Al Fong on Respect

… A long time ago my wife, Armine Barutyan and I decided to make some important changes in our gym. Mainly, to change the way everyone (coaches, gymnasts, staff, and parents) communicated with each other. We made it a point to greet everyone and say hello when we came to the gym and goodbye when we left. …

Respect Starts with “Hello”

This might surprise people. Al Fong insists on efficient training. He doesn’t like to waste a second. Yet takes time for this social nicety.

I agree with Al. We coach 3 domains:

• physical
• technical
• psychological

Of the 3, the psychology of your gym is the most important.

Al likes a tidy facility, too. He’s not comfortable unless all mats and equipment are parallel to the walls, and stacked in pyramid fashion.