Lisa Adlard at IEGA had trouble scheduling coaching meetings. As do we all.
It’s difficult to get your staff together and free at the same time ANYTIME during the week.
Instead, Lisa schedules coaching “huddles”. These are very brief get-togethers (15min or so) inside the gym. With very few talking points.
The week I was there:
• Weekly Focus …
• Certificates …
• Thanking volunteers …
• Customer service … smile, greet parents and inform them of something their child did well that day
• Keep the Front Office clear
Lisa schedules 2 each week. Every coach must attend one or the other.
At some point, it became obvious that committees are not often very efficient at arriving at good decisions.
Instead of keeping eyes on the prize, committee members are easily distracted by the last “issue”. Most of a parents Board of Directors meeting — for example — will focus on the ill-fitting new leotards, not the club Mission.
• Legitimacy and Voice (participation, consensus)
• Direction (strategic vision, long term perspective)
• Performance (responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency)
• Accountability and Transparency
• Fairness (rule of law, equity of power)
How can coaches, clubs and athletes protect themselves?
Kevin Lawrie:
Problems or issues (‘fires’) that sport organizations deal with are handled in two parts – proactive and reactive. That is, there are steps an organization takes before the problem occurs that are aimed to prevent it (proactive) and steps the organization takes after the problem has occurred that are aimed to fix it (reactive). Organizations craft Policies that outline a procedure to cover both the proactive and reactive steps. …
Increasingly, in response to requests and questions from sport organizations, we are recommending the following:
Social Media Use Policy – for the organization’s staff and other stakeholders (internal document)
Social Media Guidelines for Athletes – ‘guidelines’ not ‘policy’ (internal document)
Social Media Guidelines for Coaches – ‘guidelines’ not ‘policy’ (internal document)
Social Media Policy – for coaches and athletes (external document)
Updated Code of Conduct or Athlete Agreement
The five documents work together to give organizations both the proactive and reactive solutions to social media issues.
Canadian Sport Law and Strategy Group – Does Your Organization Need a Social Media Policy?
One guideline for coaches — turn off the phone while in the gym.
As part of its ongoing efforts to promote a safe environment for athletes, USA Gymnastics is launching the “Clubs Care Campaign” in October. This educational initiative, designed specifically for gymnastics clubs, focuses on raising awareness about child sexual abuse so clubs can further their work toward establishing and maintaining a safe environment in their gyms. …
A few pics of the facility. It’s the top floor of a building conveniently right beside the train station. In Japan you must maximize use of valuable space.
This gym has more air matting than any other I’ve ever seen.
Some things are the SAME in every gym. The smell. And a cluttered collection of grips.
It’s now been over 2yrs since the death of adult recreational gymnast Michelle Maitland who hit her head on concrete at Townsville Gymnastics. Nothing can bring her back. But this report — released the day before what would have been Michelle’s birthday — might help prevent future catastrophic injury.
My friend Mike Outramsurvived after hitting his head on concrete.
Surely the very first thing coaches must do in any facility is make sure it’s impossible to hit concrete or steel. Long term, we need modify all foam pits to suspended systems, the best being the Jim Walker design.
Here are the 9 recommendations:
1. Gymnastics Australia should review the level of training, assistance and monitoring provided to clubs to implement the Club 10 program. This review should include the methods of monitoring compliance with, and implementation of, the program.
2. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, Sport and Recreation Services and Gymnastics Queensland should research how to link improved safety outcomes in the sport of gymnastics with the funding and non-financial support provided by SRS.
3. Gymnastics Australia should review their GA lesson plan template, in consultation with its members, with the view to developing a lesson plan template that includes coach positioning and key safety controls. Consideration should be given to sample lesson plans for each apparatus and level.
4. Gymnastics Australia should conduct a training needs analysis and ensure that access to coach accreditation and professional development courses is available.
5. Gymnastics Australia should research and develop methods to assist gymnastics clubs to conduct risk assessments, specifically in the use of gymnastics apparatus.
