Category: planning

UCLA in the L.A. Times

The Bruins are accustomed to getting as much publicity as any team in the NCAA. Over the years, that’s mostly been good press.

Personally, I rank UCLA as one of the top teams for defending and promoting social justice.

Head Coach Chris Waller is one of the most experienced and accomplished coaches in College Gymnastics.

But this situation is a disaster. We still don’t know whether to blame the school administration, the coaches or the lawyers. Probably all three.

Professor of marketing Scott Galloway advises organizations do three things in case of crisis:

  1. Top person steps up quickly and addresses the issue personally.
  2. Acknowledge the problem. Take responsibility.
  3. Over-correct.

None of that happened.

If you are not up to speed, read what the general public is seeing:

UCLA gymnastics stood united against racial injustice, then was ripped apart by it

I should add that LSU seems to have handled things about as well as they could. Communication was clear.

keeping girls in sport LONGER

A new study suggests that girls who begin participating in sports from the ages of 6 to 9 have higher retention rates than those who begin participating later in life.

These findings emphasize the importance of targeted retention strategies and supportive sport environments for adolescent girls and women.

Canadian Sport Information Resource Centre

Start young. But keep the main emphasis on FUN and FITNESS, not performance.

Photo by Monstera on Pexels.com

promoting older female gymnasts

Nick Blanton:

… of 259 female competitors in the 2019 WC’s, the average age was 19.93. Since the inception of the open-ended code in 2006, the average age of female competitors has risen from 18.2 years of age in the 2005 WC’s, to 19.93 in 2019. From this comparison, federations could strategize what age to peak their athletes in contemporary high-performance gymnastics.

To put it simply, programs should be strategizing on how to support older female athletes. …

That’s just one conclusion from Nick’s new paper.

using-yield-percentage-in-artistic-gymnasticsDownload

realistic goals

Set realistic goals and celebrate any success you achieve.

#10GoldenRulesOfGymnastics

educating sports parents

Nick interviews Gordon MacLelland of Working with Parents in Sport.

Dealing successfully with parents is a much neglected coaching skill.

They discuss how to onboard NEW parents starting with your pre-competitive programs.

Gordon recommends offering parents 4 minute Zoom sessions on a regular basis to avoid miscommunication.

Dave Tilley – 3 things we need

1. A moral and ethical code

2. A better education system

3. A workload and wellness monitoring system, that is specific to gymnastics.

Where can I bet on Team USA?

“It’s good they didn’t peak now,” added Shane Wiskus.

“Not concerned,” Mikulak said. “Never lose faith in the girls.” …

Sports Illustrated

The story of the day is Russia deservedly defeating USA in the qualifying round.

That happened.

On the other hand, no medals are awarded in qualification. I’m expecting Simone and team to come back with aggressive routines in the Team final. They’ll be far better.

USA qualified the maximum number of Finals positions. I would have loved to see Riley in the Bars final rather than Simone, however.

National Team Coordinator Tom Forster gets too much blame when things go wrong. And too much credit when things go right. That’s in the job description.

Certainly communication has been poor.

But let’s wait until Tokyo is over before analyzing team performance.

Eventually USAG could decide mistakes were made. There’s not much time before specialist Worlds 2021 in October, however.

Morinari Watanabe or Farid Gayibov?

International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) President Morinari Watanabe is to face a challenge from Farid Gayibov for leadership of the organisation at its Congress in Antalya.

Gayibov, an Azeri who has led European Gymnastics since 2018, is Watanabe’s sole challenger for the Presidency. …

Two existing vice-presidents have put themselves forward for re-election – five-time Olympic champion Nellie Kim of Belarus, formerly the Soviet Union as an athlete, and Russia’s Vassily Titov.

China’s Luo Chaoyi will not seek re-election.

Greek Eleni Michopoulou, Qatar’s Ali Al-Hitmi, Margaret Ahlquist of Sweden, Syria’s Youssef Altabbaa and Suat Celen from Turkey are all standing to become a vice-president. …

The list of candidates can be seen in full here.

Inside the Games

great interview with Yul

Due to Covid, Yul Moldauer had to leave Oklahoma.

He decided to head back to his home club.

In this podcast he outlines his daily schedule. 100% focus on Gymnastics.

For example, on arrival at morning training there’s a hot mug of tea and healthy breakfast waiting.

Listen to it on GymnasticsVille.

Kevin Mazeika: 3x Olympic Head Coach on Winning Gold, EVO Gymnastics, and Team USA at LA 2028 – GymnasticsVille Podcast

Kevin Mazeika — USA Gymnastics Hall of Famer and three-time U.S. Olympic Men's Team Head Coach — sits down for his first-ever long-form podcast interview on GymnasticsVille Podcast Episode 2. Kevin has coached Team USA to back-to-back Olympic medals, including the 2004 Athens silver medal (the first non-boycotted Olympic team medal since 1932) and the 2008 Beijing bronze. Today he leads EVO Gymnastics in Sarasota, Florida, where Brody Malone and Donnell Whittenburg both won gold at the 2025 World Championships in Jakarta. For hosts Mubarak Simmons and Taqiy Simmons, this conversation is personal. Both trained under Kevin at Houston Gymnastics Academy from 1999 to 2004. This is the interview they have been waiting 20 years to have. WHAT WE COVER: – How Brody Malone and Donnell Whittenburg won World Championship gold at EVO Gymnastics – The strategy behind Brody's high bar final and the Winkler decision – Coaching Team USA three weeks after September 11, 2001 – What made the 2004 Athens team the best in a generation – Why Kevin's first coaches meetings at EVO had zero gymnastics talk – The "Surrender to Win" philosophy and how it applies to athletes and coaches – Kevin's bold prediction for Team USA at LA 2028 ABOUT KEVIN MAZEIKA: – USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame, Class of 2010 – Three-time U.S. Olympic Men's Team Head Coach (2004, 2008, 2012) – 2004 Athens: Team Silver — first non-boycotted Olympic medal since 1932 – 2008 Beijing: Team Bronze – Head coach at four World Championships (2001, 2003, 2007, 2011) – Executive Director, EVO Gymnastics — Sarasota, Florida   FOLLOW GYMNASTICSVILLE: Website: https://gymnasticsville.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/gymnasticsville Newsletter: https://gymnasticsville.com
  1. Kevin Mazeika: 3x Olympic Head Coach on Winning Gold, EVO Gymnastics, and Team USA at LA 2028
  2. Yul Moldauer Returns: The Next Chapter
  3. Yul Moldauer European Tour Wrap Up
  4. Yul Moldauer – European Tour
  5. Yul Moldauer sits down with former 5280 Gymnastics Teammates Taylor Burkhart and Zak Johnson