Onsite registration will be available at the registration table. Want to save time in line? Click here to access the onsite registration form, complete and bring it with you to the congress registration table. Credit cards or checks are accepted for payment.
Onsite registration will be available at the registration table. Want to save time in line? Click here to access the onsite registration form, complete and bring it with you to the congress registration table. Credit cards or checks are accepted for payment.
Visit the Region 4 & 5 Trade Show Hall to chat with vendors and check out the latest products and services in the industry, including equipment, apparel, technology, and more!
Digital life is now part of coaching life. And if you’re not actively managing it, it’s managing you. This session is your crash course on the tech tightrope coaches walk every day—social media boundaries, messaging expectations, group chats, recording and posting culture, and what “digital professionalism” looks like in 2026. Get tools, scripts, and guidelines you can implement immediately to keep yourself, your athletes, and your club protected in a world where everything has a screenshot button.
Let’s raise heart rates, get active and play games – all at once! In this active “try-it” session, we’ll test out multi-purpose activities that work for warm ups, conditioning or “just because” – and they all have elements of fun & play so kids don’t complain!
Introduce young athletes to beam in a fun, engaging way while developing the focus and balance skills they need for long-term success.
This session is designed to help the Women’s Program community understand all the rule changes that were approved at the 2026 annual committee meetings. You’ll hear directly from members of the Administrative, Technical, and Development Program committees as they walk through the key updates — including changes to the Rules and Policies, the Development Program Code of Points, the Compulsory Book, and the Operating Code. These updates will take effect for the upcoming 2026-2027 competition season, so this is a great chance to get clear on what’s new.
An inside look at the realities of nutrition in gymnastics – where we have been and where we are going. Based on visits to 300+ gyms across the country and featured in You Can’t Flip On Empty, this session unpacks past and current trends while offering practical solutions for coaches, parents, and athletes.
There are no less than 13 employment laws that instantly apply as soon as you take on even just a single employee, regardless of whether they’re full- or part-time. If you’ve grown large enough to hire an employee, you’ve grown large enough to need an HR department. If your company is small, that probably means you’re the HR department!
You may feel that there are just too many rules and regulations to keep track of, or to know which one to follow first. This presentation will help identify the key practices that we should all be focused on as small business owners!
This Hands-on Spotting clinic gives coaches the opportunity to practice spotting athletes with disabilities and communication differences in a supportive environment. With participation from Special Olympics gymnasts, attendees will gain hands-on experience adapting spotting techniques, modifying progressions, and adjusting their coaching approach to match individual needs. The session will highlight safety considerations, alternative ways to cue movement, and strategies for supporting athletes who rely on visual, gestural, or nonverbal communication.
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
They can’t even get on the bar – so where do you start? Discover age-appropriate progressions and 50+ creative ideas to build strength, confidence, and readiness before making them roll over the bar.
This session is designed to help the Women’s Program community understand all the rule changes that were approved at the 2026 annual committee meetings. You’ll hear directly from members of the Administrative, Technical, and Xcel Program committees as they walk through the key updates — including changes to the Rules and Policies, the Xcel Program Code of Points, and the Operating Code. These updates will take effect for the upcoming 2026-2027 competition season, so this is a great chance to get clear on what’s new.
This session equips coaches with a clear, practical framework for integrating mental training into their competitive program. While athletes may be doing the right drills, progressions, and physical preparation, performance often stalls without the tools to navigate setbacks, manage fear, and process the emotional demands of the sport—making mental training the missing piece for many programs. We will cover unique and effective strategies that assist with goal setting, anxiety reduction, fear/mental block management, and building resilience. Coaches will leave with tools to seamlessly embed these techniques into their training program, helping athletes develop emotional intelligence, mental toughness, and the confidence to perform under pressure when it matters most.
This session will equip gym owners with practical strategies to grow and sustain their business using the Elevate, Engage, Excel Framework. Learn how to optimize pricing, enrollment, retention and capacity to boost revenue, reduce costs and build a thriving, financially stable gym.
