Secret Podium highlights

HIGHLIGHTS from the 2013 Secret US Classic podium training, including McKayla Maroney’s return to the competition floor.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NzIzNzE4NDcz?related=1&autoplay=false

Watch more video of 2013 Secret US Classic on gymnastike.org

Biles – double layout 1/2

Sweeeeet. 🙂

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/OTIyNzE4MzY5?related=1&autoplay=false

Watch more video of 2013 Secret US Classic on gymnastike.org

That’s what Jake Dalton mounts with on Floor. (VIDEO)

Andy Thornton remembers London Phillips:

… Some have already been naming Biles as the first gymnast to perform this skill (assuming she competes it in tonight’s competition). However, there was a relatively unknown gymnast who competed this skill back in 2005 – along with another very unique pass and an overall tumbling repertoire that was way ahead of its time.

Click PLAY or watch London on YouTube.

That second pass was a 1 ½ twisting double back! And to this day I can’t think of too many gymnasts – if any – who have competed a front layout to double front as a DISMOUNT! Wow. We didn’t hear too much from London after that, but I wanted to credit her as having competed this difficult and innovative skill nearly a full decade ago. …

American Gymnast – Simone Biles’ New Skill – Check Out Who Performed This Eight Years Ago! And Some Pre-Meet Thoughts On The U.S. Classic

related – Examiner – Four big gymnastics skills to look out for at the Secret U.S. Classic

Gymnastics YU-GI-OH Cards

Yu-Gi-Oh! … is a Japanese collectible card game …

It was named the top selling trading card game in the world by Guinness World Records on July 7, 2009, having sold over 22 billion cards worldwide …

Some samples of a Gymnastics parody version:

Ponor

Marta

See more on Facebook.

Update: W G says that the “original source of the cards is wats-good-gabby.tumblr.com and were taken from that blog and put onto the facebook page without permission“.

I’d link to the originals if I could find them. But Tumblr SUCKS at SEARCH.

via GymFever

Retrosi – words of wisdom

… Rome was not built in a day; training accumulates day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month and year-to-year. Take time and do it and teach it right the first time. It is a given that to achieve any level of success in gymnastics demands hard work. That being said ANYONE can work hard. Champions are the ones who work smart. …

Gym Momentum

Thoughts from Gym Momentum Camp 2013

Norah Flatley’s Beam combo

Cool.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NDY5NzE4MTU3?related=1&autoplay=false

She’s competing Secret this weekend.

via GymFever

Secret Classic Vault

USA will almost certainly send two of four gymnasts to Worlds 2013 to collect Vault medals.

But which two?

From Podium training …

Click PLAY or watch Simone Biles’ Amanar on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch McKayla Maroney’s first Vault on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch McKayla Maroney’s second Vault on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch Brenna Dowell’s Amanar on YouTube.

She’s been training that for years. Nice to see it in competition. 🙂

Watch more podium training on the USA Gymnastics YouTube channel.

Washington State Gymnastics

I popped in for the first day of the annual Washington State Gymnastics Clinic to show the new Tumbl Trak Laser Beam.

Emerald City Gymnastics is a terrific host. Two large gymnasiums. Plenty of classroom space.

classroom

Compulsories
learning the new Compulsories

On Friday, All Around State champions from level 7,8,9,10, about 40 girls, worked with 5 coaches: John Carney from Missouri, Justin Howell from Cal Berkley, Ivan Alexov from the Mac Club in Portland and the Head Women’s Team Coach from Bulgaria, Connie Maloney from USAG and Nola Ayers a Judge and famous High School Gymnastics Coach in Washington State.

Carney
John Carney

more Emerald City photos

Whelan, Tunney in Ireland

Full Twist is at Renmore Gymnastics:

This weekend, Thursday 25th – Sunday 28th July, Ireland will welcome two time Olympian Hannah Whelan and London 2012 Olympian Rebecca Tunney to a WAG Summer Camp in Galway.

Joining the Olympians will be their City of Liverpool coach Claire Louise Duffy, Senior team mate and British Silver All Around Champion Charlie Fellows and junior, Olivia Williams. Also attending will be esteemed choreographer Daniela Nanova, a former Bulgarian Artistic and Rhythmic gymnast. …

read more

Claire
Claire

GymCastic – Laurie Hernandez, Maggie Haney

I really enjoyed episode 41 of the GymCastic audiocast.

Especially the wide ranging interview with one of the highest potential Juniors in the world, Laurie Hernandez, and her straight talking coach Maggie Haney.

Lauren “Laurie”/ “Baby Shakira” Hernandez turns 16 right before the 2016 Olympic Games. She completely stole the show at the 2012 Secret Classic in Chicago and she’ll be back this weekend.

In our interview she told us her epic wipeout stories, opinion of cutsie routines, which area of The Ranch should be filmed for a TV show [Gymnastike! That question was for you!] and cultivating her signature style.

Her coach, Maggie Haney talks about the pressure of coaching a gymnast who’s routines stop traffic, her difficulty vs execution strategy, the advice Marta Karolyi gave her, teaching her athletes how to lose as well as win, dealing with burnout when she was done racking up perfect 10s at North Carolina State University, giving birth just days before returning to the gym to coach and the appropriate amount of time to keep a floor routine.

Click PLAY or watch her Floor on YouTube.

More than any other American, she reminds me of Courtney McCool. Yet has never trained ballet.

Laurie’s one of the few junior gymnasts that have been named to the U.S. National Team.

Episode 41: Laurie Hernandez & Coach Maggie Haney

You can listen to the interview from that link. And watch recent highlight routines from Brinn Bevan, Maria Kharenkova, Kim Janas and more.