Becerra Joins Gymnastics Staff As Assistant Coach

TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona Gymnastics head coach John Court has announced the hiring of Dallas Becerra as assistant coach. Becerra joins the GymCats after five seasons as a member of the Penn State Women's Gymnastics staff where he worked primarily with the vault and bars lineups, leading those events to numerous strong performances.

"I am excited to welcome Dallas to Arizona Gymnastics and Tucson," said head coach John Court. "He is an experienced, passionate, and intelligent coach that will fit in with the culture that we have established in our program. His primary duties will be coaching bars and assisting on other events along with being the program's recruiting coordinator. Our program is climbing nationally, and Dallas will be an important variable in our quest for athletic excellence and maximizing our student-athletes' experiences."

Penn State had two bars competitors compete at NCAA Regionals last season with Alissa Bonsall and Cassidy Rushlow posting excellent scores in Norman, Oklahoma with scores of 9.800 and 9.875 respectively. His work with student-athletes on bars led the unit to a banner season in 2021 as they finished among the nation's best. Three bars competitors were among the top six in the region as the Nittany Lions rose to the top-20 of the national rankings in the event. He also guided student-athletes to first team and second team All-Big Ten honors during his tenure at Penn State.

"I am incredibly grateful to be joining a program with such heart," Becerra said. "I would like to thank John and Taylor, Suzy Mason, and the team for providing such a welcoming environment during this process and on my visit to Tucson. From the moment I stepped onto campus, I could feel the unity within the University and the overwhelming passion for the vision of the program. I'm looking forward to building on the success of the program in and out of the gym."

Prior to joining Penn State Women's Gymnastics, Becerra spent the 2017 season as member of head coach Sarah Brown's staff at Eastern Michigan. He made the most of his one season at EMU as bars coach where he guided Kendall Valentin to school records as she became the first All-American in school history.

Before joining the Eastern Michigan program, Becerra was the primary bars coach at the AIM Gymnastics Training Center in The Woodlands, Texas. At the AIM Gymnastics Training Center, he developed a new training system for optional-level gymnasts on bars, in addition to being the main spotter for level 10 and elite gymnasts on floor and bars. He also assisted in creating conditioning circuits to help the overall fitness of his gymnasts.

Becerra began his coaching career serving as the women's optional coach at FlipzUSA Gymnastics in Columbia, Missouri. During his time at FlipzUSA Gymnastics, Becerra created daily workout plans and drills for optional gymnasts, ranging from level eight through level 10. Overall, he was able to provide a safe environment at practice for all athletes, utilizing spotting techniques learned at coaching clinics.

A native of St. Joseph, Missouri, Becerra earned a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation and tourism with an emphasis in sport management from the University of Missouri in 2013.