This lecture talks in depth about what “upside down” is – and how everything comes from it. Problems that we find in a roundoff, or a walkover, or a handspring can usually be fixed by going back to the handstand and isolating the issue there. Head sticking out, closed shoulders, arched back – all of these things create red flags in more advanced skills. Teaching the handstand correctly from the beginning makes life easier – and breaking things down to a handstand when we’re struggling to cartwheel or handspring keeps things digestable for athletes.
This lecture is great for a recreational coach but can also be great for competitive coaches who lack the understanding of the power of a handstand.
Drills and stations for your “new to team” athletes to shape their future success on Bars.
An easy method to teach front and back twisting.
Navigating the changes and revisiting the foundations of Level 10.
Hungry for knowledge? Grab your lunch and join Jenna Karadbil for the NCAA update. Meal not included. Please bring your own lunch.
Curious about the Inquiry and Video Review process? Bring your lunch and learn all about it in this informative lunchtime session presented by Kathleen Edwards and Heather Forbes. Meal not provided. Please bring your own lunch.
Emergencies and unexpected situations don’t wait for the perfect staff member or the perfect moment. How a club responds in those first few minutes depends heavily on the preparation, communication, and systems that were built long before anything went wrong.
This session gives coaches and club leaders a clear, practical look at how readiness is developed — from strong policies and daily communication habits to tabletop walk-throughs, staff training, and on-the-floor decision making. In this experiential workshop, participants will explore how well-designed systems can prevent confusion, reduce risk, and shape a coordinated response when the unexpected happens.
Note: This is an extended, 2-hour session.
Parents can be your ally and teammate in the growth of your athletes, but they can also become your enemy if you aren’t careful. Knowing the different types of parents that exist and how to work with each one is going to set you up for more successful and productive relationships, so in this session we will discuss how to collaborate and communicate with each for the benefit of your athletes.
Guided Hands-on Spotting Practice:
Uneven Bars: Kips
Beam: Cartwheels, Handstands, Back Walkovers, Cartwheel-Side Handstand Dismounts
Floor: Front Handsprings, Back Handsprings
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
Recreational gymnastics should be full of fun and smiles, but that doesn’t mean quality gymnastics technique has to take a back seat. Similarly, we shouldn’t have to sacrifice fun in order for our gymnasts to progress their skills. Challenging the assumption that rec coaches have to choose fun OR technique, we want to “have our cake and eat it too”! We’ll dig into why and how coaches can incorporate both in their classes and learn different ways to dial up (or dial down) each factors to provide the best possible experience for our gymnasts.
This is a great lecture for both judges and coaches. We will show examples of what some common deductions (such as foot work, body posture) are in the Level 2-5 beam routines and what may be causing the athlete to have those deductions. Then we will show drills that will help the athlete develop the strength, flexibility, and body awareness to complete the skills without these deductions. We will also explain the philosophy of why these skills were choosen by the Development Committee and how they help provide the necessary basics which are the building blocks for more advanced skills. Even though this lecture will focus on the compulsory routines, the drills are also relevant to the Xcel program.
Staff meetings can be so much more than a lecture that everyone tunes out. They can be meaningful, memorable and actually worth showing up for. In this session we’ll explore how embracing experiential education practices can transform the way your coaches learn, lead, and grow. You’ll learn a simple framework for designing interactive staff meetings that get your coaches truly engaged, plus you’ll walk away with a handful of creative tools, activities, and plug-and-play ideas you can add to your next staff meeting to build skills, teamwork, leadership, confidence and more. Come ready to participate and rethink what your staff meetings can be.
Guided Hands-on Spotting Practice
Uneven Bars: Clear Hips; 3,6,7 Circling Skills
Floor: Roundoff BHS-BHS, Front Handsprings, Front Tucks
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
What are you doing outside of your skill curriculum to grow kids in class? Let’s define these 3 key elements and create 5 easy to implement examples of each.
