Gymnastics Coaching.com

The English National Championships will take place … February 25th – 27th in Fenton Manor, Stoke on Trent. Details and links on Full Twist.

Scottish Championships return this year to Bells Sports Centre in Perth. Details and links on I-Gym.

Amy is one of the most under rated gymnasts in the World.

Steven Legendre – Floor Exercise – 2011 Winter Cup Challenge Day 1. Score: 15.500

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Steve does some of the most difficult and impressive tumbling int the world. But his non-tumbling ‘exercises’ remind me of a 9yr-old beginner, still embarrassed to be out there.

No style.

Dennis Desormier has some suggestions for the FIG Men’s Technical Committee on how to improve the rules:

I agree wholeheartedly that FX has become ridiculous. Yet, even with 5 and 6 passes in a routine, many gymnasts never perform even a single double salto, instead performing combination after combination of twisting saltos and roll-out skills. Is the solution really to change from 10 skills to 8 skills? I suspect this will just cut just one combination pass, which won’t be the huge improvement we need. We won’t see too many additional big tricks, nor will we see more non-acro skills. To improve FX, 2 or more of the following changes needs to be made together:

1) Limit to 8 skills.

2) Make one of the 8 or 10 counting elements a composition element — 0.1 for each skill used strictly for aesthetic purposes, not difficulty, up to 0.7 (a “G”)

3) Have a deduction of 0.1 for “lack of fluidity or creativity throughout routine between tumbling passes”. (I think that 0.1 would be high enough incentive for most gymnasts to make the effort, yet small enough to avoid this being used to sway scores).

4) Break the non-acro into two groups: static non-acro (balance and strength skills) and dynamic non-acro. This will give every routine a pause as well as a jump, russian, flare, or other “dance” skill. (There are ways to deal with the extra group, but that is for another discussion.)

5) Make lack of a double salto a composition deduction of 0.3 or 0.5.

6) Count the hardest double salto twice to (a) encourage a big trick and (b) effectively cut down the number of elements from 10 to 9.

7) Raise the value of many of the double saltos, particularly double layouts and the twisting variations. (USAG Junior rules already do this to great effect.) These skills are both harder to land upright and very hard to connect. They merit an extra tenth to accommodate the execution deductions gymnasts are avoiding by not doing these skills.

8) Count the dismount twice to (a) encourage E dismounts and (b) cut down the number of elements from 10 to 9 (or 9 to 8 if used in conjunction with idea #6.)

So… Which combination of these ideas would be best? why? Any other ideas?

Routine in training.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/ODc0NDY4NjEz

Watch more video of University of Michigan 2011 on gymnastike.org

Superb Tkachev. Interesting composition.

Kylee is ranked #1 in the NCAA all-around.

Gymnastike:

… Denver is a young team led by junior all arounders Brianna Springer and Louise Mercer. The team has continued to move up the rankings this season and now sit at #12 nationally. This workout was filmed on January 7th, just before their first meet of the season. …

Click PLAY or watch Workout Wednesday on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/Nzk3NDY4MDc2

Watch more video of Workout Wednesday, Season 5 on gymnastike.org

To check out what their actual practice facility looks like, click here.

For a team like this to qualify to Championships as a team, they need improve the small details. Amplitude of leaps and jumps, for example.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here.

Too often what makes it on Gymnastics Coaching is some issue: ethics, injury, injustice.

But the fact is that I feel sorry for those kids who never did gymnastics & trampoline.

Gymnasts are the most fit athletes, overall.

But even more important, in my opinion, are the psychological benefits.

Gymnastics is so challenging, … that the rest of life seems easy, in comparison.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.js

What about coaches?

… Look at yourself. Take some time to consider your actions and the behaviors you model for the children in your life. When others look for the good in youth sports will they find you? …

Mark Folger – FINDING THE GOOD IN YOUTH SPORTS

And … WHAT’S IMPORTANT IN YOUTH SPORTS? – Part 2

On my death bed I’ll be well pleased to have spent a lifetime in youth sport. It’s the best education, on balance.

Ireland is one of the PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain), EU economies faltering and indebted.

So I take this as good news.

Ciaran Gallagher, CEO for Irish Gymnastics:

In the most difficult economic climate of our times this can only be viewed as an endorsement of all the good work and accelerated development Irish Gymnastics ….

The increase of approx €55,000, along with internal investment, is dedicated towards developing the Events, Public Relations (PR) and Marketing programme …

That comes via Full Twist.

Only 8 out of 57 sports got a raise. The rest were cut.

It’s possible.

It’s likely the Bruins will qualify as a team to Championships.

It’s possible they will HIT and make the Super 6.

It’s improbable, but not impossible, that with a near perfect meet, with Sam Pezek in the line-up, that they could finish 1st at Championships.

Miss Val would be talking Dynasty.

Aunt Joyce:

This has not been an easy season for the UCLA Bruins. While the Bruins were overscored at their last home meet, they displayed a stronger performance than they have. For once, they looked like a Super Six team. …

Bruins Rounding Into Form

That’s an honest, detailed assessment of the team right now. And a prescription on what the Bruins need to do to repeat as National Champions.

I’ve still not seen her new winning routine from Russian Championships. Difficulty 16.7 or 16.8.

But here’s some pretty solid speculation from Between The Olympics:

… she is competing a piked stalder shaposhnikova (apparently she wants a second Komova). She connected it to a pak salto, then performed the piked stalder shaposhnikova 1/2.

The score 16.0 (6.8/9.2) was flashed on the screen. That is probably the score before the bonus. I am curious to see what else she has done to get up to 6.8 in difficulty. …

Komova’s Russian Championships Bars

That’s based on a glimpse of her training on a Russian TV news report you can watch on Viktoria Komova Online.

Update – Scores and analysis of the Men’s Championships on International Gymnast.

Winner with a score of 87,900 points were Maxim Deviatovski.

On second place came Pavel Russinyak (87,000) followed by Nikita Ignatyev (86,100) on third. …

GymMEDIA

For the first time in 10yrs, the weather is a big problem in the hours leading up to our big meet in Idaho.

After nearly a foot of snow blanketed the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas, the National Weather Service has another treat in store. A blizzard warning is in effect until noon today for most of the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas …

Spokesman Review

That’s one of the boats being used for the athletes Cruise.

Update: The little girls from Omega in Vancouver have arrived.