by site editor Rick McCharles
Gymnastics Coaching is an aggregator . We try to link to the best of the best published online in English. The most interesting ideas, photos and videos.
Artistic Gymnastics – best of 2011 categories:
INDEPENDENT SITES (blogs, coaches, etc.)
OFFICIAL SITES (magazines, organizations, FIG, NOCs, etc.)
PHOTO & VIDEO SITES
Artistic Gymnastics, especially WAG, dominates the Gymternet over all other acrobatic disciplines. That’s OK since we want every child to start with Artistic & Trampoline before specializing. 🙂
Artistic Gymnastics is the Foundation.
_____ INDEPENDENT SITES:
The very best have not changed much since a year ago:
Blythe Lawrence (USA) – Gymnastics Examiner | Facebook | @GymExaminer
Read Blythe’s 2011: The gymnastics year in review
Brigid McCarthy (Australia) and friends – The Couch Gymnast | Facebook | @TheCouchGymnast
Albert Minguillón i Colomer, Nora Schuler & Elizabeth Long (Europe) – THE ALL AROUND | Facebook | @THEALLAROUND
Katie (Ireland) – Full Twist | Facebook | @full_twist
• GymNiceTic (all FIG disciplines)
Those sites post prolifically. Each is quite unique. Please subscribe, follow and/or like those as well as others listed here that don’t post quite so often. (A much longer list of sites we follow is listed in the right hand navigation of every page on this site.)
In November Tony Retrosi launched a must read site for every WAG Coach: Gym Momentum | Facebook | @gym_momentum
The excellent Gymnastics Minute videos were Tony’s idea, originally. Sadly we’ve seen few new videos from publisher GymSmarts, long the #1 production house for coaching videos.
Other great sites NEW in 2011 include:
• Bekah’s “Get a Grip” Gymblog | @GetAGripGymblog
• E Panel | @TheEpanel
• Triple Twist Gym Blog | Facebook | @TripleTwistBlog
The following sites publish less frequently, but I never miss a post:
• Andy Thornton – American Gymnast | Facebook | @americangymnast (company tweets)
• Ron Noe – Stick It Media (MAG) | @StickItMedia
• Kristal Sergent Boulden – Double Front | Facebook | @Double_Front | Tumblr
• Bronwyn & Clara Stoi!
• JAO Coaching Gymnastics in the New Millenium
• Tsuk the Pain | @TsukthePain | Tumblr
• Between the Olympics | @BTOgymblog
Some of my favourite sites have been posting less frequently, of late, including Aunt Joyce, About.com Gymnastics and Valentin Uzunov’s The Gym Press | @thegympress.
Trending — sites dedicated to individual nations:
Romania:
• Cris – Gymfever
• Alina – Tare! magazine
• Mihai – FanGymnastics (Romanian)
• Bea – Gymnastics No Ceiling
• Carmen – Romanian Gymnastics Fans on Facebook
• Rewriting Russian Gymnastics
• Jennifer Isbister’s Gymn.ca (Canada) … perhaps the original dedicated National site
_____ OFFICIAL SITES:
I link a lot to IG. Dwight Normile, Amanda Turner, John Crumlish & team – International Gymnast magazine online News | Facebook | @intlgymnast
Last year and again this year I was astonished at the quality of communications out of USA Gymnastics and FIG. Those organizations have media people equal the best bloggers. In the past information from both was whitewashed — no bad news. But both have gotten increasingly open, over time.
• USAG Headlines | Facebook | @USAGym
• FIG News | Facebook | @officialfig
I’ve long criticized Inside Gymnastics magazine. But the IG2 posts were better this year, I thought. Especially during LIVE events. And especially on Facebook.
Inside Gymnastics News | Facebook | @InsideGym
Universal Sports Tumble Mumble is an interesting kind of page. Interspersed between news articles from Reuters and AP are blog posts from Blythe Lawrence, Andy Thornton and others.
_____ PHOTO & VIDEO SITES:
Anne Phillips and team are the leaders:
• Gymnastike | Facebook | @gymnastike
The best thing that ever happened for gymnastics coaches is YouTube. Thank Google for buying that company and letting us share with the world for free. In 2011 I still link to YouTube over Vimeo and others as YouTube streams quickest over a weak WiFi signal.
Some of my favourites this past year:
• American Gymnast Gymnastics on Demand videos on the JoeLangley YouTube channel (1150+ coaching tutorials)
• gymdrills.com videos $
• Tony Retrosi – Gym Momentum YouTube Channel
• Mary Lee Tracy – USAmlt YouTube Channel
• Coach Sommers – Gymnastic Bodies videos (MAG strength)
• Gymnastics Minute YouTube channel. And GymSmarts for DVDs $.
• MostepanovaFan YouTube channel
• RedNasvw YouTube channel, especially his MAG Code of Points videos
Inside Gymnastics has the photographer I link to most. That’s the terrific Grace Chiu. She uses Facebook perfectly, posting a few of her best shots in order to promote sales from GraceClick.ca.
There are a number of equally wonderful photographers around the world. But many are over-protective. Almost nobody sees their work. Foremost of those is the great Eileen Langsley.
Did I MISS one of your favourite sites? … or links to their content?
… Leave a comment and I’ll update this list in a week or so. I could name many more.
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