Author: Rick Mc

American-Gymnast.com is one of the best places on the internet for gymnastics coaches.

On that site Mohini Bhardwaj, 2004 US Olympic Team captain, has an article where she teaches the free hip circle on bars with a series of video clips. And she is the demonstrator.

After seeing the article, coach Jacob Small took a laptop into the gym (connected by wireless internet) and had the kids try Mohini’s progressions. They loved it.

To see for yourself you would need to join American-Gymnast.com (free membership for now) and click on the TRAINING TIPS link.

The other day I was consulting with a parent board of directors.

I mentioned that a surprising number of gymnastics coaches are nervous to speak with parents and terrified of parent Board of Directors.

Wag Stephen Neal interjected, “They are PARENTnoid.”

The perfect word!

Successful coaches over the long-term learn to work closely with parents. Once parents understand the goals of the program, once parents are on-side with the goals of the coach, success is almost guaranteed.

Athletes all have ups and downs during their athletic careers. Every once in a while almost every athlete has the urge to quit. (Often later greatly regretting it.)

But I can think of dozens of times over my coaching career when myself and the parents were so committed to the goals of the program, that the athlete had no option to quit.

If the parent has questions about the program, the athlete is far more likely to drop out at a low point.

Related post:

management of gymnastics clubs

American-Gymnast.com gurus Jay Thornton & Stephen McCain posted a great article on the single most important piece of men’s equipment for training at home — a set of parallettes.

To see the article you need to join American-Gymnast.com (free membership for now) and click on the TRAINING TIPS link.

By now you have probably seen photos of Pro Skateboarder Danny Way jumping the Great Wall of China.

Simply amazing.

But recently I saw video of the crash where he hurt his ankle on YouTube.

The quality is poor as it often is from YouTube.

Way has posted good video of 5 separate jumps on DannyWay.com

It’s well worth watching the whole story from Way’s point of view. Fast computer and high speed internet needed.

Super coach Dave Ross built the Supertramp, 13×21 feet, a one of a kind.

On an earlier version (in the mid-1980s!) Jose Antonio of Spain performed triple layout with triple twist.

Even more impressive is Jason Burnett’s routine with 10 triple somersaults in series. Check out the video on the Rebound Trampoline website.

This shows that trampoline still has a long way to go in advancing difficulty.

Melody dropped by booming Champions Gymnastics Center in Paragould, Arkansas, and captured some wonderful images.

See more photos like this. The slideshow has a cool AJAX interface.

Check the original digital drawings of gymnasts (including Nadia) on Flickr.

I only know the artist as GymnArt. Flickr protects your real identity when you post photos. But you can leave comments on any image you like.

The images are created using software called Gimp.

If you do not have a Flickr account yet, you should get one. It’s still by far the most popular photo hosting site.

Check the gorgeous graphics on the National Championships website.

Our favourite photographer Grace Chiu supplied the images. Nice!

To follow what happens May 15-20 in Quebec, check these pages:

1. Gymn.ca message board

2. Gymnastics Canada home page

3. Gym Score Depot (results)

Thanks to Dory who alerted us to this video.

It’s the most unique skill I’ve seen since Diamodov into flairs on Parallel Bars.

Click PLAY on the video below. Or watch Standford’s Cade Raggio do Tkatchev with an extra front-flip on YouTube.

Stanford Mens Gymnastics.

Gymnastics is a youth sport so coaches need protect the child participants.

Of the many excellent policy documents I’ve seen, the British Gymnastics version is the best. Many of the North American versions focus on liability and harassment — not “child protection”.

You can download a .pdf version from British Gymnastics.

That same page has several other policy documents including Child Protection Club Management Guidelines.