This is a great lecture for both judges and coaches. We will show examples of what some common deductions (lack of acceleration, head/arm position) are in the Level 2-5 and Xcel tumbling and what may be causing the athlete to have those deductions. Then we will show drills that will help the athlete develop the strength, flexibility, and body awareness to complete the skills without these deductions. We will also explain the philosophy of why these skills were choosen by the Development Committee and how they help provide the necessary basics which are the building blocks for more advanced skills. Even though this lecture will focus on the compulsory tumbling, the drills are also relevant to the Xcel program.
Quick easy techniques for teaching toe handstand, stalder, inside stalder, endo and weiler.
Apply the updated rules to calculate your start value.
At gymnastics clubs across the country, it’s common to see young coaches working their very first job. We often focus on teaching these coaches skills, drills, progressions, and technique; however, young coaches also need to know how to be a professional. Many new coaches lack experience with workplace expectations like punctuality, preparedness, appearance, and attitude. This session will cover key professionalism topics and effective ways to teach them, including: communication, reliability and accountability, appropriate conduct, appropriate appearance, and more.
A look into how we designed our lesson plans which the entire child in mind; not just the ninja (gymnast, soccer player, etc.). By expanding our curriculum to cover development of children and not sport specific development, we have seen higher retention rates and more engagement in our classes.
Coaches, have you been doing (essentially) the same warmup, stretching and prep routines for years? Let’s refresh! Using evidence-based data, physiology and gymnastics-specific performance results, you can have your athletes as engaged in their body warm-up, dynamic and static flexibility, movement preparation and pre-practice regimen as they are for practice and competitions! Learn new ideas for the same muscles, order of operation for bloodflow, flexibility and joint preparation and use your warmup time for body shaping and even skill progression. Think cooldown time isn’t important? Think again! This lecture will give you ideas and an outline for the end of practice as well as homework for your athletes to prioritize recovery!
We will compare and contrast the similarities and key differences between Level 2 & Bronze vault; Level 3 & Silver vault; and Level 4/5 & Gold vault. Additionally, strategies for staying consistent with judging sessions with multiple levels and divisions will be provided and lots of practice judging.
Come celebrate a fantastic season at the Region 4 & 5 Reception! This FREE event is open to all Congress attendees and is the perfect opportunity to network, unwind, and connect with fellow gymnastics professionals. Enjoy light appetizers, grab a drink, and toast to a year of accomplishments and community. Don’t miss this fun and festive gathering!
Rise and Shine! Begin the day with a rejuvenating morning stretch session. Awaken your body, mind, and spirit in preparation for an invigorating day of learning and professional growth!
Onsite registration will be available at the registration table. Want to save time in line? Click here to access the onsite registration form, complete and bring it with you to the congress registration table. Credit cards or checks are accepted for payment.
Visit the Region 4 & 5 Trade Show Hall to chat with vendors and check out the latest products and services in the industry, including equipment, apparel, technology, and more!
Designed for supervisors, managers, and club owners, this interactive summit uses an Open Space format, allowing participants to drive the conversation around key topics like recruiting, onboarding, training, mentoring, and retaining recreational and preschool gymnastics staff. Through collaborative, small-group discussions, attendees will exchange ideas, gain fresh perspectives, and explore real-world solutions alongside industry peers in a supportive, participant-led environment. Short breaks will be incorporated throughout to maintain energy and engagement. Whether you’re new to staff development or an experienced leader, you’ll leave with practical insights and meaningful connections. Click Here for More Details!
This special extended session is offered at no additional cost to Region 4 & 5 Congress attendees!
Every coach steps into the role carrying a script they didn’t write. It’s the one handed to them by the coaches who came before — the good, the inspiring, and the deeply harmful. Those patterns repeat from generation to generation, shaping how coaches set expectations, communicate, motivate, and respond under pressure. Some coaches follow the script exactly because it’s all they’ve ever seen; others rebel against it, but still feel its pull when things get hard.
This session looks directly at those inherited patterns and how they show up in today’s gyms. Through lecture and guided discussion, coaches and managers will explore which behaviors are worth carrying forward and which patterns need to be intentionally broken so they aren’t passed to the next generation.
