Though not updated for years, these are still the best English language coaching manuals. The Rings, Pommel and Parallel Bar chapters are particularly strong.
Planning, Biomechanics and Physical Preparation content is good, too.
Leave a comment if you’ve other MAG coaching manuals you still use.
The Association Sportive Gymnastics Gymnastic Club Integral Carbonell, with the backing of the Sports Federation of Gymnastics and Allied Costa Rica are pleased to invite you to the XI International Championship Stars Gimnàs-Ticas.
Through each of the events has succeeded, with the participation of more than 500 athletes representing clubs from different countries like Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Puerto Rico, USA, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Dominican Republic, Honduras , Bolivia, Canada, Jamaica and our 2010 edition, we for the first time with some of Cuba’s national team who gave a high level competition and brilliant show.
Dates:15 TO 19 JUNE 2011
Location: National Gymnasium Eddy Cortes La Sabana, San José, Costa Rica
Women’s Gymnastics:
Level I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X (USA Gymnastics Levels) Pan Child A and B and FIG
Male Category
Class 4 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13 +
Class 5 7-9, 10-12, 13 +
Class 6 8-9, 10-12, 13 +
Class 7 9-10, 11-12, 13 +
Class 8 11-12, 13-14, 15 + (child 11-12 years Programme Pan)
Class 9 +15 (Pan Children’s Program ages 13-14)
Class 10 FIG Open
Thanks GML for recommending this meet. A tropical alternative to the meets in Cancun.
Many coaches tell me that GAT is the best of the American gymnastics conventions.
Labor Day Weekend, September 3-5, 2010, 44th Annual Gymnastics Association of Texas Convention at the beautiful Renaissance Hotel in Austin, Texas.
Speakers include:
… Beach, Tom & Reiko, Biggs, Tammy, Jason Jarrett, Foster, Bill, Forster, Tom, Gardner, Beth, Gehman, Paula, Gehman, Tony, Jarret, Cheryl, Maloney, Connie, Metzger, Jeff, Sahlein, Frank … and more
Sat., Sept. 4: Ten Critical Factors for Vaulting Success
Sat., Sept. 4: 5 Basic Principles for Refining Gymnastics Movement
Sun., Sept. 5: Mechanics of Rotation and Twisting
Sun., Sept. 5: Mechanics of Swing
While growing up in a family of ten children I had an abundance of early lessons in cooperation and competition. …
Matthew sent me a copy for review. It’s excellent.
But what I got was much different than expected. From the title – Big Book of Gymnastics Games – I expected traditional warm-up games like those in Rushkin’s Up Down All Around lesson plans. And in Dave Adlard’s Cool Games DVDs.
Not.
Matthew’s “Games” are mostly contests and drills. With FUN names like:
• Cartwheel of Doom
• Human Catapult
• Flip-Flop Factory
It could be called Big Book of Gymnastics Contests for Serious Skill Development.
Matthew:
One of the biggest challenges a gymnastics coach faces is motivating the students to perform a skill or exercise with enough repetition to produce mastery. Another challenge is motivating the students to put 100% of their effort and concentration into each attempt …
If you want to have more FUN at training, this text is highly recommended.
Retail price is $25 plus about $3 standard shipping (in USA), $7 priority shipping and about $14 international shipping. It is also available at the wholesale price of about $15 domestic shipping included (media mail) through Gymnasticsman.com.
You can also download games one-at-a-time for a dollar each.
The review copy will be donated to Keith Russell‘s library at U of Saskatchewan.
… GymSymbol is a training program specifically designed for Women’s Artistic Gymnastics judges and coaches who want to improve their skills in using the standard FIG shorthand symbols. It uses a flash-card like interface to test your memory of all the symbols in the Code of Points. …
No more need to break open a hefty Table of Elements to find that elusive D acro skill on beam. Filter any apparatus and select an element to bring up its matching FIG symbol, description, number and difficulty value and the gymnast to first compete the skill in a qualifying FIG gymnastics competition. …
The SEARCH function interface is a bit confusing. But if you select “Gymnaste” and search for “Mohini” … you will find her skill:
This is a fantastic little program. WAG judges will find it useful, for sure.
Men’s Artistic judges and coaches will appreciate this helpful program by gymnast/judge Mike Wilner:
DScore is a program, designed for Gymnastics coaches, athletes, and enthusiasts, that assists in the creation of Men’s Gymnastics routines and calculates start value.
Various rule sets are supported, including USA Gymnastics J.O. program levels 10, 9, and 8, the NCAA, and International Senior Elite (F.I.G.). DScore is available for Mac OS X and Windows, and also supports live updates to the Code of Points. …
Dscore is currently in Beta. Mike is still making updates and would appreciate feedback.
It works. Here’s my first routine analysis:
sample pommel routine - click for larger version
Here’s the resulting start value for F.I.G.:
Update: Oops. Seems I made a mistake in this example. Jeff says: 5 elements from group 4. Better replace that DSB with a 2/3 travel before the Sivado.
DScore is $14.99. But there’s a Free Trial available.
The registration form is posted. Deadline Jan. 1, 2011 … though you’d be well advised to send a deposit much sooner if you plan to attend. It’s going to be awesome.
… the Great West Gymfest celebrates it’s 10th anniversary with a meet extravaganza like nothing you’ve ever seen!
