA team is, you're sure to enjoy this routine! 

Alright, two left! Both are OU gymnasts (Geez, I wonder who my favorite NCAA team is...) needless to say, both routines have very different styles, but both check off on clean, amazing performances. Both of these routines are evidence that time spent developing artistry and performance quality pays off. Bravo. My two favorite routines in the NCAA!

Comment what your favorite floor routine was and let me know if you know of an amazing floor routine not on this list! 

The First of Many

For years I've wanted to start blog, but it just didn't feel right. Looking back, I wish I had started one sooner...I could have documented my experiences and had an organized, ongoing log of everything I'd learned over the years of clinics, camps, various sports, workouts, competitions, traveling and coaching. I've always been a writer, anyone who has ever sat next to me in school knows that the sides of my notes are filled with "gymnastics" something or other- from potential skill upgrades, to stick figure gymnasts undergoing biomechanical sketches of how skills work, to shaping circuits, to conditioning lists.
So what is the purpose of this blog? To be honest, it's for me. It's an organized platform for me to compile my ideas, passions, coaching philosophy, circuits, conditioning lists, and experiences as a competitive gymnast, dancer, diver, trampolinist, power tumbler, cheerleader, judge, student, and coach. In addition, its a place for me to reflect. I've chosen to share it for those interested in following my journey and learning about what athletics has done for me.
To those of you interested, I will be honest, it will probably be a smorgasbord of assorted posts. Feel free to read those that interest you, and skip those that do not. Also remember that first and foremost, I am writing this for me, and I have chosen to share it as a way to give back some of what I have learned along the way.