problem with USA J.O. compulsories

Much of Canada is adopting the American program. I love it. Overall it’s far better than the hodge podge of ever changing rules Canadian girls have had in the past.

One big downside!

Tony Retrosi:

… USAG compulsory program. The average age of the Level 3’s in most gyms is 8 years old. If they do 1 level per year

Level 4 – 9
Level 5 – 10
Level 6 – 11
Level 7 – 12
Level 8 – 13
Level 9 – 14
Level 10- 15

You are simply going to run out of time. How can you take the USAG system and use it to the benefit of most gymnasts and certainly for the more talented gymnasts? …

Problems with Linear Gymnastics

Retrosi timeline

Your training plan should be independent of any set of judging rules.

Don’t limit your kids.

Oréane Lechenault – Floor

ILLUSION TURNS:

Oréane, who is eligible for the 2016 Olympics, is my new obsession. I live for her unique choreography on floor. She went for a completely different style …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

via The best of the Top Gym

connecting backward handsprings

Best practice is not to rush. Wait until the single handspring is very consistent before connecting two.

If the gymnast is ready you’ll not need to spot many. Use drills like these posted by Nick Blanton.

Click PLAY or watch it on Facebook.

Role of Strength in Gymnastics

Himanshu Dave is a coach and judge in India. He’s working on a series of resource books, the first addressing strength.

It’s a general overview readable by non-gymnasts.

Himanshu book

If you wanted to get a copy, you’d contact the publisher, HEMSA.

Eileen Langsley – Roar of the Lion

A new souvenir book celebrating the great achievements of British Gymnasts at the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow
A new souvenir book celebrating the great achievements of British Gymnasts at the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow

Not only did both mens and womens teams qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games but they also achieved unprecedented success winning medals in the team and apparatus competitions. …

details

Simone Biles for SI’s SportsPERSON of the Year

… Biles, 18, also doesn’t do second place. She hasn’t lost the all-around competition at a meet since March 2013, and she continued an unprecedented three-year run of dominance in 2015, becoming the first woman to win three straight world championships in the all-around. …

Her talent might never have been discovered if Biles hadn’t visited a gym, Bannon’s Gymnastix in Spring, Texas, on a day-care field trip when she was six. One of the coaches there noticed her copying the moves of some of the gymnasts and doing it remarkably well. The staff sent a letter home to her family, and Biles began taking recreational classes at Gymnastix under Aimee Boorman, who remains her coach today. …

Click PLAY or watch it on SI.

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1