Featuring our world famous awards, FREE leos for every competitor, “Rock and Roll” march-ins, tons of Olympians, great socials, and some “new for 2011? suprises that are guaranteed to make the 10th year celebration of the “world’s best invitational” even more of a special memory for coaches, parents and athletes alike! …
There are at least 3 good choices today of blogging platforms, … in my opinion.
Gymnastics Coaching is a WordPress.org site, hacked once or twice each year I’ve had it on BlueHost. I love it … aside from the terrible security. My host blames me every time something goes wrong.
I’m tempted to move the site to new-on-the-block, Squarespace.
What’s the difference?
WordPress is cheaper. Squarespace more secure.
Price
Squarespace – Squarespace services include both web design tools and hosting. Basic packages start at $8/month. To host your site on your own domain, accounts start at $14/month. Coupon codes can save you around 10%. Squarespace provides an excellent value for their slightly higher monthly price tag.
WordPress – Free-ish – WordPress is completely 100% GPL open source however you still need to pay for hosting and domain name. The price ranges from ~$3/mo (GoDaddy) to $100/mo (Rackspace)
Best would be if WordPress.com changed their name. (WordPress.com is the third good option: secure, but no ads allowed.)
Security
Squarespace – Being a completely hosted system means Squarespace is not prone to the same security holes as open source systems like WordPress and Drupal. I’ll never have to pay someone to cleanse my hacked blog because I bought my domain on GoDaddy. Daddy. My site is just plain safe.
WordPress – You need to maintain your own updates and be careful with plugins. Also – a good host helps. Remember in hosting – you get what you pay for. We prefer to host at Rackspace – but you can still have problems if you don’t keep your site updated to the latest version and security fixes. …
Coach Jim Holt (Seattle) sent me a review copy. Jim’s been a friend for decades. I knew I’d enjoy his gymnastics autobiography.
A book of Jim Holt’s memoirs about his two decades striving for the international development of gymnastics. It is an extraordinary saga of inspiring and (often) hilarious efforts to change the world through sport. …
Anyone who knows Jim Holt knows that he does not do what he does for money. He’s in it for love of the sport. Jim’s got the #1 “talent” required of a gymnastics coach: irrational dedication.
I was immediately charmed by the many typos and the conversational tone of the book. Jim Holt is talking to me personally.
He’s a terrific raconteur. Intelligent. Witty. Eloquent. Engaging.
(His many references to literature and classic movies may turn off some younger readers, though.)
Jim’s led Olympic Solidarity coaching courses in 9 nations. I’ve so far led 2 courses and am booked for Saudi Arabia this Fall. His anecdotes and misadventures in Bolivia, Chile, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Yemen and Egypt (amongst others) were the highlights of the book for me.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to any gymnastics buff, especially older coaches who’ve lived through similar personal gymnastics disasters.
Jim’s subtitle is “An Odyssey in International Sport“. Indeed, he’s a hero to me. His accomplishments as a coach are extraordinary considering the obstacles overcome.
The only sour notes are in Chapter 14. Jim’s failed (so far) attempt to be awarded an “FIG Diploma”. … And his too harsh critique of the F.I.G. Academy Program, currently run by the best man at his wedding, Hardy Fink.
Sour grapes?
If you are looking for an exposé of international gymnastics you’ll be disappointed. There are plenty of examples of corruption, petty greed, cronyism, miscommunication and epic inefficiency … but also much love.
Jim Holt even has some good words for Grandi. How about that?
What is Jim doing today?
Chasing impossible dreams, of course. Last time I saw him was at the Canadian National Championships. He’s coaching 2008 Olympian Nashwan al-Harazi from Yemen.
Jim’s bags are packed. If you need an experienced coach, contact him via the official website:
Gymnastics Examiner posted an exceptional interview with Jay, the man who missed qualifying for two Olympics. Yet has become one of the biggest success stories in the USA with his website American Gymnast.
Examiner.com: Can you tell me a little about your childhood in gymnastics?
Jay Thornton: “I was very fortunate to have several a wonderful coaches from the beginning. I was a pretty good twister. I was a little bit bigger as a kid and I had that going against me. I’m about 5’10″ and competed at about 170 pounds. I was a bit bigger as a kid and wasn’t the most physically gifted, but my first coach, Tim Erwin, started preparing me with sound gymnastics technique from the day one.”
Examiner.com: When did you decide you wanted to go to the Olympics?
J.T.: “When I was 10 years old. It was 1984, the year of the Los Angeles Olympics and I, like every other gymnast at the time, was watching the ’84 U.S. Men’s Olympic team compete. When I saw them win that gold medal, I knew at that point that I wanted to become an Olympic gymnast.” …
Read about the coach who taught him to love gymnastics, Nick Brancheau. His inspirations: Roethlisberger and Bilozertchev. And how he reconnected with the woman who would become his wife.
The advantage of buying grips and equipment from American Gymnast is that Jay truly knows the sport inside out. Here’s his reaction to to Sho Nakamori’s post on his Reisport Ring grips tearing after only 2 days.
Jay’s younger brother Andy, who also competed for the University of Iowa, posts an excellent blog, Andy’s Angle, on American Gymnast. I read it religiously.
Note that the coaching video tutorial section has a new address: Gymnastics on Demand
A book of Jim Holt’s memoirs about his two decades striving for the international development of gymnastics. It is an extraordinary saga of inspiring and (often) hilarious efforts to change the world through sport. …