Back pain remains one of the most common injuries in gymnastics, yet many coaches lack practical tools to identify early warning signs or modify training appropriately. This session teaches coaches the most common types of back pain in gymnasts, what they look like in real time, and why they happen. We’ll cover movement patterns like excessive lumbar hinging, rib flaring, poor shoulder mechanics, and hip restrictions and how these contribute to both pain and skill inconsistency.
Coaches will learn simple movement screens, effective warm-up strategies, and strength progressions that improve shaping, extension work, tumbling, and bars technique.
Attendees will leave with actionable steps to keep athletes training safely while promoting long-term spine health.
Navigating the changes and revisiting the foundations for Level 9.
This session dives into the “nitty gritty” of coaching neurodivergent learners in a gymnastics setting. Coaches will learn how to shift toward more effective visual, tactile, and structured teaching approaches that match how many neurodivergent athletes process information. We’ll focus on adapting class management and structure through a neurodivergent lens.
The course also provides concrete progressions and activities for gymnasts with praxis challenges, motor planning differences, body awareness deficits, or physical limitations that affect how they learn skills. Coaches will leave with ready-to-use tools, sample visual aids, and a clearer understanding of how to create a predictable, supportive environment where neurodiverse athletes can thrive.
Many gyms overlook simple opportunities that can boost enrollment, fill off-peak hours, and strengthen community presence. This session highlights fresh, underused marketing approaches that most clubs haven’t tapped into yet. You’ll leave with practical, easy-to-implement ideas to reach more families, create new demand, and grow your programs without adding extra complexity to your schedule.
Guided Hands-on Spotting Practice:
Uneven Bars: Flyaways
Beam: Back Walkover-Back Handspring; Back Handspring-Back Handpsring; Back Handspring-Layout
Floor: Aerials, Front Tucks, Standing Back Tucks
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
What is the key to helping each gymnast reach her potential? Where do you start? How do you break things down into manageable parts to help keep students from being discouraged? What should the balance be between skills, conditioning and play when kids are younger? In this lecture I will discuss these things and also hit on some key skills on each event that are important to help develop successful gymnasts. This lecture is applicable to all teachers and coaches from pre-school through competitive (Dev and Xcel).
Navigating the changes and revisiting the foundations of Level 8.
Finding the right balance between learning and fun or structure and play can make or break a class. Join me in navigating lesson plans for preschool students where learning is fun.
Coaches aren’t just teaching skills. They’re managing the emotional temperature of a training environment. This session dives into the real mechanics of communication under stress: how to regulate your own reactions, how to calibrate expectations, and how to guide athletes through frustration, fear, and pressure. Participants will leave with practical strategies for setting clear expectations, redirecting intensity in healthy ways, and creating a training space where athletes feel supported.
Guided Hands-on Spotting Practice
Uneven Bars: Low Bar Giants
Floor: Roundoff Back Handsprings, Back Tucks and beyond
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
Want new ideas for core strength? Don’t know how much to do and when to do it? Want some great gifts in the gym like better sets, bigger blocks, solid handstands, easy to teach blind changes, kips in days? Consistency is key. And addressing ALL of the abdominal region is clutch.
Transverse abdominus for isometric strength. Obliques for rotation (or better yet, derotation and stabilizing). Rectus for snapping, pikes, v positions, leg lifts and more. Let’s through in bonus muscles like quadratus and multifidi (don’t worry, we will have pictures).
Stop doing the same boring exercises for your athletes. Start making baseline strength a part of your level promotion abilities testing. Scores? Sure, they matter. But fundamentals matter more than luck.
How long should you be able to hold a plank? How about a side plank? What exercises are best for pelvic tilt correction? What can/shouldn’t an athlete do with back pain? What ab muscles (or exercises) make you a better jumper? Learn it all!
Music makes everything BETTER! I will go over some fun warm up songs and activites as well as talk about making playlists to give your lesson plans life!
Make your lunch break count! Grab a bite to eat and join Jasmine Swyningan Bedford and Windee Weiss for a fresh look at implicit bias in judging, with practical insights to help build confidence, consistency, and fairness.. Meal not provided. Please bring your own lunch.
