Gymnastics Coaching.com

Just before Kyle Shewfelt stepped on to the Floor in Finals at the Athens Olympics, he looked to his coach of 16yrs for some final words of advice.

All Kelly Manjak said was … “I love you.”

A Couch Gymnast post considers this fascinating topic – The Most Important Relationship in Gymnastics….

Galina Marinova: Mohini Bhardwaj, Sam Shapiro, Mattie Larson

Mihai Brestyan: Alicia Sacramone

Cassie Rice: the Schwikerts, Cassidy McComb

Nicolae Forminte: All those Romanians

Yevgeny Marchenko: Carly Patterson, Hollie Vise, Nikki Childs.

Kim Zmeskal Burdette and Chris Burdette: Chelsea Davis

Carol Angela Orchard: Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Peng Peng Lee

Boris Pilkin: Svetlana Khorkina

Valorie Kondos Field: all those UCLA Bruins

It’s a good read for every coach – The Most Important Relationship in Gymnastics….

Ju Ping Tian, the dragon lady, is on the list, as are many, many more.

I’m not sure there are all that many commonalities. Every different successful coach – gymnast relationship is … different.

Funny.

First season: … gymmie is clueless, and mom is clueless. It’s all fun and games. The novelty comes from wearing a leo at a young age and getting to wear intricate web-style hair styles and pretty scrunchies.

Mom has no clue about the sport, has no concept of what scores are, what skill elements are required, what routines should look like, and is pretty oblivious to other gyms in the area because she chose the one right down the street from her house. The focus is not on winning at all…..all concern is placed on her own gymmie and whether or not she will make it through the routine without running off the floor crying or having to go pee pee. …

read what happens next to Gymnastics Moms on the Chalk Bucket Forum – Thread: Stages of a Gym Mom – **For Entertainment Purposes Only**

Here are some statistics from Australia that speak against the popular wisdom that Artistic Gymnastics is one of the most dangerous sports for children.

Coach and educator Trevor Dowdell looked at State injury surveillance reports and Australian hospital admissions due to sport injury.

Part of his conclusion:

… Injury can, and does, occur in gymnastic sports but gymnastics does not present the higher hospital ED presentations and hospital admission injury numbers, injury rates, and types of injuries found in many other popular Australian sports.

While sprains, strains and fractures predominate in all sports, face, eye, intracranial, internal organ, spine and nervous system injuries that are common in other sports were limited in gymnastics. Because of gymnastic’s stable “field of play” and closed skill type the most common gymnastic hazards (i.e. falls) can be anticipated and controlled. In summary, participation in gymnastics in the Australian club context should not be considered more dangerous (injurious) than other popular sports. …

If those statistics are correct, then fewer gymnasts are taken to hospital for ‘traumatic’ injury than I would have expected. Good news.

It doesn’t account for ‘overuse’ injuries that don’t require taking kids to the hospital, of course.

Download the article here (PDF)

I was disappointed to see that the report does not mention the death of Australian recreational adult gymnast Michelle Maitland on 18th June 2009. I would have been happier if Trevor had included the incident, even if not directly part of the statistics in the study.

Coaches should be reminded of that tragedy. We need all work every day to make sure kids in our gyms are kept as safe as possible.

One death or catastrophic injury is far worse than 1000 sprained ankles.

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UPDATE: Check the comments for a response by Dr. Bill Sands. Collecting and analyzing injury data is more problematic than I realized.

This is a follow-up to the tragic death of Michelle Maitland on 18th June 2009 in Australia.

Michelle was killed when her head struck concrete falling from a tumbling trampoline during an Adult Recreational class at Gymnastics Townsville. The club was found Guilty of safety breaches under the Qld WH&S Act in October 2010 and their appeal was dismissed in March 2011.

If anyone can hit concrete from a trampoline device, the club should be found liable.

Australian politician Rob Messenger has been pushing for higher standards for the safety and well-being of children in Queensland’s gymnastics clubs. And it seems there’s been some positive action. A report is expected by end of June 2011.

Michelle’s mother, Ann, sends this update:

Gymnastics Queensland board of directors has replaced their CEO twice since Michelle’s death. Since their appointments, the new CEO and Board has been taking charge of enforcing existing regulations, introducing safeguards and improving education of their associated clubs’ managers and staff. A forum was held in May to inform the club managers of the board’s decisions and a series of workshops have been organised to remind clubs of their obligations and responsibilities. The first of these was held on 7th June in Brisbane. DVD’s of the workshops will be issued to clubs who do not attend. These actions have been taken ahead of and separate to any recommendations that may come out of the report being prepared for the Attorney-General.

That’s a start.

If any materials are made available from Gymnastics Queensland that we can share with the rest of the world, I’ll post them.

R.I.P Michelle Maitland
5 Nov’ 89 – 18 June 09
You made a difference

The best quadruple twisting layout I’ve seen on Floor was from Michigan’s Kent Caldwell, who used it to win the Winter Cup new skills challenge in 2007.

Click PLAY or watch a Quad on YouTube.

… Leave a comment if you know of a better one on video.

What’s Kent up to now?

Find out in an exclusive Stick It Media interview

Spoiler – At World Championships can see him in ZED™, a Cirque du Soleil show based in Tokyo.

related – KentCalwell.com (online portfolio of his gymnastics artwork)

related – Getting to Know… Kent Caldwell (VIDEO)

by site editor Rick McCharles

I’m looking forward to speaking at the Renmore Gymnastics, Ireland, year end gymnastics shows.

details

That’s part of my visit to the club June 18th-22nd.

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Update. I’m also leading a one day coaches workshop in Reykjavik, Iceland, Sat. June 11th.

Contact Gummi Brynjólfsson for details.

At the Frivolten Cup in Sweden, after the competition some jumpers take part in the Two Trick competition.

What two mad skills in combination will get the knowledgeable crowd to react?

Click PLAY or watch Finals 2011 on YouTube.

The “winner” was Canadian Junior Jake Cranham.

Thanks Brett.

Big news in the Great White North.

Elvira had both the Junior and Senior Champion at Canadian Nationals 2011.

And now she’s departed her club of 18yrs to open a new gym.

details – Saadi resigns from Kips

(via Gymnastics Examiner)

Watching this made me laugh out loud.

Li Jong Ae’s bar routine from the 1982 Asian Games

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Shared by International Gymnast Magazine on Facebook.

… Coach Ed Burch shows gymnastike a drill he uses to teach and perfect BIG tkatchev releases. His gymnast shown in the video is Tory Wilson who competes a tkatchev immediate gienger combination on uneven bars.

Burch was the coach of 1992 Olympic High Bar Gold Medallist Trent Dimas.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/MzY3NDk0ODUy?related=1

Watch more video of Tory Wilson on gymnastike.org