Category: parents

Aly Raisman interview

Aly Raisman is one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. Meet this year’s honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com. …

She’s the third most decorated American gymnast in history, winning six Olympic medals as captain of the legendary 2012 “Fierce Five” and 2016 “Final Five” teams.

She empowered millions of girls and women across the globe when she shared her story as a sexual abuse survivor at the hands of a former USA gymnastics doctor, who, with the testimony of Raisman and more than 100 other athletes, will never be able to abuse another person again. …

Read the interview — Aly Raisman works to normalize hard conversations after her gymnastics career

NEW – book on Mental Blocks

REBECCA SMITH, M.A. has a new book coming.

Preorder now.

Mental blocks are like injuries. One of the most frustrating problems for gymnasts, coaches, and parents.

Rebecca has some ideas new to me. She’s changed her approach over the past 2 years, inspiring the book.

Click PLAY or watch an interview on YouTube.

Elena Davydova can coach

We were surprised to hear that one of Canada’s best coaches, Elena (Yelena) Davydova was under investigation. She has no reputation as being any kind of unethical coach.

Elena is on the FIG WTC, as well.

Happily, she’s been allowed to continue coaching, under supervision.

We await a final ruling on this case.

Taylor Swift Bowl

I totally boycott Concussion Ball, thinking there is far too much attention on this one sport.

BUT — this year I’m one of many who will be paying attention for a change.

Cheering for Taylor Swift to defeat … that … other team. 😀

… we’re inviting dads and daughters to get closer to each other’s worlds – daughters sharing their love for skincare and dads sharing their love for the game.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Canadian Pediatrics endorses ‘risky play’

Perhaps the word risky is not ideal in this article. 

Free play, mostly free from injury — but with minor risk of bumps and bruises is recommended for parents.

Certainly many in 2024 are helicopter parents. Too much oversight is not optimal.

Kids need to climb trees, jump off things, and ride their bikes—even at speed. That’s what the Canadian Pediatric Society is recommending in a new white paper: Healthy Childhood Development Through Outdoor Risky Play. …

But what about the physical danger that risky play sometimes involves? How can doctors—and parents and schools—ignore that? …

And as the Pediatrics paper notes, “The research has established that children are less likely to be injured while engaging in unstructured activities than when playing an organized sport.” …

Reason – Even Canada Thinks the Nanny State Has Gone Too Far on Outlawing Fun

Gymnastics Canada – Safe Sport webinars

… our newest initiative, the Winning Well Safe Sport Speaker Series, designed to enhance awareness and knowledge regarding various topics related to safe sport.

Recognizing that the well-being of children and athletes is a collective responsibility, this monthly webinar series aims to foster a culture of safety within our gymnastics community.

Gretchen Kerr, Dean, Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education at U of Toronto, is the first speaker.

Canada’s “Future of Sport” commission

Canada’s Minister of Sport, Carla Qualtrough, this afternoon announced a national commission to address safe-sport issues, but stopped short of calling a national inquiry.

…  a suite of measures, including a Future of Sport in Canada Commission that will hold a summit and produce two reports during its 18-month mandate.

An independent commissioner and two special advisers will head the commission.

Among other measures announced were moving the new Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) and its abuse-free program out of the Sports Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC), increasing the capacity of AthletesCan, elevating Sport Canada’s athlete advisory committee to a ministerial committee, modernizing Sport Canada’s funding framework and developing a sport integrity framework, with policies around match manipulation and safeguarding children.

Toronto Star

Gymnastics banned lists are incomplete

It makes no sense for the Gymnastics Canada Suspended/Expelled Members list to include people who are in prison alongside some who are under investigation — who might yet be found innocent.

At minimum, there should be two lists.

Next, there should be more detail attached to why the guilty individuals were suspended / expelled.

Here’s a news report from the U.K. on this issue.

WaPo investigation into NCAA abuse

For many, many gymnasts the opportunity for a College scholarship to gain their education is a fantastic experience. Indeed, the vast majority of gymnasts I’ve spoken with are happy with their decision to compete after Club.

BUT it doesn’t work for all. I’m particularly concerned about risk of serious injury competing so many times each season in NCAA.

Recently, Molly Hensley-Clancy and Emily Giambalvo did a deep dive into female college gymnasts complaints for the Washington Post:

Beneath NCAA gymnastics’ glow, a familiar ‘toxic’ culture

Female gymnasts say college was supposed to offer a reprieve from intense club programs. Then they arrived on campus and found more of the same.

I believe that story is not behind the paywall.

Schools identified in the article:

  • University of North Carolina
  • LSU
  • Utah
  • Penn State
  • Clemson
  • Utah State

Eating disorders are common for many young women, especially college athletes. But studies consistently find female gymnasts are at a staggeringly high risk, with a 2004 study finding 42 percent of gymnasts and other elite “aesthetic sport” athletes, such as figure skaters, had disordered eating habits, compared with 16 percent in sports like soccer or basketball.

Certainly I believe the complainants.

I also believe that many of their teammates had positive experiences with the same coaches. Both can be simultaneously true.

Are things getting better in the NCAA?