A study from the U.K. says “parenting style more influential than income” for raising kids.
Children brought up according to “tough love” principles are more successful in life, according to a study.
The think tank Demos says a balance of warmth and discipline improved social skills more than an laissez-faire, authoritarian or disengaged upbringing.
It says children aged five with “tough love” parents were twice as likely to show good character capabilities.
Report author Jen Lexmond said: “It is confidence, warmth and consistent discipline that matter most.”
I’m sure my buddy Markos Baikas, Men’s Head Coach of Taiso Gymnastics in Saskatoon, Canada, would agree.
Marcos’ is a great coaching success story, actually. An immigrant to Canada from Greece, he was chosen Jr. National Coach of his adopted country just a few short years after being recruited by Dana Brass. She met him in a Pizza restaurant.
An inspiring documentary. The values taught by sport.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the small island nation of Jamaica won 11 track and field medals, including 6 golds — the most first-place finishes for any country in the world except the United States and Russia. For a country with a population smaller than the city of Chicago, to accomplish those feats while also breaking three world records had the rest of the world asking, “What makes Jamaicans so fast?” …
ONE of Scotland’s top gym coaches has been jailed for three years for a series of sexual offences, committed over a period of more than 20 years, against young girls he was training.
…
The fifty-one year old, a former Performance Director of the Scottish Gymnastics Association, was found guilty last month after a five week trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court of three charges of sexual assault and seven of lewd and libidinous behaviour against girls aged between six and 16.
The girls were all training … between December 1986 and February 2008 – a 22 year period. The offences occurred in the gym; in Lasswade High School; his former home in Loanhead; his car; and a caravan at Seton Sands in East Lothian. …
His victims, some of them now in their late twenties and early thirties, described in their evidence how “Mitch” as he was called, would kiss and cuddle them, have them sit on his knee and make sexual and inappropriate remarks. He would also use inappropriate coaching techniques, touching their breasts and buttocks.
jailed for 3yrs
Dolphin, who denied all the allegations, claimed the girls often came and sat on his lap as part of the “family atmosphere” he was trying to create. He also said that cuddling young gymnasts as an encouragement or reward for a good performance was commonplace throughout the gymnastics world.
Defence agent, Vincent Belmonte, said Dolphin continued to deny culpability for the offences, but the jury’s finding had already caused him considerable financial hardship. “He has lost his home, lost his employment. Lost a career he has been involved in for nearly 30 years at the highest level”. …
I can recall a few male coaches in 1980 who had a lot of physical contact in the gym with female gymnasts. It was a different era. But this statement he made is clearly wrong:
… cuddling young gymnasts as an encouragement or reward for a good performance was commonplace throughout the gymnastics world …
Around 1980 in Canada we entered the era of shaking hands with gymnasts. Or “high fives” at line-up at the end of work-out.
Hugs became rare. Or became the awkward “side hug”.
The Bela Karolyi bear hug in competition was reserved for a particularly wonderful performance. Our coach education clinics all added an Ethics module sometime in the 1980s. We made a point of informing immigrant coaches of ethical expectations in their new country.
Obviously male coaches must minimize physical contact with all gymnasts, male and female. Keep professional distance. Never be alone with a gymnast in the gym or anywhere else.
I find that coaches underestimate the influence they have on athletes. My main worry these days are things coaches post on Facebook that are seen and later emulated by athletes.
Kristina Vaculik has verbally committed to Stanford University. This is a big gain for Stanford. Vaculik is currently back in the gym working basic skills. Peng Peng Lee has just returned to the gym and is starting conditioning again. …
I’m sensing a bit of a backlash to the pink campaigns that hope to bring attention to the terrible disease of breast cancer, the second most common after lung cancer.
Will buying a pink t-shirt actually reduce the incidence of breast cancer?
Which organizations are actually contributing to the fight against breast cancer? And which organizations are turning a profit in these pink campaigns?
I’d like to follow the money.
… (the) “Think Before You Pink” campaign urges people to “do something besides shop.” After explaining that some “pink” sponsors are polluting industrial giants or spend more money on breast cancer-themed advertisements than they actually donate towards research or treatment, BCA asks consumers to reflect thoughtfully on questions like, “How much money was spent marketing the product?” or “What is the company doing to assure that its products are not contributing to the breast cancer epidemic?” This group has particularly excoriated major cosmetic companies such as Avon, Revlon, and Estée Lauder, which have claimed to promote women’s health while simultaneously using known and/or suspected cancer-causing chemicals, such as parabens and phthalates in their products. …
Former World floor champion Daiane dos Santos of Brazil has tested positive for a banned weight loss drug, according to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
In an imaginatively titled article called “Furosemide strikes again!”, the FIG reports that dos Santos tested positive after being given an out of competition drug test in July. …
… Dos Santos, who is recovering from knee surgery, did not compete at the 2009 World Championships earlier this month. The FIG admitted that dos Santos might have been given the drug by mistake because of the surgery, according to the Associated Press.
