… with all the pressure in the world on your shoulders, what do you do?
HIT for 9.950
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Entries Tagged 'psychology' ↓
Ashley Priess HITS Beam to win NCAAs
April 21st, 2012 — beam, Gymnastics, psychology
Stanford is loose
April 20th, 2012 — Gymnastics, NCAA, psychology
Stanford freshman Alex Archer reports from the NCAA women’s gymnastics championships. …
Podium Training
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Stanford did less training than any other team on Podium. Coach Chris Swircek told that their plan is to HIT 3 days of competition, not one. Eyes on the prize.
Stanford- Kristen Smyth:
“This is also one of the most artistic teams we’ve ever had.” “I believe we’re peaking at the right time…”
(via Go Stanford)
Al Fong – channel pit
April 18th, 2012 — bars, Gymnastics, horizontal bar, pits, psychology, safety
At his recent clinic at GAGE, Al explained his elaborate “trench” pit. This it the 5th version and he’s finally happy with how it works.
Note the free standing elevated chalk box.
Those segments are 8ft long, wide enough to leave a 2ft channel.
The white base spotting box is the minimum height you’d possibly ever want to use. The yellow pieces can be stacked as high as needed for the height of the gymnast. This day it was set so the tallest girl in the gym could swing.
The blue mat in-between is custom made to fit.
Construction is layers of rigid foam, glued together. Then topped with carpet bonded ethafoam from an old roll strip.
Al’s gym makes their own covers having purchased a $1600 industrial sewing machine.
A contractor friend of mine priced out one of the yellow sections at less than $200 including handles and perhaps even a zipper closure. GAGE has dozens. Each is light enough to easily be moved by two small kids.
Al finds this system far superior to the below ground channel pits.
Leave a comment if you’ve an opinion. Or any alternative this useful.
I Believe I can Fly
April 11th, 2012 — psychology, safety
Of all the terrifying YouTube clips, this one freaked me out most, so far.
I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer
by sebastien montaz-rossetTancrède, Julien, Seb and Antoine are pioneers in ‘highlining’ – a vertiginous combination of climbing, slackline and tightrope walking.
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo. (full screen!)
Song: The Rural Alberta Advantage.
optimal training hours for gymnasts?
April 10th, 2012 — ethics, Gymnastics, planning, psychology
I’m looking at optimal amount of hours in the gym for female gymnasts in a normal school system. Here are a couple of good links
Gymnastics Zone recommends — as a starting point:
Age 7-8 – 6 hours a week to 8.75 hrs a week
Ages 9-10 – 11 to 13.5 hrs a week
Ages 11-12 – 15 to 16.5 hrs a week
Ages 13 and up – 18 hours a week and up
The averages for weekly practice time according to surveys in the U.S.:
Level 4 – 6 hours a week = 3 days x 2 hours
Level 5 – 8.75 hrs a week
Level 6 – 11 hours a week
Level 7 – 13.5 hrs a week
Level 8 – 15 hours a week = 5 days x 3 hours
Level 9 – 16.5 hrs a week
Level 10 – 18 hours a week = 6 days x 3 hours
For girls with High Performance aspirations, check John Geddert’s training hours. (30.5hrs / week)
In the end, more / shorter sessions would be ideal. Twice a day training is near impossible, however, in big cities. The parent chauffeurs won’t have it.
Leave a comment if you’ve got a strong opinion on training hours.
Gymnastics Adventure to Westerns
April 7th, 2012 — Gymnastics, psychology, safety
CONGRATS to these gymnasts from my new club club, Gymnastics Adventure, who qualified to Western Canadian Championships 2012, Langley, Vancouver, BC May 4-6, 2012.
GA Coaches: Rick McCharles, Janna Koski
GA Provincial Level 5: Brenna Fonagy, Courtney Biever, Taylor Gaudet, Kori Clark
GA National Open: Breanna Franklin, Kaitlyn Clark
GA National Novice: Mia Dimas
GA Pre-Novice Aspire: Sarah Franklin
GA Pre-Novice Elite: Mackenzie Nestman
GA Chris Baraniuk is Head of WAG Team Saskatchewan delegation.
Kori, Mia, Taylor, Brenna, Courteney, Bre, Kaitlyn
Our team needs to verify fitness at Sask Provincial Championships, April 20-21st. Staying healthy and happy are the highest priorities. 
related – Tony Retrosi:
… March … My goal is to get the kids through the State Meet and to Regionals and Nationals without injury. We Train Hard. Nearly 100% focus on perfecting routines and consistency. I get pretty paranoid and really try NOT TO take any unnecessary risks in the gym. Even a twisted ankle at this point in the season could be disastrous.
We try very hard to make every practice like a competition. Timed warm up etc. …
female coaches fight
April 5th, 2012 — Gymnastics, psychology
Tony Retrosi is from Mars
He said it, not me. Disabuse him on Gym Momentum:
Male Coaches who say their female counterparts or gymnasts deliberately “pick fights” in the gym may be onto something.
A new study shows that in relationships, men feel best when they can tell that their partner is happy; women, on the other hand , are most content when their partners are upset or agitated, because the intensity of their emotions show they’re invested in the relationship. …
Ryan Doyle – Parkour Santorini
March 29th, 2012 — parkour (free running), psychology, safety
One of the best edits ever on why acrobats take to the streets.
… Ryan Doyle, one of the world’s most prominent practitioners of the sport of parkour, who can be seen here in action in Santorini. …
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Johanna Quaas – Floor
March 27th, 2012 — floor (women), Gymnastics, psychology
Seems the biggest star online from Cottbus is 86-year old Johanna Quaas.
Click PLAY or watch her Floor on YouTube.
related – interview in German (VIDEO)
seeing the Beam – CA Orchard
March 27th, 2012 — bars, Gymnastics, psychology
GAGE, Chows, Oakville
March 22nd, 2012 — Coach Education, Gymnastics, psychology
by site editor Rick McCharles
Easter road trip to 3 of the top elite gyms in the world as an Ambassador for Tumbl Trak.
First up – Al Fong‘s April 6th and 7th FREE coaching clinic (FULL) at GAGE.
April 9th I’ll stop by to visit Chow at Chow’s to interview him about his famously positive coaching style. Does he ever stop smiling?
Chow loves Tumbl Trak equipment and is keen to test some prototype equipment.
Finally, April 10-11, I’ll be visiting my friends at Oakville in Toronto. Interviews and more equipment testing.
I’ll link to those photos, videos and notes once they are posted online.
losing twists :-(
March 21st, 2012 — psychology, Trampoline, twisting
Every gym has one athlete or another who cannot do one twist or another.
It’s a weakness.
Brett MacAulay, Trampoline and Tumbling Head Coach at Calgary Gymnastics Centre, plans a weekly test of all twists, forwards and backwards.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Keeping that up will help prevent your kids “losing” twists.
If you are not already a member, check out the T&T Coaches Canada Facebook page.
psyching up for a new skill
March 21st, 2012 — psychology
Every coach can relate to this.
… a fourth grader trying a bigger ski jump for the first time.
… the audio is essential.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
