speaking to your gymnast AFTER a competition
Category: parents
NEW Gymnastics book – Historic by Emma Webb
Emma trained at the Olga club in England, coached by Monica & Brian Phelps.
Coach Brian Phelps was jailed in 2008, aged 64, after admitting a string of historical indecent assaults against three children aged between six and 15, in the 1970s and 1980s.
The rapist later escaped to France. Whereabouts unknown.
Emma’s e-book comes out worldwide on Sept 2nd, paperback on the 9th.
If interested in knowing more, register interest here.
I’ve signed up.
Thanks Jess.
former Chow’s Gymnastics coach arrested
… young coach moved from Mississippi to Iowa to take a job in 2018 at an elite academy known for training Olympic champions.
Liang “Chow” Qiao, the owner of Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, thought highly enough of his new hire, Sean Gardner, to put him in charge of the club’s premier junior event and to coach some of its most promising girls. …
Last week, more than three years after being suspended from coaching, the FBI arrested Gardner, 38, on a federal child sexual abuse images charge. But his disciplinary case has still not been resolved by SafeSport, which handles sex-abuse cases in Olympic sports.
Gymnastics is for everyone
Letter to Sport Parents
A fantastic short video put together by Arsenal academy players for their parents. …
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
in praise of Gymnastics Moms
Inside Gymnastics magazine.
Shallon Olsen on Mental Health
Shallon is amazing. She juggled an NCAA career simultaneously with Elite, competing 3 Olympics. (so far)
One of the most amazing young gymnasts I’ve even seen, Shallon could do Yurchenko Double Twist at age-8. Tiny … she could barely deflect the FIG Spring Board.
Her age group training was with strict Russian coaches.
Looking back, Shallon wishes she had been listened to more. And supported better.
Click PLAY or watch it on Instagram.
Now age-24, Shallon’s still competitive in Elite. And is considering a run at her 4th Olympics.
Jade Carey has a girlfriend
Jade has gone Instagram public about her relationship with Oregon State content manager Aimee Sinacola.
Congratulations.
In an era when ReTrumplican politicians are attacking minorities, I admire Jade coming out. She’s a role model for many others fearful of doing the same.
Marta Pihan-Kulesza documentary
Polish gymnastics power couple Marta Pihan-Kulesza and Roman Kulesza have long been accustomed to having their performances watched, analyzed and scrutinized by television and online viewers around the world.
“Marta and Jagna: Vol. 1,” a documentary film released at the end of 2023 and now viewable on YouTube and other platforms, offers a candid, unfiltered perspective on the married Olympians – and their young daughter Jagna, a budding gymnast with unintentionally scene-stealing charm and alertness. …
You can watch 1st part of the documentary on YouTube. Free.
Or click PLAY or watch a teaser on YouTube.
How to Save Youth Sports: A Manifesto
Parents in 2025 are worried about peer pressure, teen mental health, teen addiction to screens, and even childhood obesity.
As coaches, our goal is that kids get hooked on fitness and achievement through sport. Being an athlete is one of the best ways to grow up.
Here’s a terrific article by Steve Magness for your parents:
How to Save Youth Sports: A Manifesto
Sports are a great way to establish basic psychological needs: autonomy; mastery and skill development; mattering and belonging
Nobody remembers (or cares) if you won your first-grade league championship.
Youth sports should be about having a space for kids to challenge themselves healthily and explore their interests and limits.
Youth sports should be a place where kids can learn how to be a good teammate, navigate conflict, and develop tools to regulate their emotions.
Perhaps most of all, youth sports should be about developing a positive relationship with physical health and fitness. …
Gymnastics Coaching.com 