Category: parents

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. …

IG – Polish Olympian Marta Pihan-Kulesza enlightened as focus of “Marta and Jagna: Vol. 1” documentary film

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. …

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SafeSport for children

Canadian SafeSport Gym Education … creates documentary style videos to share what safe sport means from real people.

Link to SafeSport Gym Education Website

Here is their VIDEO for young children.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Anna Li and Jiani Wu suspended by SafeSport

Legacy Elite is a gymnastics club in Aurora. Head Coach Anna Li and her mother, Jiani Wu, have been suspended by the U.S. Center for SafeSport after a nearly six-year investigation.

SafeSport’s disciplinary database lists the misconduct as “physical and emotional.” …

ABC 7 Chicago

Attorneys for the suspended co-owner and coach told the I-Team the allegations are, “categorically false,” and said they do plan to appeal. The attorneys also said their clients were, “under this type of cloud for years without an opportunity to fully resolve the matter. This is yet another case that clearly illustrates the Center is wholly incapable of reasonable investigations .”

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

German Gymnastics investigates abuse claim

The German gymnastics federation DTB has pledged to launch an investigation into physical and mental abuse allegations made by 24-year-old retired gymnast Tabea Alt.

On Sunday, the DTB told Germany’s DPA news agency that it “had concrete information on potential wrongdoing from coaches at the federal training center in Stuttgart.”

“The subject of the investigation will be possible misconduct by coaches as well as errors in the high performance sports system at national bases,” the federation said. …

The Street Journal

NEW Gymnastics NZ Training Guidelines

New training guidelines issued by Gymnastics New Zealand for all ages and stages of a gymnast’s development will help ensure the sport is a safe, fun and healthy pursuit for all New Zealanders.

… created by a working group of club managers, coaches, athletes, parents and code representatives, Gymnastics NZ education staff, and a consultant from High Performance Sport New Zealand …

The guidelines suggest a range of training hours that strike a balance between developmental considerations, pathway priorities, and technical requirements. They are based upon considerations including: 

  • the fundamental requirements of gymnastics training sessions.
  • age considerations
  • athlete stages
  • our unique New Zealand setting
  • provision of choice
  • a targeted approach to keeping gymnasts in the sport as they reach adulthood and beyond 
  • the key principles of Sport NZ’s Balance is Better initiative.
Gymnastics-NZ-training-guidelines-ART-RG-GFADownload

controversial Béla Károlyi

Getting over the shock of Béla’s death at only age-82, many are still wrestling with conflicting emotions about the legendary coach.

YES he inspired many around the world. YES he helped popularize the sport in the USA.

But many, many gymnasts were injured and psychologically damaged by the Károlyi system which I would call unscientific and unsafe.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Béla Károlyi was never convicted of any crime. You might argue that he escaped justice many times.

GymCastic has always done a good job covering the controversies. Listen to this PODCAST episode if you want to know more:

The Legacy of Bela Karolyi

Ellie Black – keeping gymnasts safe

Emma Spence, Felix Dolci, and others are interviewed.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

How Cheerleading Became So Acrobatic, Dangerous and Popular

AI summary of the NY Times article by David Gauvey Herbert.

Published Oct 22, 2024

… the rise of competitive cheerleading in the United States and the dominance of a single company, Varsity Spirit, in the industry.

It highlights the story of Nikki Jennings, a talented young cheerleader who suffered numerous injuries and abuse during her cheer career, including concussions, hamstring injuries, and emotional abuse from her coach.

The article also delves into the history of cheerleading, tracing its origins from military chants to the modern, acrobatic sport it has become.

It examines how Jeff Webb, the founder of Varsity Spirit, has shaped the sport through his innovations and desire for control, leading to allegations of monopolistic practices and negative impacts on participants and their families.

The article also touches on the recent $4.75 billion sale of Varsity Spirit to the private equity firm KKR, raising questions about the future of the sport and the company’s grip on it.

Read the original article (subscription required).

How Cheerleading Became So Acrobatic, Dangerous and Popular

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