Journey of growth with Coach Gio
Coach Gio’s vision for the coming years is rooted in growth, trust, and the belief that every athlete can rise far beyond where they started.
As TCNL enters a new building year, her perspective offers a clear look at how development, opportunity, and long‑term preparation will shape the road toward Tryouts 2027 and Worlds 2028.
You have been with TCNL for some time now and have even guided All Girl to a medal. How do you reflect on this journey so far?
I genuinely think coaching All Girl has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me as a coach. I came into this thinking I was going to be the one guiding them and teaching them, but I’ve learned so much from getting to coach a national team, especially one with such a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and experience levels.
From the beginning, my mission was never simply to win a medal. It was always, “How much further can I push us this year?” How much more can we learn? How much better can our skills and technique become? How far can we take this team compared to where we started?
Every single year, the girls have adapted and attacked whatever I’ve put in front of them. Having that eventually lead to a medal was honestly one of the wildest moments of this entire journey and beyond what I imagined when we started. But the part I’m most proud of is everything that had to happen before that medal was even possible the growth, the trust, the work, and watching them continually rise to the expectations we set together.
As we move toward a whole new building year, why would you say anyone who is interested should show up and participate?
I think what we’ve been able to accomplish over the last three years speaks for itself. When you look at the level we started at compared to what these athletes have been able to accomplish now, it proves how much can be learned when people are willing to work.
A lot of these girls came to us as older athletes with experience at Levels 2, 3, and 4, and within roughly three years they learned how to perform and compete at Level 6. That’s something I’m incredibly proud of because it shows that you don’t necessarily have to arrive already knowing everything, you have to be willing to learn.
That’s also what makes this building year such a great opportunity for anyone interested in All Girl. In previous years, joining as a new athlete could be intimidating because the existing team was already so advanced in our technique and system. This time, new athletes have the opportunity to come in, learn our process and technique, develop alongside everyone else, and actually have time to catch up before tryouts.
If you’ve ever thought about being part of All Girl but wondered whether you were ready, this is probably the best opportunity we’ve had to come in and find out what you’re capable of.
Going from a building year, to tryouts in 2027, and then Worlds in 2028, what will be your coaching perspective, and what will make it different from the years before?
For me, this building year changes everything because we finally have the gift of time.
Instead of meeting athletes at tryouts and immediately having to evaluate what they can do, we have an opportunity to actually develop them first. I can teach our technique, establish our expectations, and give newcomers the tools they need to grow before they're ever asked to prove themselves at a tryout.
I also want this year to be about creating the bond that a national team needs. The skills matter, but so does learning how to work together, trust one another, respond to coaching, and understand the standard we’re trying to create.
By the time we reach tryouts in 2027, nobody should have to wonder what I expect from them. They will have had the opportunity to learn it, train it, and grow into it. Then, when we begin the journey toward Worlds 2028, we aren’t starting from scratch we’re starting with a foundation we built together. As we move toward a whole new building year, why would you say anyone who is interested should show up and participate?*
I think what we’ve been able to accomplish over the last three years speaks for itself. When you look at the level we started at compared to what these athletes have been able to accomplish now, it proves how much can be learned when people are willing to work.
A lot of these girls came to us as older athletes with experience at Levels 2, 3, and 4, and within roughly three years they learned how to perform and compete at Level 6. That’s something I’m incredibly proud of because it shows that you don’t necessarily have to arrive already knowing everything, you have to be willing to learn.
That’s also what makes this building year such a great opportunity for anyone interested in All Girl. In previous years, joining as a new athlete could be intimidating because the existing team was already so advanced in our technique and system. This time, new athletes have the opportunity to come in, learn our process and technique, develop alongside everyone else, and actually have time to catch up before tryouts.
If you’ve ever thought about being part of All Girl but wondered whether you were ready, this is probably the best opportunity we’ve had to come in and find out what you’re capable of.
