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e catastrophic. Do not allow agymnast to twist in different directionson different skills. An athlete who cantwist in both directions has noautomatic response when learningcomplex, inverted twisting skills. Anathlete indecisive about twistingdirection may “freeze” or try toreverse a twist in mid-air. This isfrustrating and can be dangerous.Trampoline coaches are stronglyagreed on this point. (However, thereare many examples of top gymnastsand trampolinists who can doadvanced skills twisting in differentdirections. We certainly don’t want topromote this “special” ability).For me as a coach, the main problemskill is the Barani. Far too manygymnasts twist this skill in the wrongdirection. However, several otherinverted gymnastics skills may betroublesome including:• Round-off• Handstand pirouettes• Some beam combinations• Twist-on, twist-off vaults• Tsukahara vault with twist•Parallel bar dismounts with twistThe coach needs to be alert to ensurethat gymnasts do not turn in the wrongdirection! Twisting direction errors onthese skills have baffled more than afew coaches ...and judges!After much consideration, myphilosophy is to teach all twistingskills in the SAME direction with oneexception — round off. Ideally, Iwant all gymnasts to fit in one of thesetwo categories:1. Right Twisters- All skills twist to the right- Round-off twist to the left (right handfirst)2. Left Twisters- All skills twist to the left- Round-off twist to the right (left handfirst)There are advantages to twisting theround off in the opposite direction toeverything else though, admittedly,they are beneficial only for advancedgymnasts. For example, this approachis essential to do the popularKazamatsu vaults, and an advantagewhen tumbling out of backward layout1/2, 3/2, or 5/2 twist on floor.I have seen many advanced gymnastswho twist the round off in the samedirection as all other skills. Some topcoaches even advocate teaching theround off in the same direction as allof the other skills. However, the vastmajority of coaches prefer the roundoff to twist in the opposite direction.Which direction should my gymnaststwist?Almost everyone has “preferred”direction of twist based, mostprobably, on brain structure andfunction. To determine which is thepreferred direction, I recommendcoaches use the “Direction of TwistingDominance” assessment chart in theCanadian Level 1 TrampolineManual. You may be doing a greatservice to your young gymnasts byensuring that they learn to twist intheir preferred direction!Should I try to CHANGE the direction oftwist?With young children, I havesuccessfully changed the direction oftwisting skills. Sometimes, it isfrustrating for them. With olderGym Coach Quarterly Page 5 November 2004