Gymnastics Coaching.com

Going for Gold posted a nice pictorial. The stars are Team Russia:

Click through to see the rest – Gymnastics 2010 – A year in Photos

If you get sick and tired of the rah rah hype of women’s College gymnastics, you’ll love the Stanford preseason recap video.

It’s so understated, I’d call it humble.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Stanford girls finished 4th as a team last season with a super smart team strategy. They were the best coached team, I felt.

Why?

It’s so difficult to get into Stanford that the talent pool of potential athletes is small. By contrast, girls with bad grades still get into UCLA and Florida. (Though not Kytra Hunter, so far. She’s trying to improve her test scores to join the Gators.)

As a result, many years Stanford struggles with enough depth to compete against the top teams. They’ve learned to train very safely. And to construct routines to get the highest score possible with the minimum risk.

Alabama and especially Florida gamble with bigger difficulty, and it sometimes costs them.

To me Stanford looks deeper and better than I can ever recall. Kristina Vaculik could win the NCAA all-around, as far as I’m concerned.

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

They’ve lost coach Mike Lorenzen (now at Arizona State) but brought back Tabitha Yim.

… I’m feeling the love for the Cardinal in 2011. Early prediction: Florida, UCLA, Stanford 1-2-3 at Championships.

(Stanford was ranked 6th in the preseason coach’s poll.)

Fun edit from Penguin888.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Big tricks. And funny transitions. … Plenty of ‘air guitar’ choreography, if you like that kind of thing.
🙂

Just a silly montage of how rowdy and dangerously awesome these teenage gymnasts are!!

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Music: “Teenagers”, by My Chemical Romance.

Dance Moms is an American reality television series that debuted on the Lifetime TV network on July 13, 2011.

… it is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Abby Lee Dance Company, and follows children’s early careers in dance show business along with their mothers, who support them. Dance Moms has been renewed for a second season that will be airing on January 10, 2012 …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Yeesh.

Remind me never to watch that … or any reality TV with the word “Moms” or “Housewives” in the title.

(via gym-nast-iique)

Many, including myself, have been thinking a lot about Kathryn.

I’ve seen a few rumours, but nothing confirmed. So far.

This was posted, then removed:

Michigan State senior gymnast Kathryn Mahoney (Western Springs, Ill.) sustained a fracture of her C6 vertebra while vaulting in practice on Wednesday, Dec. 29. The Michigan State medical staff confirmed that she has successfully completed surgery to stabilize her C6 vertebra and are optimistically waiting to see how she recovers in the post-operative stage.

I’ve even saw one commenter on Aunt Joyce who said she had some movement in one foot.

I’ll be thinking positive. Ultra-fit gymnasts seem to do much better than average folks when it comes to these kind of traumas.

Yet another professional edit from the International Gymnastics Federation.

Their YouTube channel already has 78 videos.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

All the best in 2011.

by site editor Rick McCharles

On Gymnastics Coaching I try to link to the best of the best. The most interesting ideas, photos and videos online.

Here’s a year end shout out and thank-you very much.

Best sites:

Blythe Lawrence – Gymnastics Examiner | Facebook | @GymExaminer

Brigid McCarthy – The Couch Gymnast | Facebook | @TheCouchGymnast

Anne Phillips and team – Gymnastike | Facebook | @gymnastike

Albert Minguillón i Colomer, Nora Schuler & Elizabeth Long – THE ALL AROUND | Facebook | @THEALLAROUND

Andy Thornton – American Gymnast blog | Facebook | @americangymnast

Amanda Turner, John Crumlish & team – International Gymnast magazine | Facebook | @intlgymnast

Katie – Full Twist | Facebook | @full_twist

Those good folks post prolifically and creatively. Each is quite unique. Please subscribe, follow and like those as well as others online that don’t post quite so often. Subscribe to YouTube channels you like, as well.

There are a number of wonderful photographers around the world. I’d love to have a shoot off to decide who can capture the moment best in competition.

Yet many are over-protective of their pics. Nobody ever sees them.

I link most to Grace Chiu. She uses Facebook perfectly, posting a few of her best shots in order to get people to buy from her site GraceClick.ca.

You’ve seen Grace’s photos in Inside Gymnastics magazine. (A site that let me down yet again in 2010. Great potential but poor delivery.)

In 2010 the best 2 new text books in years arrived. Both are advertisers on this site. Thanks for your support. If we all have our clubs buy those books, more coaches will be motivated to produce texts of that quality in future.

   

There are a number of terrific coaches sharing their expertise.

Shout out to former U.S. Olympian Tom Beach who’s GymSmarts DVDs and Gymnastics Minute YouTube channel tutorials are known by every coach. Tom’s started DVD rentals via YouTube, by the way. (USA only)

In so far as equipment manufacturers go, there is only one company beloved by every coach. That’s TumblTrak.

Doug Davis‘ company has done more to make gymnastics training safer for kids than all the rest of the manufacturers worldwide, combined.

The best thing that ever happened for gymnastics coaches is YouTube. Thank God for Google buying that company and letting us share with the world for free.

I embed YouTube clips every day. But there’s one coach who’s done a better job than anyone else, I reckon. Yet he’s not well known nor appreciated.

He goes by the handle of JAO. Without question his 2 videos on how to teach kip are the definitive tutorial.

There are many creative montage editors. But one stands above the rest, and has for years. That’s MostepanovaFan. She’s a treasure. I only wish she and MunchTheSilivasFan would post more often. Would someone please hire them!

I’ve been posting gymnastics coaching content on the web since 2001. The Gymternet has improved each year.

In 2011 consider posting your own best ideas, at least on Facebook.

Email me at Rick_McCharles@hotmail.com and I’ll link to you, giving coaches worldwide a chance to see your work.

If you see something that obviously should be posted on Gymnastics Coaching, click the SUGGEST STORY link in the right hand navigation.

Did I not mention one of your favourite sites?

Perhaps you’re an Aunt Joyce devotee. … Leave a comment and I’ll post a follow-up of additional recommended links.

Mary Lee Tracy posted a good tip for Beam coaches last week.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.