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November 2nd, 2011 | bars, Gymnastics, horizontal bar, spotting
One way to start kids “releasing” for Tkachev.
Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.
Watch more video of Technique Tuesday, Season 2 on gymnastike.org
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14 comments ↓
How do coaches teach skills they have not done themselves? Especially the first time?
Was just wondering this. Let’s say you are coach Randy in Boise. And all of a sudden you have the next generation Shawn Johnson (or a male version) and she does not want to leave for another gym (money, family, etc.) How do you go teach her some of the huge skills when most of what you know is teaching how to do back handsprings? NTTAWT. But now you got some kid that is going to try a triple off HB or a Patterson off the beam, etc.
TCO: The same way a mechanic fixes a car without ever having been a car himself. He studies it, learns how it works and why it works, and then teaches it.
Switching gears:
Let me start by saying I think Gymnastike is a wonderful site and Anne has done some truly awesome work.
However:
I haven’t seen anywhere anyone complaining about Gymnastike now (for several months now) requiring you to pay for their downloads. Their original content anyway, I don’t think they charge to download other people’s uploaded YouTube videos.
I understand, intellectually, that they are a business and need to bring in money in order to keep their site running at all. I understand Anne both has to travel and make a living. I get it.
But. As a distributor of free information myself, I’m absolutely aware of the time and energy it takes to put anything out there in the world, let alone doing it without making money off it. I can accept that YouTube puts ads on my videos because they’re not charging me to use their wonderful, wonderful website and without it, I’d have a much harder time distributing my videos.
If Anne isn’t making enough money with her sponsors and advertisements, then I’d consider other avenues before charging her visitors (many of whom are kids).
Yes, $4.99 is very cheap. And yes, they’re only charging to download and keep the videos, not to just watch them (which is what really matters. Provided they don’t start deleting videos, I can just search for them whenever I need them). But, nevertheless, the principle, to me, still applies, and that charging at all is just the first step toward requiring a subscription to view the website in the first place.
Point is, education and information should be free, and taking the step toward charging for video downloads has me seriously considering whether I want to continue to contribute to a website I otherwise love.
I haven’t done a lot of what I have been teaching my athletes. I completely agree with what was said. Study, learn, and then teach. Also… I like this drill but there are easier ways to teach a tkatchev, I’m my opinion. Especially if you have a trench. An athlete i worked with learned on in a week at a summer camp using three drills. She had prior experience on bounce bar drills only.
I agree with the notion of information and education being free, but I don’t mind Gymnastike charging. I recently started a blog to share information. It is a lot more work than I originally thought, and I just started it.
I think Anne runs it great. Its just like if you go to a meet and want a video of the routine. Or if you get photos taken. You dont get them free off the internet you can look at them or watch them but if you want them for your own use you have to buy them.
That makes total sense in my mind.
AK: 1. if you want the routine, you bring your own camera and film it.
2. You’re not paying for the photo. You’re paying for the professional to take a better quality picture than you can take yourself.
3. Information is fundamentally different from a consumable product (like what the photographer or videographer provide). IF a mission or purpose of “Technique Tuesday” is to promote gymnastics knowledge, starting the ball rolling toward paying for a subscription (which IS what comes after charging for a download) limits the effectiveness of that purpose.
So.. back on topic…
If the goal is to teach how to release ONLY, then this is fine. However, if there is any other purpose or tehnical merit, I would love to hear it. I think this teaches pretty poor fundamentals of the skill…
It teaches poor head position, poor shoulder actuation, poor turnover (in fact, none), and if anything promotes a chuck-n-throw ideology for skill development.
I love high bar/UEB, and I think that this needs to be put into perspective for new coaches looking for ideas, or you’re gonna get kids who land on the bar trying this.
Just my opinion…
geesh ryan troop-you heard it yourself… it was day 2 of her learning- AND they were doing other drills you saw (Ttrack) and he talks of the rolling drills- so he is teaching that part. I think he was trying to share something that works within the system of his gym. I think its a great way to start this skill.
Actually, I will admit I didnt. I did not have audio.
That said, with a kid that small, there are much better ways of hand spotting that re-enforce proper body shapes and technique.
Not to mention, there is no need to be doing releases over the bar after only 2 days of progress on the skill. Strength, coordination, and alignment are far more important as developmental progress.
It just seems rushed…
Gymnastike is actually sharing the information for free. The user gets the same information whether they buy the video or not. The $4.99 charge is for people who simply must have that particular video in their collection. For folks who don’t want to pay $4.99, just make your own video or write down what you saw in the video. Of course that costs your own effort and time instead of somebody else’s but at least you don’t have to pay that somebody else $4.99.
Or, alternatively, the $4.99 is for people who don’t have internet access in their gym but do at their home and would like to bring the video in to share with their staff, who may or may not have email addresses or ready access to computers. Hard as it is to imagine, those situations still exist.
Or, alternatively, the $4.99 is for people whose internets aren’t very good and don’t stream very well.
Or, for people who need to make use of the video but aren’t able to search for it once it is no longer on the main page.
Or, for people who are visual learners and wouldn’t get much from writing things down.
Or for people who don’t have the technical capabilities to make their own video.
I know it’s difficult for you to imagine Sher, but not everyone has the same access and experiences that you have, and sometimes we should try to think of others and what situations they may be in.
It’s also the principle of the thing. As already mentioned, charging at all is a gateway to charging to view. At which point, if we have to charge to view, that becomes inhibitive to many more people.
“I know it’s difficult for you to imagine Sher, but not everyone has the same access and experiences that you have, and sometimes we should try to think of others and what situations they may be in.”
I can think of the situation gymnastike might be in. I’m sure it’s a lot of work and expense to keep their site running to disseminate so much information totally free of charge to so many people.
“It’s also the principle of the thing. As already mentioned, charging at all is a gateway to charging to view. At which point, if we have to charge to view, that becomes inhibitive to many more people.”
Unless someone else starts a new site that provides videos for free. Then all the people who are inhibited by futuregymnastike’s and usag’s and gymsmarts’ and useca’s and etc’s charges can go to the new site and get free videos.
In the long run the “freemium” model will be the winner. Much will be free. Some ad supported. And there will be some kind of “members” access that costs money.
WordPress.com is a role model for how to build an online business.
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