The Alabama Gymnastics team opened its 2010 home schedule in grand fashion, knocking off the defending NCAA Champion Georgia Bulldogs, 196.225-195.45 in front of a near-sellout crowd of 14,220.
Gymnastics – Alabama upsets Georgia
Year: 2010
Gymnastics – Oklahoma over Auburn
Sooners hit 24-of-24.
The No. 2 Oklahoma women’s gymnastics squad posted its second straight win over an SEC opponent with a 196.300-195.325 victory at Auburn …
Second-Ranked OU Gymnastics Bests No. 9 Auburn
Sooners win second straight over top-10 foe as Oklahoma swept all four event titles.
This fast start for OK is giving me plenty of chances to post photos of Hollie Vise. Keep it up!
NCAA Gymnastics this weekend
Gymnastics Examiner has a concise overview of all the meets on the women’ side.
Can’t-miss competition of the week: Georgia at Alabama, hands down. Like last week’s UCLA-Utah matchup, these SEC superstar teams are well-matched and probably thinking about what happened last season, when the Gym Dogs and Crimson Tide went 1-2 at the NCAA Championships. Alabama hasn’t had an NCAA gymnastics title since 2002, but along with Utah, it has been the school that has most consistently challenged Georgia during the past five years.
read more – NCAA gymnastics: Week two matchups
The other match-up I’ll be following is Auburn v Oklahoma. Hollie Vise and the Sooners find themselves ranked #2 in the nation. Can they stay in the top 4 after this weekend?
The No. 9 Auburn gymnastics team welcomes No. 2 Oklahoma to Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Friday at 7 p.m. in a clash of SEC and Big 12 powers. …
twist direction
Another great clip from GymSmarts – The Gymnastics Minute.
When you start twisting gymnastic skills, determining which way you are twisting is extremely important. Here George Hery show how he figures out which way a gymnast is twisting. He’s used this method for over 20 years.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
This can be confusing for the athlete. And sometimes the coach.
Men’s competitive coaches are rarely confused as they’ve trained or coached Kasumatsu vault. (1/4 on, 3/4 off)
But since most female gymnasts do not train “Kaz”, twist direction of the round-off can generate arguments. If some coach disagrees with coach Hery, wrap a rope around his waist and have him do a round-off on Floor. … Then check the direction of twist of the rope.
The rope doesn’t lie.
related posts:
• preventing Barani Confusion
conditioning with good form
Did you know Al Fong, personal coach of 2004 Olympians Terin Humphrey and Courtney McCool, has a blog?
Ask Al Fong – Dragon Gymnastics
It’s not at all dedicated to Elite gymnastics. Surprising considering Al’s reputation.
For example, Al dedicates one post to the under appreciated forward hip circle on bars. (I like the second drill, the “sneeze”.)
Another post recommends weight training as a supplement. No surprise there.
What caught my eye was how his girls condition with perfect form.
Most coaches ask their kids to keep form and position while conditioning, but how many actually do?
Al Fong’s gymnasts do.
Click through to see that post for yourself – When it comes to strength—the Dragons use weights!
related post – good memories of gymnastics coach Al Fong
NCAA Gymnastics – Alabama v Georgia
Tonight we’ll see if Georgia can rebound from a poor performance last weekend.
Arguably the biggest rivalry in collegiate gymnastics, the Alabama-Georgia dynamic has changed a bit this year, with long-time UGA head coach Suzanne Yoculan retiring at the end of last season and Jay Clark, a 17-year veteran of the Bulldog staff, taking over the reins of the program. Despite the change, Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson doesn’t expect much to change in terms of the Bulldog team.
“As Jay says, he’s not wearing heels and a skirt, but I don’t think their blueprint changes that much, especially when you have that kind of success,” Patterson said. “I feel the program is in great hands and I really don’t feel like they’ll skip a beat this season. They were preseason ranked No. 1 for a reason.”
Click PLAY or watch an Alabama promo video on YouTube.
greatest Bar gymnast all-time
Svetlana Khorkina had some amazing Bar performances in her long career.
Here’s one of them. From the 2000 Olympics.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Effortless. Original. Interesting.
I think Svetlana deserves the rank of best ever (so far) … over He Kexin.
choreographing UCLA Floor routines
There’s a fascinating video online where Head Coach Valorie Kondos Field explains how she comes up with those unforgettable UCLA Floor routines.
And how she keeps coming up with new ones every year since 1983.
related – Kyle from Gymnastike interviews Anna Li
gymnastics strength training
Gymnasts must be very strong.
When is the best time during the workout to train strength?
“It depends.”
Exactly the answer you did not want to hear.
Coach Chris has a Masters in Kinesiology. He elaborates:
… I would put the strength/conditioning at the beginning of the workout during the off-season as you should be focused on building strength in order to both enhance and enable skill development. To maximize strength development, it’s important for the gymnasts to not be fatigued.
During the season, I would put it at the end of practice. By this time, your training emphasis will have shifted more to technical preparation and trying to make the routines as good as possible for competition. …
Even better with young developing gymnasts, where competition readiness is far less important than training, is …
• specific strength training at the beginning
• general strength training and flexibility improvement, at the end of workout.
That post is from a great new blog called COACHING GYMNASTICS IN THE NEW MILLENIUM
… dedicated to the discussion of training strategies, development, and growth of the sport of artistic gymnastics.
Yup. It’s high level serious content. Coach Chris and Coach Troy Wright answer questions emailed to them via the About page.
Check it out. COACHING GYMNASTICS IN THE NEW MILLENIUM
(via Full Twist)
book – Building the Gymnastic Body
We’re often linking to strength videos posted by men’s coach Christopher Sommer from Arizona.
He’s one of the preeminent strength gurus in our sport.
Now you can get all that expertise for $44.00. … UPDATE: Check the shipping charges. A Canadian coach was billed $26 USD shipping. His cost delivered to a remote island in the Atlantic, C$80. In the U.S. shipping is only about $12.15.
… Extremely comprehensive and detailed, with nearly 200 exercises (many of which have never been seen before by the general public) and well over 500 photographs, it is a complete developmental template for building the essential foundation of strength required for all gymnastics success. Whether you are a competitive athlete looking for an edge, a fitness enthusiast or just beginning a healthier lifestyle, Building the Gymnastic Body is the answer …
Highly recommended for all acrobatic coaches.
Official website GymnasticBodies.com.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 