Furosemide is a diuretic, meaning it causes urination and thereby drains the body of water, which can cause weight loss. It can also be used as a masking agent for other banned substances.
At the 2008 Olympics, Do Thi Ngan Thuong of Vietnam also tested positive for furosemide and was expelled from the Games, then given a one-year suspension. …
The most successful Dutch gymnast in history is, perhaps, history.
The Royal Dutch Gymnastics Federation handed Yuri van Gelder a one-year suspension for testing positive for cocaine at the Dutch Championships in June, ending his chances to compete at the 2012 Olympics.
Van Gelder will be able to return to international competition in the summer of 2010, but International Olympic Committee rules stipulate that athletes who receive any sort of suspension for more than six months are not eligible to compete at the next Olympic Games. …
FORT LAUDERDALE – More than a dozen parents and children showed up for a bond hearing this morning in support of a South Florida gymnastics coach accused of molesting one of his students.
They wore purple T-shirts with the name of the Deerfield Beach gym where Raymond Adams coached before he was arrested last week. Adams, 38, of Boca Raton, is accused of fondling a 10-year-old girl at Bieger International Gymnastics in September.
“We don’t believe it,” said Vonda Bray, of West Palm Beach, whose 13-year-old daughter was a student of his. “We want him back at our gym.”
Adams sat quietly during the half-hour hearing with his feet shackled and wrists handcuffed. Broward Circuit Judge Michael Gates delayed a bond ruling. …
I weary of the comments we hear every time I bring up the issue of underage Chinese gymnasts:
They are innocent until proven guilty!
You bash the Chinese because you wanted the American gymnasts to rank higher!
Not true. I bring up the issue because it is so unfair to those gymnasts disallowed to compete at the Olympics due to their age. It’s a big competitive disadvantage for those majority of nations that abide by the age rules.
I’m certain that Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun were both underage at the 2000 Olympics. Both admitted it.
I’ve emailed a link to this newspaper article to that Committee. In it, Dong’s husband admits she was underage at the Sydney Olympics.
One of the gymnasts at the centre of an Olympic controversy is now in New Zealand and is looking to further her coaching career in Waikato.
Dong Fangxiao, who was part of China’s bronze medal-winning team in 2000 in Sydney, isn’t assured of keeping her Olympic medal but is keen to help New Zealand gymnastics. She is now living in Hamilton after moving in June this year to study English at Wintec, following her husband Li Te, who studies at Waikato University.
But the International Gymnastics Federation is still investigating the eligibility of Dong and fellow Chinese gymnast Yang Yun at the 2000 Games, where they were thought to be underage.
Gymnasts must be at least 16 by the end of an Olympic year. Dong’s official birthdate is listed as January 23, 1983, but the federation said accreditation information for the Beijing Olympics, where Dong worked as a national technical official, listed her birthdate as January 23, 1986, which would have made her 14 in 2000. …
Li, whose English is much better than Dong’s, told the Waikato Times that Dong was born in 1986 and turned 23 in January this year, making her underage at Sydney. But he said she was cleared of any wrongdoing and the “investigation has already passed”. …
LONDON — The Japanese men aren’t the only ones who can bring home the hardware.
Koko Tsurumi won the bronze at the world gymnastics championships on Friday, only the second time a Japanese woman has won an all-around medal. Keiko Ikeda took the bronze in 1996.
“The women’s team has been strong, but since last year, there’s more attention being paid,” Tsurumi said through a translator. “They’re going stronger and stronger, and I hope this continues for the Olympic Games.”
Tsurumi finished with 57.175 points, behind Americans Bridget Sloan and Rebecca Bross.
Asked if she’d taken any inspiration from Uchimura, Tsurumi shook her head.
“We know the Japanese men are strong,” she said. “It’s natural for them to win.” …
I wrote this post during the preliminary competitition. But resisted posting it until after the Final:
=== The talented 17yr-old Danell qualified to Horizontal Bar Finals at World’s. Congratulations.
But will his Dad cause an incident on international TV?
Danell Leyva is coached by his father, Yin Alvarez (pictured) whose reactions to well-performed routines (heck, sometimes even so-so routines!) are well known in the USA, but they’ve now hit the Worlds stage. He almost sent nearby gymnasts scattering at the end of Levya’s routine, throwing his famous fist punches in the air and side skipping the entire length of the men’s high bar to greet Levya after a job well done. The drama wasn’t missed on the observant British crowd, and injected some genuine smiles into what was a long day. Imagine the reaction if Levya wins a medal in Sunday’s apparatus finals! …
Danell Leyva is coached by his father, Yin Alvarez (pictured) whose reactions to well-performed routines (heck, sometimes even so-so routines!) are well known in the USA, but they’ve now hit the Worlds stage. He almost sent nearby gymnasts scattering at the end of Levya’s routine, throwing his famous fist punches in the air and side skipping the entire length of the men’s high bar to greet Levya after a job well done. The drama wasn’t missed on the observant British crowd, and injected some genuine smiles into what was a long day. Imagine the reaction if Levya wins a medal in Sunday’s apparatus finals! …
