Here’s the conference I’d most like to attend this year:
Birmingham, England Apr. 30th – May 1st, 2010
It’s multi-sport, but has very strong gymnastics representation.
“This is unique opportunity for coaches working with young performers”, said Hardy Fink, Canada, Director of Education and Academy Programme of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
Prof Keith Russell (CAN), Prof Adam Baxter Jones (CAN), Prof Joachim Mester (GER), Prof Joan Duda (USA), Prof Nicola Maffulli (GBR), Prof Neil Armstrong (GBR), and David Hemery CBE.
Chairs: Professor Craig Sharp, Professor Colin Boreham, Professor Fred Yeadon, Professor Lew Hardy, Dr. John Atkinson, Mr. John Aldridge and Professor Greg Whyte.
Kelly's wedding with best man Kyle Shewfelt
Kelly Manjak (CAN) will be presenting on Coaching Issues.
Manjak coached Kyle Shewfelt to the Olympic gold medal … in Athens as well as a fourth place finish on the vault. Manjak and Shewfelt worked together for 16 years …
The story goes - true or not - that biomechanists dreamed up the “reverse hecht”, not coaches. And that Alexandre was the first to show it in competition in 1977.
Here he is in the Olympics Games 1980. (Deltchev from Bulgaria won Horizontal Bar.) Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Samantha Peszek, U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials 2008, in Philadelphia.
Technical error? Form deduction?
Of course not. The gymnast should bend the elbows if they can generate more force on the push than they lose while absorbing the impact. The more powerful the vaulter, the more likely they are to bend the elbows.
Long ago at a coaching course I stated, “All vaulters bend their elbows on Yurchenko.”
My buddy, coach Dan Niehaus, proved me wrong, bringing in video clips of a number of strong vaulters who do not.
Most gymnastics coaches report that their understanding of biomechanics is a “weakness”.
Happily, mechanics are far less important than understanding conditioning, progression and how to motivate gymnasts. (Not to mention, how to keep their parents happy.)
But I’ve just put in an order for this new video.
Visuals really help when trying to explain mechanical principles.
The Gymnastic Laws of Motion
Almost all gymnastic skills are governed by the laws of physics. In this DVD, Tom Forster explains the major laws of physics and motion that apply to gymnastic movement. $29.95
Ashley Postell from Utah has the top average score in the NCAA on Vault.
The Salt Lake Tribune documented Postell’s March 7 vault against Oregon State. She received a 9.95 score, a combination of two judges’ scores – a 9.9 and a perfect 10.0.
Charity Greene, the judge who awarded the 10.0, was asked to analyze the vault frame-by-frame. (Every judge awarding a “perfect” score should be required to do so.)
The most interesting frame to me is this one, the point of contact on landing. Technique is very good.
Unfortunately, NCAA judges want the chest position vertical on landing. The gymnast must stop the rotation of the somersault and come to a stop, somehow. There are many ways to do this biomechanically. But the only acceptable way in College gymnastics rules is like a knife stuck into a plank.
Shannon Miller’s landing on her first vault from the 1992 Olympics is perfect — yet her torso is not vertical. (Was Shannon fantastic, or what? Apologies in advance for the antics of Steve Nunno. His retirement from coaching was a happy day for me.)
The best Yurchenko fulls I’ve ever seen were done by Chinese men (and probably Kyle Shewfelt) but I do not have the links at my finger tips. Leave a comment if you have a personal favourite. We can use it as a 10 standard when comparing with College women’s vaults.
Kudos to History Channel for posting some of their shows on YouTube. Internet savvy users (like you and I) will see it there and later tune in their channel on TV.
Mixed martials arts is booming, as you know. Here’s a variation I had not heard about.
Hosts Jason Chambers and Bill Duff journey to Moscow to learn Sambo street techniques from some of the toughest dudes in Russia.
The hour long program is posted in 9min blocks starting with Part 1.
The Wordsmith from Nantucket recommended some gymnastics acrobatics and interesting 3D biomechanical analysis shown in Part 3.
