From student-athlete to the head coaching role
Susnara competing at an A&T meet / Go Ducks
When Taylor Susnara, BS '18 (general social science) started her journey at the University of Oregon in 2014, her dream career was to be a dentist. The acrobatics and tumbling student-athlete from Foothill Ranch, California was invested in her human physiology classes—until she discovered a career path in coaching that would completely change her trajectory.
Growing up, Susnara participated in competitive gymnastics and cheerleading. In high school, she was the captain of her school’s cheerleading team, a California level 9 gymnastics state champion, and a Western Championships qualifier, where she was a top 10 finalist.
“When I got into cheer, I always missed the technique base of gymnastics,” Susnara said. “So when I heard about acrobatics and tumbling, it reminded me more of my experience in gymnastics, and there was this competitive edge that really drew me to the sport.”
Throughout her high school career and beyond, Susnara said her mom has been one of her greatest supporters.
“It was kind of her and I growing up—my siblings are much older than me. She was a single mom, so she took me to all of my gymnastics meets and school,” Susnara said. “She’s a strong independent woman that I aspire to be like one day.”
When Susnara began looking for options to continue her athletics career after high school, Oregon, one of the top acrobatics and tumbling teams in the country, was at the forefront of her search.
Susnara (center) competing in the Team portion of a 2018 meet against Baylor / Go Ducks
As a student-athlete, Susnara was a four-year letter winner and one of two student-athletes in UO history to be named a three-time National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) All-American. Susnara said that adjusting to college life and balancing a demanding schedule as both a student and athlete her freshman year was challenging. After that year though, she found her stride.
“From a team perspective, my junior year was one for the books,” Susnara said. “A meet that stands out to me was competing against Baylor–the number one team at the time–and we ended up beating them. It was the first time anyone had won against them in years, and that was an amazing feeling to have as a team.”
In her junior year, Susnara’s career goals also shifted. One week into the 2016–2017 school year, she realized that a career in dentistry wasn’t for her.
“I went to my cadaver lab in the first week of junior year, and I just lost it. Mentally, emotionally, it was just not for me,” Susnara said. “The acro and tumbling head coach at the time, Keenyn Won, had always said that if any of us were interested in coaching, she would help.”
Susnara, along with a few other acro and tumbling athletes, attended an informal coaching class with Won every Friday. In her senior year, Susnara began exploring more career development opportunities, like interning in administration with UO Athletics and participating in NCAA’s career in sports forum.
“Coaching class helped me realize that I really could see myself doing something like that every day. It didn’t feel like work—it was a lot of fun.”
Susnara’s senior national championship event finals are also a core memory for her.
“I was competing in a solo tumbling event heat, and I received a perfect ten on that pass. I ended up winning the national title, and that was a key memory I had in my athletics career,” she said.
Susnara with her fourth consecutive individual tumbling event title, earned with a perfect 10 open tumbling pass / Go Ducks
Right after graduating with her bachelor’s degree in 2018, Susnara was hired on as an assistant coach for Oregon’s acro and tumbling team. The transition from student-athlete to coach was difficult at first, but she said that coaching some of her former teammates made the shift easier.
“They trusted me and my background,” she said. “As the years went on, it got easier. I gained real-life experience, had some coaching development opportunities, and I got more confident in my coaching ability.”
Susnara coaches the UO Acrobatics and Tumbling team at a meet / Go Ducks
After three seasons as Oregon’s acro and tumbling assistant coach, Susnara was named the head coach of the program. During her first season in the role, she led the Ducks to their fiftieth individual event championship and coached the team to the NCATA Quarterfinals, which were held at Matthew Knight Arena.
“Since I’ve been at Oregon, we had not hosted the national championship, so being able to help head that up in my first year as head coach was something I had never dreamed of,” Susnara said. “Performing in front of our home crowd at MKA was really special, and it’s something that I hope we’ll get to do again in the future.”
Susnara is looking forward to what the future of the sport will look like. In August 2020, acrobatics and tumbling was granted emerging sport status with the NCAA, which means that the NCAA has recognized the sport and created a rulebook manual. Now, the sport is striving to receive championship status with the NCAA, which would make the association the sport’s main governing body. After years of working toward this milestone, the sport is expected to meet championship status requirements soon.
Part of Oregon's pyramid event at their April 7, 2023 meet vs. Azusa Pacific / Go Ducks
“Being a part of this sport is so special. Sometimes we forget that we are paving the way for those after us, that we’re making history. It’s not often that sports are created out of thin air like this one was, so it’s really unique.”
To learn more about acrobatics and tumbling at the University of Oregon, visit their website or follow the team on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.