Almost immediately after guiding Simone Biles to redemption in Paris, Team USA’s co-head coach, Cecile Landi, left elite gymnastics. The seven-time Olympic gold medalist’s long-time coach also parted ways with the gymnastics legend to pursue her dream of coaching college gymnastics. “I’ve always said I wanted to be an NCAA coach one day,” expressed the veteran coach.

However, Simone Biles supported her coach despite Landi leaving the World Champions Center. “End of an era. It’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you later!” wrote the 27-year-old. Yet, the Georgia Bulldogs co-head coach has made a startling confession regarding staying in touch with her former pupils. While she’s free to contact Biles, it’s not the same for everyone.

“The hardest part is not to be able to talk to any of my former athletes who have signed or are in college,” Cecile Landi said on the latest episode of Flipping Out with Bridget Sloan. The revelation made Sloan’s jaws drop. While the Olympics-winning coach can interact with them if they meet in person, she can’t reach out via phone calls or texts.

“There’s no text messaging or anything. Happy birthday, whatever. Like those things are gone,” added the 45-year-old. This means that while the veteran coach can speak to her elite gymnastics pupils, she may not be able to talk to Jordan Chiles soon. After the Olympics and the bronze medal controversy, Chiles took a break from the sport and is set to rejoin college.

After taking a break to prepare for and compete in the Paris Olympics, Landi’s former pupil is ready to return to UCLA for her final two years of eligibility. However, Cecile Landi doesn’t worry about her former pupils. “They’re well taken care of, and one day we’ll be able to talk again, freely,” added the Bulldogs’ co-head coach. However, being “completely cut off” from many of her former mentees is only the tip of the iceberg.

Cecile Landi enjoys a lot less freedom when it comes to being an NCAA coach

While discussing the strict rules that govern college gymnastics, Sloan discussed how inflexible the routine can get in the NCAA. As a nine-time NCAA champion, Sloan is no stranger to the rules. So she brought up just how many meetings Landi must have to attend. And while the 45-year-old agreed, she went further, elaborating on practice and interactions.

Although she has enjoyed her time as a college gymnastics coach so far, Cecile Landi highlighted the lack of freedom. “Difference is also like, when we’re in club… Let’s say, tomorrow we want to change practice or whatever. We could do that. Now all the rules, I can’t change practice,” said Landi, recalling her time as an elite coach. Even certain interactions require approvals.

“So, I have the two, the head of compliance and another one on my phone. And every time I’m like, ‘Hey, can I do this?… Someone tags me in something, I say, ‘Can I repost it? Can I like it?” revealed the world championship-winning coach. However, she also admitted that she doesn’t have to ask for approval for everything and mostly does so as she’s new to the NCAA landscape.

So while coaching college gymnastics has been fun for the former WCC coach, not everything has been easy. Cecile Landi hopes that after her college gymnastics coaching career, she can once again reconnect with the kids she helped for years.