6. Gymnastics Australia should review the Club 10 equipment maintenance policies and procedures with a view to achieving greater compliance with Club 10 documenting processes.
7. Gymnastics Australia should research and develop methods to assist gymnastics clubs in managing the risk of manual task injuries in gymnastics coaches.
8. Gymnastics Australia should review coach knowledge on spotting and provide additional guidance and training where required.
9. Gymnastics Australia should research the viability of a simple method to document skill progression of gymnasts, including any injuries suffered. This may vary for high level, competitive gymnasts and low level or recreational gymnasts.
This report needs be circulated to sports governing bodies worldwide. Leave a comment if you have ideas on how to make that happen. I’ll send it to some FIG committee members and Gymnastics Canada.
Update: As commenters have pointed out, an improvement to this report would be to better specify exactly what parts of the gym need be “padded”. In the past I’ve narrowed it down to pits and trampoline devices. But it should be broader than that.
But if we call it “Parkour” or “Free Running”, many kids are quick to sign up for the class. Those are some of the hottest classes in many gyms, right now.
Unfortunately some Insurance companies are starting to list “Parkour” as an “extreme sport”, too dangerous to cover. Check your policy.
The scandal at ArtSports World in Colorado is bad news for all Gymnastics Clubs. Parents will understandably be more reluctant to register their kids after they read this story:
… Ten retired gymnasts told The Orange County Register that (Doug) Boger, a 62-year-old former national team coach, sexually or physically abused them while they trained in Pasadena, Calif., in the 1970s and 1980s. …
Since that revelation, at least 10 more recent athletes have contacted me to say that Boger was a great coach, and that they felt completely safe with him.
In the court of public opinion, certainly, Doug Boger will be assumed guilty. Whether he’s innocent or not.
… Is there any upside at all for the rest of us?
Perhaps clubs will be more open to scrutiny.
… There’s an observation deck for parents, as well as more than a dozen security cameras, at ArtSports, which isn’t a member of USA Gymnastics but mandates background checks for 50 employees and an annual safety certification, according to a statement emailed by ArtSports management after Womack declined comment. Instructors also aren’t “allowed to be alone with a student in our facility at any time,” the statement said. …
… Keeping everything in the open is the name of the game at Aerials Gymnastics, a USA Gymnastics-sanctioned club with three locations in the Springs, all of which have lots of windows, an observation area and security cameras. Aerials also has a policy at the two gyms owned by Tom and Lori Forster, with 1,200 athletes, that prohibits 55 coaches from contacting students outside of class – no calls, no texts, no Facebook posts, no tweets. …
… Stars National Gymnastics Village is contemplating a social media policy …
… Windows overlooking practice mats are a staple of The Little Gym of Colorado Springs …
USA GYMNASTICS NATIONAL CONGRESS and TRADE SHOW
Held in conjunction with 2011 VISA Championships August 17-20, 2011
Saint Paul River Centre, Saint Paul, Minn.
Something for Everyone!
… Club Owners, Recreational Instructors/Teachers, Offices Managers, Program Managers, and more!
This year’s event will feature 3 days of education with more than 175 sessions.
Sessions are provided on coaching, judging, business, preschool, school age, fitness and cheerleading. Attendees will also have the ability to learn from leading experts from all 6 disciplines Women’s, Men’s, Rhythmic, Acrobatics, and Gymnastics for All.
In addition, USA Gymnastics is excited to announce 2 NEW offerings to the educational line up! Hands on Spotting sessions and Certification sessions will be offered and included in the price of registration. …
Prices vary. Check the Registration page to find out the cost to you.
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If your main interest is how to MAKE MONEY at Gymnastics, sign up for the WednesdayNational Business Conference. ($150 current Member Club, $250 Non Member Clubs)
Separate registration via the link above.
Congress already has a Business Stream, so the extra Wednesday is BONUS.
Lisa Adlard at IEGA had trouble scheduling coaching meetings. As do we all. 
