Entries Tagged 'pits' ↓

by site editor Rick McCharles

I’m putting together a proposal for a foam cube pit renovation.

So far I’m leaning towards recommending:

8” X 8” X 8” Gymnastic Pit Foam R48 XB Fire Rated 1.5LB Density

Or should we get a combination of 6 and 8 inch cubes?

Is 1.5 pound density the best pick?

What spec lasts the longest before deteriorating?

If you’ve got advice for us, please leave a comment.

ArtSportsWorld is in Colorado Springs.

Click PLAY or watch the insanity on YouTube.

I’ve still not heard of a bigger gymnastics foam pit, 50 x 25 feet, 8 ft. deep.

related post – getting BIG AIR at the world’s largest tramp club

Thanks Nancy.

Pit floors done…walls coming soon

(via #texasdreams – yFrog)

My home gym is renovating one of our pits. I’m doing some research into foam cubes and suspension systems.

Leave a comment if you have advice for us.

This is a repost from Dec. 2007. Friends are building a pit and I recommended they consider this system. It’s the most durable. And costs less over the long term.

And it’s incredibly safe too as I learned when I tested the one at Georgia.

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Jim Walker, President of Excalibur Gymnastics in Virgina Beach, coached US National Team Member Randy Stageberg. …

He uses a unique design, suspending cables one foot above the floor, supporting foam and matting above.

I’m hearing great things about them. You cannot yet order one of Jim’s pits yourself, as he only does them for friends. (Friends like WOGA, University of Georgia, Beigers, Hills, Parkettes. Those kind of friends.)

If you want to know more, leave a comment below.

Spontaneously we decided to pad the base of one of our pit bars with a cylinder mat.

It worked surprisingly well.

larger original

Small kids can climb up on to the bar from this mat.

Getting good at gymnastics is not complicated.

Psychological preparation -> Physical preparation -> Technical preparation.

Kids improve steadily.

But in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics we see many girls “stall” progress at about age-14.

Why?

Physical changes to the body, for sure. But an even more important problem, I think, is that gymnasts age-14 start to suffer from chronic pain.

What can we do about it?

From a good overview article by Dr. Anthony Luke:

Prevention is the best medicine

Many sports injuries are preventable. Proper training is one of the most important keys to preventing injury in young athletes. Adequate adult supervision along with properly educated coaches and referees can help ensure children learn the proper techniques and rules for optimal play and safety. More specifically, setting appropriate limits for the amount of training is necessary to prevent burnout and overuse injuries –and to allow enough time for recovery of nutrition, fluids and energy. The playing environment should be safe …

tumbling on trampoline reduces the chance of overuse injury

Look and Listen

Parents and coaches should be especially careful when managing sports injuries in young athletes. If the child complains of pain, swelling, or disability with no injury – or constitutional symptoms, such as pain at night, fever or weight loss – these should be considered warning signs to promptly seek medical attention. Early medical care can often help avoid complications from an injury that can hinder a child’s ability to have fun and enjoy sports. …

I see many gymnastics coaches ignoring reports of pain from kids. This is very risky, long term. If your gymnast (later) cannot compete due to injury, you LOSE.

Why do children get different injuries than adults?

Young athletes get different injuries than adults mainly due to the growing process. Growth refers to an increase in size, either of the body as a whole or of its parts. Growth and maturation make a young person’s anatomy and physiology different and are controlled by timed hormonal changes. … With kids now starting some sports activities as young as three years old, parents and coaches should pay close attention to growth spurts, in order to modify training appropriately.

Puberty is the period where the most growth and maturation occurs. Puberty typically starts by 13 years of age in girls and before 14 years of age in boys. Girls may grow as much as 8 cm per year, while boys may increase by around 12 cm. These values can be useful to help identify the peak growth spurt in children. …

Knol – Pediatric Sports Injuries

Someone remarked, “This should be on the Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe TV show.”

Quite right.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Of course we are scheming to replace this old style pit with the new Jim Walker system.

But that is months or years away.

A resi-pit is another (much more expensive) alternative. I suspect we will end up renovating our existing pit with the Walker system. Perhaps adding new resi-pit mats “floating” on top.

The top American Olympic gymnast in 1988, Phoebe Mills, is one of the coaches at the fantastic new 20,000-square-foot “Barn at Copper” in Colorado.

larger version

… “Woodward is the most progressive training environment on the planet for skateboard, BMX and in-line,” Woodward at Copper director Ben Brown said. “And we’re just going to continue that with the first-ever ski and snowboard version.” …

Woodward at Copper will offer a vast array of programs for all ability levels. It currently plans to open before the end of January with about a half-dozen trampolines, three pool- sized foam pits, a 35-foot big air ramp and a “jib park” with interchangeable features covered in a lubricated synthetic snow material. In addition to the resi mats, there is a large springboard gymnastics floor alongside the foam pits. A massive wooden bowl designed for skaters and freestyle bikers fills a corner of the building. …

Denver Post – Opening The Barn door

Woodward truly leads the Action Sport industry. Congratulations.

official website – Woodward at Copper

This video is 9min long. But well worth watching. Another terrific peek into a top American Gym from Gymnastike.

NCAA Gymnastics is a totally different sport than club gymnastics.

Auburn Facility Tour, part 3: The Gym

Head Coach Jeff Thompson gave me a tour …

Auburn’s old gym, aka “The Barn” burned down in a large fire in 1996 and left the Tigers without a facility for a few years. Jeff told me that when he came in as head coach 10 years ago, the old coach had already planned the layout for the new facility to be built with everything going into one large pit in the center of the gym, but he was not satisfied with those plans. He was given three days to refigure the layout and draw it out to scale. He managed to get it done and this beautiful facility is the result. …

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

Visit Gymnastike For More Videos

I like that “trench pit”. It’s probably even better than the Forster Sliding Platform bar at Georgia.

Even with this unbelievably great gym, Auburn is “only” ranked 15th in the NCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

related:

Ritchie Foam & Mattress Co. from North Carolina contacted us. Compare their product if you are shopping for foam cubes. They are very competitive.

Ritchie Foam & Mattress Co.

The Nebraska Husker’s Mabel Lee Hall training gym is a classic.

Reminiscent of European gyms of the past. It’s small and I like that everyone is close together in the gym at all times. This leads to a much better atmosphere than the huge, impersonal “modern” facilities.

With elevated pits, it’s crammed with every possible training set-up. Belts, bungie systems, tramp catcher, air floor, etc.

Head Coach Dan Kendig is a fan of specialized training equipment.

Thanks to Dan, the coaching staff and the team for making me feel at home during my visit.

Nebraska Women’s Gymnastics

Jim Walker, President of Excalibur Gymnastics in Virgina Beach, coaches US National Team Member Randy Stageberg. In his spare time Jim builds pits.

He uses a unique design, suspending cables one foot above the floor, supporting foam and matting above.

I’m hearing great things about them. You cannot yet order one of Jim’s pits yourself, as he only does them for friends. (Friends like WOGA, University of Georgia, Beigers, Hills, Parkettes. Those kind of friends.)

If you want to know more, leave a comment below.

Consider giving a week of gymnastics camp as a gift to that special someone. One of three Camp Woodward locations, for example. It’s a great motivator for athletes and coaches.

I plan to be back for my 4th year at Woodward West in 2008. That’s a gym camp in paradise.

Most of the videos I’ve posted have been of incredible Charlie Tamayo, but Woodward is for all levels of ability.

Coach Don Eckert posted a clip tagged: “A little bit of everything about Woodward West …”

Click PLAY or watch the Saltocafe video on YouTube.