My job as a mom is not to raise a child, but to raise an adult. The whole process is overwhelming and seemingly impossible. I mean seriously, I can’t even train my dog to come when called. How in the world am I going to raise daughters who are independent, honest, self-assured women of their word who also show compassion, selflessness and unconditional love to their fellow human beings?
When DW and I put our kids in sports it was for a handful of teachable moments: leadership, teamwork, mental and physical strength, how to be competitive. …
Hard to believe that's my kid!
… I would say that two of her coaches have surpassed any of my expectations and been more like mentors than coaches. …
The Chronicle of Higher Education is the major news service in the United States academic world. 68,000 (subscribers); 245,000 (total readership)
Rumour:
Rhode Island Collegeannounced that women’s golf and women’s swimming will be added as varsity sports for the 2011-12 season. The sport of women’s gymnastics eliminated.
But I’ve heard that the team is fighting for survival. And might yet survive. Leave a comment if you know more.
… I want to share a story of triumph and the ability to beat all odds. One with medals and moments of happiness, and one of heartbreak and helplessness. Its a story of a gymnast who has had to embrace set backs as part of her life to her journey of making it to the collegiate experience.
Chayla Nelson is a level 9 gymnast who trains at KAATS Gymnastics and is coached by her mother Kathy Nelson. Born and raised in Matorville, Minnesota, she lives only 30 minutes from Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester where she was born, and would spend much of her time in growing up. …
Mas Watanabe reports that of 13 healthy Level 10 gymnasts at the beginning of season, only 2 are “healthy enough right now to train hard without taping or icing and some type of rehabilitation”.
… There are only days left before J.O. Championships.
… The most areas of injuries were from 2 main areas: legs (ankles & knees) and the lower back.
Also, many of the injuries were chronic type injuries, so they could train, but working with some aches and pains. Some injuries require the support of athletic tape or supporter during the training and constant rehabilitation work. …
photo via Gymnastics Alberta
Gymnasts being injured (or not nearly 100%) for their peak meet seems to be more common today, than in the past. Frustrating for both the coach and athlete.
Some kids find themselves in this situation year after year.
Solutions?
Firstly, we should study gyms that don’t have this problem. Two clubs that jump to mind are Geddert’s Twistars and Oakville. Both have a lot of Level 10 and higher gymnasts who actually show up at every meet, and both clubs keep their older kids training. What are they doing right?
Next we should look at the last 5 weeks before the peak meet. The main goal should be to avoid injury. And stay healthy.
Obviously, a taper in volume will help. Decreasing difficulty, if possible, will help. Modifying landings. Safety spotting, especially at team training camps.
It’s as important to be healthy for the Peak meet, as ready.
… Leave a comment if you’ve any other recommendations.
CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who worked so hard to save Men’s Gymnastics at Cal State Berkeley.
… Monday’s announcement delighted coach Tim McNeill and his athletes – who recently finished fourth in the NCAA championships. It also excited a small army of parents, ex-gymnasts and fans who raised $2.6 million to keep the program alive. …
The fundraisers came up short of the $4 million officials said was needed to sustain the program for the next seven to 10 years. As a result, there will be no athletic scholarships to incoming gymnasts until fundraising allows such aid.
This year, the Cal men’s program split 4.7 scholarships among nine gymnasts; the NCAA allows up to 6.3.
At the current funding level, the 2011-12 team – in the program’s 100th season – would have three scholarships to split, because this year’s seniors account for 1.7. The fundraisers, however, are confident they can quickly push the program back to its current scholarship level. …
… philanthropist Doug Goldman recently offered to pledge $160,000 if four other donors pledge an equal amount. “We’re already gotten two of them,” Popovic said. …
The Canadian Women’s National Diving Team turned in a stellar performance at the 2011 Canada Cup held in Montreal at the 1976 Olympic pool. Leading the team was Roseline Filion with a gold medal in the women’s 10 meter event and a personal best score of 379 points outdistanced the Chinese divers by 9 and 20 points for the silver and bronze medals. The Chinese pair opened the door for Roseline by missing back to back dives in the 4th round ( both divers doing a back 3 & 1/2 tuck). …
While the men had a formidable team, they did not receive any medals this time but did have several finalists in the synchro events. Attending the meet but not competing was Canada’s best male diver, Olympian Alexander Despatie. It is unknown why he did not dive. Could it be he is saving himself for the World Championships? The redeeming result for the rest of the men was several of them making or surpassing the scoring standard to be placed on Canada’s World Championship team …
One of the highlights of the meet was Australian Matthew Mitcham’s gold medal performance on 10 meter. The 2008 Olympic Games gold medalist in this event scored 7 perfect 10’s on his back 3 & 1/2 tuck topping off a great execution with a flawless “rip” entry.He suffered an abdominal strain before the meet and opted to go with lower degree of difficulty dives. This decision was a major factor in his victory as the chinese went for super high D.D. dives but missed their usual splashless entries.
China was the high point team with a medal count of 10 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze, Canada second with 7 total and Australia third with 5 all together.The surprise of the meet was the Japanese men’s team who took the bronze in both the 3 meter and 3 meter synchro events. This is the sleeper group for the 2012 Games next year and should be a force to be reckoned with. …
You’ll find variations of this on many club sites:
1. Thou shalt not impose your ambitions on thy child.
2. Thou shalt be supportive no matter what.
3. Thou shalt not coach thy child.
4. Thou shalt only have positive things to say at competitions.
5. Thou shalt acknowledge thy child’s fears.
6. Thou shalt not criticize the judges.
7. Honor thy child’s coach.
8. Thou shalt not jump from club to club.
9. Thou shalt have other goals besides winning.
10. Thou shalt not expect thy child to become an Olympian.
Most recently it was posted by Keeping Balance (with commentary).
Leave a comment if you know where this originated. One site credited Will-Moor School of Gymnastics, New Jersey.
Gymnastics Canada has launched the Respect In Sport Parent Program, making it the first national sport organization (NSO) to offer the innovative online program giving parents an easy way to evaluate their own behaviour as spectators and to ensure a positive sports experience for their children.
The program is a joint effort of Gymnastics Canada and Respect in Sport, Canada’s only online bullying, abuse, harassment and neglect prevention program co-founded by former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy. …
Gymnastics Coaching.com 