The learning doesn’t have to stop! Grab your lunch and join Kathleen Edwards as she delivers the inside scoop on the 2023 National requirements. Meal not provided. Please bring your own lunch.
How strategic planning for an employee’s first 365 days fosters long-term success, professional growth, and organizational loyalty.
Guided Hands on Spotting Practice
Vault: Yurchenko Training
Uneven Bars: Overshoots
Beam: Dismounts
Space in this session is limited! Reserve your spot by signing up at the Congress registration desk beginning Thursday at 5:30p.m.
Session attendees aged 18+ must be U110 SafeSport Trained to participate in hands-on spotting activities.
A dynamic, hands-on session featuring practical drills and clear teaching progressions for key optional-level beam elements: the back handspring, introductory series work, and the back tuck. Coaches will gain effective strategies to build power, confidence, and safe skill development from start to finish.
This lecture will go over how to teach a front handspring and 1/2 on twisting vault from the beginning. It will include a plethora of drills and information about how to correctly teach these vaults.
This session focuses on developing strong foundational tumbling skills through creative and engaging drills, while incorporating fun, game-based activities to reinforce proper landing techniques and help prevent injuries. We will also explore safe and effective progressions for advancing tumbling skills, ensuring athletes build confidence and ability with safety as a top priority.
Even strong, established gyms often overlook simple marketing opportunities that can increase enrollment, make better use of off-peak hours, and expand their reach without adding major expenses. This session highlights practical, underused strategies that help clubs connect with new families and stand out in their communities. You’ll leave with clear insights on where untapped potential exists—and how to capture it with straightforward, low-cost approaches.
Learn to use basic gymnastics equipment (open floor, spotting blocks, cart blocks) to teach basic parkour & tricking skills that can be utilized in a gymnastics rotation/setting.
It takes more than strong skills to separate the best of the best. This lecture focuses on using the “overall” deductions on beam and floor to separate the scores of routines with great skills from those that are the complete package. Props will be used!!
Compulsory bars can make or break a meet. In this LIVE problem-solving session, I demonstrate how to teach and clean up the most troublesome skills —squat-ons, front hip circles, underswings, and the kip-to-cast connection —through my combined lens as both a coach and a judge. I’ll show you which deductions are most common, why they happen, and exactly how to fix them with simple, repeatable progressions.
Navigating the changes and revisiting the foundations of Levels 6 and 7.
I will show you easy ways to implement award programs, and activities that will make your gym a core memory in every one of your families lives.
Knowing what to measure, how to manage it, and how to use it to forecast your next steps can be the difference between achieving sustainable profitability and facing financial uncertainty.
From the first Forward Roll to the Front Handspring + Front Layout + Front Layout, learn how teach efficient and effective front tumbling. Game Changer!!!
Explore effective vault drills and sides side stations that do not utilize a vault table. This session focuses on progressive training methods for Front Handsprings, Tsukaharas, and Yurchenkos.
This lecture will cover the basics of learning to cast, kip, and connect the kip cast. This lecture is perfect for low level team coaches including level 2, 3, and 4 and Xcel Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
Updated Deduction Guidelines for Choreography, Expression, Posture, Footwork, and Dynamics.
This session explores how growth and maturation impact an athlete’s flexibility, strength, and coordination, with a focus on the effects of growth spurts. It provides practical guidance on adapting training strategies to align with different stages of physical development, while emphasizing the importance of patience and long-term perspective during plateaus in skill acquisition.
This energizing, three-hour training is built specifically for PreTeam, Developmental, and Xcel coaches who want clearer progressions, stronger basics, and more confident athletes. Using the “Begin Here → Go Anywhere” philosophy, coaches will learn how to teach essential shapes, build smart strength, and connect those fundamentals directly to skills on vault, bars, beam, and floor. Through live demos, practical drills, hands-on practice, and coach-to-coach teaching, you’ll walk away with consistent language, effective cues, and proven methods you can use immediately in the gym. This boot camp is equal parts instructional and fun—packed with movement, problem-solving, and lightbulb moments that will make teaching beginners simpler, safer, and way more successful. Click Here for more info!
