I would love to travel to GAGE (Great American Gymnastics Express) in Blue Springs, Missouri to see just how Armine & controversial coach Al Fong develop such fantastic gymnasts.
Al published an article in the Tumbl Trak monthly magazine which gives a glimpse into his methodology:
By using the Tumbl Trak … (to) start the workout for 10 to 15 girls I can condense the amount of time needed to “get the athletes goingâ€. It can involve total body movements from the obvious lower body groups to the not so obvious upper body groups by using arm swings to accompany the bounces down the tramp. After every pass down the trak I have the kids dynamically stretch their legs, wrists, and shoulders while waiting for their turn. Within a relatively short period of time (10 minutes) I can progress to actual tumbling passes from the basic back handsprings and fly springs to the big skills like double fronts and backward double layouts. It’s a perfect opportunity to reinforce tumbling basics and body positions. At the end of a 30 to 45 minute session I am able to provide warm ups, stretching, and tumbling in the same amount of time that usually takes 1 ½ hours.
Since I have a big 8 ft x 15 ft crash pad at the end of the Tumbl Trak, I often times instruct the athletes to roll forward, sideways, and even backward after landing… without the use of their hands to incorporate “falling drillsâ€. I believe it is extremely important to teach kids how to fall properly. I provide ample opportunities during workout for them to practice so it becomes instinctive. This minimizes the chance that someone will over rotate and hurt her arm because she stuck her arm out to catch herself instead of rolling out.
Here’s a thought. Next time you have a group tumbling on the Tumbl Trak, have the kids line up next to the landing area at the end of the Tumbl Trak instead of the beginning. (This is where I stand to watch them tumble.) Have only 2 or 3 kids at the beginning of the Tumbl Trak. This allows the rest of the group to watch and see what I see and can hear the instructions I give. They understand better by watching each other. It also prevents them from talking in line while waiting for their turn. …
Al Fong – “Using the Tumbl Trak to Speed Warm Ups”
2 comments ↓
That’s a good insight about the placement.
I don’t remember tumble tracks in the 80s as a gymnast. Seems like they (and in ground trampolines) are helping the sport. Allowing gymnasts to get a better feel for flipping, twisting, etc.
I wonder what is controversial about Fong.
There is a neat “Dragons” video with music on his site (in the teams section). Pretty well done. Better than vignettes on You Tube. Professional looking.
While I generally like men’s tumbling more (it’s “real” gymnastics, power, blabla…), one of the things that seems neat about girl’s gym is the sense of order and military precision. Very clean and nice to see with young people. Lined up in formation for review in front of Karolyi. Marching in. Etc. I used to remember the college girl’s teams marching in with arms going up to shoulder height (do they still do that?) and laughed at it at the time. But now, I think it’s kind of cool.
I checked out their site. It is very well put together, but seems like a lot of details shared by them on their financial adventures and misadventures. And site seems to lack that warmth that some other gyms have.
Here is a cool video of the Fong’s wife as a 13 yo. Wonder why she never competed after coming to the US. Looks good.
http://dragongymnastics.com/video/Barutyan_BB.mpg
Leave a Comment