Gymnastics Coaching.com

by site editor Rick McCharles

I’ll be attending part of our annual week long (May 30 – June 5th) coaching clinic following Canadian National Championships in Kamloops.

Presenters include Canadian National Coaches Vladimir Lashin (WAG) and Edouard Iarov (MAG). And MAG Youth National Coach, Markos Baikas.

As always, the course will be coordinated by Keith Russell, current President of the FIG Scientific Commission.

Welcome to our special guest, planning guru, Dr. Istvan Balyi.

You don’t hear much about planning these days. It’s fallen out of favour, me thinks. Istvan can light the fire, once more.

Any ideas of genius coming out of the course, I’ll post here.

I’ll be doing a short presentation to the group myself, “The Internet for Elite Coaches”.

The former Utah star jumped into a new sport. Apparently Elite Gymnastics and the NCAA weren’t enough to convince her to retire.

Only to hang up her grips.

… Postell dabbled with both trampoline and power tumbling – sports which involve many of the same skills as gymnastics but require less of a time commitment. Power tumbling came more naturally, so Postell shelved the trampoline challenge for a later date. …

Utah’s Postell takes a tumble

Her goal is to qualify to VISA Championships for the first time, … first time as a tumbler, that is.

Almost 24yrs-old, Ashley coaches at Black Diamond Gymnastics in Park City Utah.

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Disclosure: I’d finished writing this post before realizing that Black Diamond is a club website built by one of our advertisers, Direct Works Media. Click through their link to support Gymnastics Coaching.

In the States:

NBC will be televising the recent Pacific Rim Championships from Melbourne Australia today (Saturday, May 22nd) … I believe it will primarily be women’s coverage, with some men’s highlights included. …

American Gymnast

If you think Russia has been tearing it up in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics, look at what’s happening with their Winter Olympic sports program.

May 20 – Alexander Zhukov (pictured right) will today be formally installed as the new President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), replacing Leonid Tyagachev, who resigned in March in the wake of the team’s disastrous performance at the Olympics in Vancouver. …

Russia finished a relatively lowly 11th in the overall medals table in Vancouver, winning just 15 medals, only three of which were gold, the team’s worst performance since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has already set out what Zhukov’s goal must be.

Putin’s adviser Rostislav Murzagulov said: “The task is set clearly: first place in overall medals table in Sochi is a successful result, second – unsuccessful, third – an epic failure.”

Inside The Games

Zhukov is Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister. (I’m surprised that Putin didn’t take over the Russian Olympic Committee himself.)

Money is no obstacle in Russia. This at the same time 12 sports just had funding cut in Great Britain. And more cuts might be coming under the new government there.

I was guest coach last week at Go For It Gymnastics in Vegas, invited by Dana Brass.

One of the girls was training with some kind of Insulin pump, the first time I’d seen one on a gymnast.

Online I later saw an article about this girl, Lena, a L6 now a L8 gymnast who trains 22hrs/wk.

… Lena was diagnosed with type one diabetes when she was four years old and is on an insulin pump. She is an inspiration to other children with type 1 diabetes. …

Type 1 Diabetes – Lena gymnastics meet

The comments on that post include some from parents of other gymnasts with Type 1.

Leave a comment if you’ve an opinion on the Insulin pump for gymnasts. Especially if there are any complications.

I didn’t link to the crazy story that the Romanian Head Coach called British gymnast Beth Tweddle a possible “doper”.

The same Beth Tweddle that was just awarded the MBE by the Prince of Wales. Role model to gymnasts everywhere.

It must have been some sort of misquote. I assumed.

Nobody would be silly enough to make that kind of accusation … right after his team was beaten by the British.

The next day Forminte fumbled an apology.

Now we’re hearing buzz that former Head Coach Octavian Belu MIGHT return after the World Championships.

This would be akin to the USA, in a panic, hiring Bela Karolyi or Steve Nunno, to replace Marta.

A bad idea.

Update: Dmarten of gymgossip.com tells that Belu’s role might be that of consultant, no more. Whew.

From yet another Romanian gymnastics blog, GymFever.

Sadly, Google Translate is terrible going from Romanian to English:

… I do not know if there are any gymnastics (outside Nadia Comaneci, perhaps) that appear in many magazines. Svetlana I was pretty horrid when they compete, always seemed to receive notes marry well, not really smiling outside the ground where they excel in Chapter difficulty but have attitude and charisma. Every time I look at her land in Athens memorable pass me shivers. …

I believe the topic is the astounding number of magazine covers featuring Khorkina.

GymFever – Again Svetlana Khorkina (translated to English)

Never accused of being shy, Svetty posed nude for the Russian version of Playboy in November 1997 and almost nude for the Russian version of Maxim right before the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

As comedy site Uncyclopedia expains:

Svetlana Khorkina (pronounced WHORE-kina, aka: ‘The Queen’) is a Russian-born gymnast known for her long lines and innovation (often born out of her inability to do most other skills).

‘Sveta’, as she is known, is one of the most decorated gymnasts in the history of gymnastics, due in part to her longevity and her ability to seduce the judges into giving her massively inflated scores.

Sveta earned a reputation as a fierce competitor who remained focused in competition. This focus was often complimented by her excessive whining and uncomfortably dramatic performances on the floor exercise. Her Russian teammates were often warned to keep themselves at least five feet from Sveta at all times during a competition, as she had a tendency to slap, and occasionally bite other competitors when things didn’t go her way.

For the record, I feel Khorkina was one of the most interesting and entertaining gymnasts in history. I love her Bars, her Bars, her Bars.

I had to email to ask.

Leave a comment if you’ve a guess.

UPDATE: Watch Grozdova competing the skill in … 1978!

Never has a Cheer coach got so much press.

Click through to EW.com for details of a terrific GLEE rumour … Susan Boyle to play the school “lunch lady” next season.