This Boot Camp is FREE to Region 4&5 Congress Registrants
Sign-up at Congress Registration Table beginning Thursday, June 18 at 5:30 p.m.
Onsite registration will be available at the registration table. Want to save time in line? Click here to access the onsite registration form, complete and bring it with you to the congress registration table. Credit cards or checks are accepted for payment.
Visit the Region 4 & 5 Trade Show Hall to chat with vendors and check out the latest products and services in the industry, including equipment, apparel, technology, and more!
A made-for-you checklist to find the coaches you’re looking for!
This lecture offers a practical and engaging approach to judging Xcel beam leaps and jumps, focusing on accurately judging the level competing in front of you. We will dive into how to confidently evaluate splits and dance series that meet or don’t meet angle/connection requirements, and tackle the real challenge of mixed-level sessions. Coaches and judges are both encouraged to attend to learn practical strategies on what to do when things don’t go the way we planned.
Tumbling is the basis for all events. It is extremely important that kids develop good tumbling basics from the very beginning! This lecture will briefly cover shaping, rolling, handstands, and cartwheels. The main focus will be on development of technically correct handsprings and saltos.
This is the coaching framework I wish I’d had from day one — a guide on what skills to teach your boys, where those skills are taking them, and how to pull everything together into engaging lesson plans that keep your guys motivated.
Running a successful gymnastics program requires more than great coaching—it requires a legally sound business foundation. Yet most gym owners are unknowingly exposed to significant risks in four key areas: business entity structure, personal injury liability, tuition agreements, and staffing practices. Small oversights in any of these categories can drain profits, trigger regulatory penalties, weaken your valuation, or even shut down your gym entirely.
In this practical and eye-opening session, attorney and former gym owner Matt Becker will break down the most common legal landmines he sees in gyms across the country—and how to fix them before they become expensive problems. Using real scenarios drawn from more than 800 gym consultations, Matt simplifies complex legal issues into clear, actionable steps you can implement immediately.
Attendees will learn:
Whether you run recreational classes, competitive teams, camps, or preschool programs, this session will help you protect your athletes, your business, and your long-term financial stability.
Practice judging Platinum, Diamond, and Sapphire Bars with an emphasis on extra swings and bonus for Sapphire.
Vaulting doesn’t have to be intimidating, it can be the most fun event in your gym! Join us for a deep dive into “Recreational Vaulting,” where we’ll simplify the complex. We are covering everything from explosive board hits to dynamic station setups that keep every athlete moving and smiling. If you want to transform your vaulting drills and boost your students’ confidence, this is the session for you. Come ready to learn, share, and get inspired to bring a new level of excitement to your gym floor!
What Is AI — And Why Does It Matter to You?
Artificial intelligence isn’t just for tech giants. Today’s AI tools are accessible, affordable, and designed for all types of business owners, helping you save time, serve families better, and run a more efficient operation without needing a tech background.
Where AI Can Help Your Center
Enhancing Customer Experience
Streamlining Operations
Improving Student Outcomes
Real-World Results: Practical uses of AI for Gymnastics Centers
How to Get Started
Questions? Bring them to the Q&A, no question is too basic.
Line drills are essential for building strong floor basics. This lecture will give you clear, practical ideas for creating effective line drills that reinforce shapes, technique, and progression in your program.
This session will focus on amplitude of leaps and jumps on beam as well as degree of completion of elements with turns in the air. The goal will be to help judges differentiate amplitude and precision in these skills on beam.
Presented by Positive Coaching Alliance, this FREE workshop gives coaches practical strategies to handle challenging behaviors, strengthen team culture, and create practices where athletes can thrive. Instead of viewing disruptions or lack of focus as simple attitude problems, coaches will learn how behavior can be a form of communication – and how to respond in ways that build connection, accountability, and growth. Participants will leave with tools to manage tough moments with clarity and consistency, design more engaging and inclusive practices, and foster stronger relationships that lead to better athlete engagement and long-term team success.
This Course is FREE to Region 4&5 Congress Registrants!
Space is limited! Click Here to Register!
