advice for graduating gymnasts …

… and coaches.

Tony Retrosi:

Learn the art of listening.

Be tolerant.

Be kind to yourself and kill the naysayers with kindness.

Never stop learning.

Your words have meaning, choose them wisely.

Ask for help. People will show up, as will the universe. Pretending doesn’t make you smarter.

It’s okay to change your mind. Walk a road that you hadn’t envisioned, and then, when you are ready, make a sharp left, and take that road.

Surround yourself with positive people and let the others gently fall away.

The Head and the Heart

Click through for more.

Scott Bregman out at USAG

Their most popular employee was one of those let go. This is the man who vastly improved USAG online video coverage over the past 7 years.

Thanks for everything, Scott.

Read his full farewell on Twitter.

If the current organization declares bankruptcy, as many expect, Scott would have had to move on in any case.

Rhonda Faehn asked to retire

Rhonda Faehn was at a national training camp in Tennessee late Thursday afternoon when she got the call from (USA Gymnastics President Kerry) Perry, who asked her to return to the organization’s headquarters in Indianapolis, the sources said. …

Faehn, who did not respond to a request for comment, decided to stay at the camp with the 22 gymnasts and their personal coaches, who were blindsided by the news, the sources said. The last two practices were canceled at the gymnasts’ request, they said.

As of early Friday, Faehn had not resigned, the sources said, and it’s unclear what will happen next. …

USA Gymnastics turmoil: Head of women’s program asked to resign

The move comes days before the organization’s president testifies before Congress.

Timing of that phone call could not have been worse. National Team members were understandably upset with the distraction.

UPDATE

“Rhonda Faehn is no longer with USA Gymnastics. This is a personnel matter that we will not discuss in detail.

We recognize that change can be difficult, but we will not be deterred from making necessary and bold decisions to transform our organization. At USA Gymnastics, we are focused every day on creating a highly empowered culture that puts our athletes first.

Over the next few weeks, we will be communicating some positive changes that reinforce our desire to have our athletes train and compete at the highest level in an empowering and safe environment.

USA Gymnastics is moving forward and positioning for the future with the commitment to our athletes’ safety and well-being at the heart of everything we do. We encourage member clubs, coaches, administrators and the gymnastics entire community to align their efforts to this important task. Together, we will create a culture of empowerment for the young men and women who are pursuing their gymnastics dreams today while honoring those who have gone before them.”

This is a breaking story. There could be even bigger announcements from USAG today.

Arthur Ashe Courage Award

The Arthur Ashe Courage Award … is presented as part of the ESPY Awards.

… presented annually to individuals whose contributions “transcend sports”.

“… strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost”

coach Renald Knysh accused of rape

Olga Korbut first publicly accused her coach, Renald Knysh, of raping and physically abusing her in 1999, long before the #metoo movement. Knysh continues to deny the accusations and Korbut continues to insist on them. …

While Knysh was never found guilty of rape or abuse, he stopped coaching in the early 1980s after the first rape allegations …

OLGA KORBUT: IF I STAYED SILENT, HE WOULD CONTINUE RAPING GIRLS

Knysh was investigated by Soviet officials in 1981 after a young gymnast in Hrodno overdosed on nitroglycerin in an attempt to kill herself — leaving behind a suicide note that cited Knysh as the reason she wanted to die. …

#MeToo In Belarus: Ex-Teammates Bolster Korbut’s Sexual-Assault Charges Against Coach

Knysh was the coach of two Olympic champions Yelena Volchetskaya and Olga Korbut, as well as USSR champion Tamara Alekseeva.

MSU will pay $500 million to Nassar victims

Michigan State University has settled hundreds of lawsuits filed against it by the survivors of Larry Nassar’s sexual assaults.

The settlement will cost the school $500 million. The school will pay $425 million now and hold $75 million in reserve in case other Nassar victims come forward. …

“There will be no confidentiality agreements or non-disclosure agreements attached to the settlement,” …

Penn State University paid out $109 million to 35 victims in the Jerry Sandusky scandal. …

Detroit Free Press

Becky Hammon – 1st female NBA coach?

I’m saying: Becky Hammon can coach NBA basketball. Period.

An Open Letter About Female Coaches | By Pau Gasol

That’s one excellent article. I highly recommend you click through.

Tiffany Lopez reported Nassar to MSU trainers in 1998

Twenty years ago, former Michigan State University softball star Tiffany Lopez told three of her trainers that she was being sexually abused by one of the university’s team physicians. His name was Larry Nassar.

It would be 19 years before Nassar — who has been accused by at least 265 women with sexually abusing them in his role as a doctor to young athletes at MSU and USA Gymnastics — would be arrested for his crimes.

Lopez says she stopped playing the sport she loved and left MSU after her claims went unheard. …

“If I had been heard and believed 20 years ago,” Lopez told the crowd gathered at today’s summit, “the women standing beside me — all of the 265 young women who have now bravely come forward as victims — would have been spared from the horrors of sexual abuse.”

Lopez was joined by other elite athletes who are survivors of Nassar’s abuse on stage at USOW, including Aly Raisman, Jeanette Antolin, and Jordyn Wieber. …

Pop Sugar

Karolyis sue USAG, USOC

In the world’s most litigious nation, we expected this.

Bela and Martha Karolyi have filed suit against the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics, seeking more than a million dollars in damages and saying they should not be held responsible for any lawsuits stemming from crimes committed at their Sam Houston National Forest ranch by disgraced doctor Larry Nassar.

The suit, filed last month in Walker County, accuses USA Gymnastics of being in violation of a purchase agreement and a lease agreement at the couple’s ranch, which until last year housed the women’s national training center, and of failing to live up to a promise to “wrap their arms” around the couple and to defend them against allegations stemming from the Nassar sexual abuse scandal.

Houston Chronicle

related – Sabrina Vega sued Bela and Martha Karolyi as well as USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Changing Gymnastics Culture by Dave Tilley

After fifteen years competing up to the college level, and ten years coaching, I have spent the last five years as a medical provider treating almost all gymnasts (Sports Physical Therapy) while also still actively coaching competitive gymnastics at the same time. …

… in an effort to help, I have spent the last twelve months writing a new e-book covering all of these topics and more. I wrote it in an effort to spark conversations on how the sport of gymnastics can move into a new era that prioritizes athlete health, builds positive training cultures, and seeks the most optimal training methods based on scientific research as well as expert coaching opinion.

Shift Movement Science

Dave’s made his book free. Click through to download.

The book is 3 PDFs.

In addition are two resources: Myofascial Release Checklist and a Splits Complex.

I’ll be reviewing my own copy. I’m keen to hear what the sports medicine community has to say. So far as I can see they’ve been very quiet on Nassar. It was gymnasts who finally took him down, not parents or coaches nor his professional fraternity.