On his GymSmarts coaching blog he reflects on an all too familiar topic:
Why do gymnasts stop improving?
… When I start to give a gymnast the same correction over and over again, but nothing changes, I need to stop and think what is causing this situation. …
Mas identifies typical reasons:
• growth spurt
• lack of good basics
• unwillingness to make changes
• bad habits
• fear
… The next cause of a plateau is the hardest one of all. That is the lack of interest in doing gymnastics, but she is hiding it within herself. Many times, she comes to the practice for a social reason or her parents expect her to go to the gym. …
The third-largest crowd in school history, 9,198 strong, turned out at the O’Connell Center for the fourth annual Link to Pink event and were treated to a season-best performance by the No. 4 Florida Gator gymnastics team Friday night.
The Gators (3-1, 3-0) got individual winning performances in three of the four events and had a scoring advantage in all four as they downed No. 13 LSU 196.725-195.050, setting a season-high team score in the process. …
Oregon’s Mandi Rodriguez wins the all-around with a 39.475 and leads her team to a win over Stanford and Seattle Pacific University.
… The Beavers scored 196.225 while the Cardinal tallied 195.775 and Seattle Pacific had 188.100 before a Pink Out crowd of 6,143, the best turnout since the regular season record of 7,583 on Feb. 7, 1997 against Utah. …
… “We’re not very good,” said Georgia head coach Jay Clark. “We are not a mature team right now and we aren’t competing like it. We’re gaining a reputation for not being able to finish a meet …
… the gym where she trains, at Rushcliffe Leisure Centre, has suffered from broken heating, outdated equipment and overflowing rubbish bins. …
But training had to be cancelled in December because the gym was unheated.
“It was too cold and dangerous,” said Claire Starkey, head coach at Notts Gymnastics Club. “We’ve complained to the council. …
The gym has been selected as a pre-Games training camp for 2012.
“It’s a joke,” says Claire. “If I brought my colleagues from the US and China here it would be embarrassing. There’s one toilet for 150 kids. Unless the facilities are improved, we won’t be producing any more Olympians.” …
A word of caution from Dr. Ross Tucker and Dr. Jonathan Dugas:
… I guarantee that the media are going to be all over this and they are going to tell you that you should be running barefoot or in Vibrams. You will hear how science has proven that being barefoot will prevent injuries, and that those of you who are injured should blame your shoes as you lob them into the garbage bin. …
If you wish to guarantee yourself an injury, then go out for a 2km run barefoot on a hard surface, and you will be asking your calf muscles and Achilles tendons to do work that for perhaps 30 years, they haven’t had to do. …
Disadvantages of Forefoot Striking Barefoot or in Minimal Footwear
* Thick-soled shoes are much more forgiving when running over glass, sharp objects, ice and so on.
* If you have been a heel striker, it takes some time and much work to train your body to forefoot or midfoot strike, especially because you need stronger feet and calf muscles. Runners may be at greater risk of developing Achilles tendonitis when they switch from heel striking to forefoot or midfoot striking …
As a coach I have worn sandals so I could slip them off quickly to spot or demonstrate but I found that structurally I was developing back issues because of the lack of support while standing. The V5-Finger may be my solution. …
Leave a comment if you’ve worn them in the gym. Or have an opinion pro or con.
This week’s Gymnastike Stick of the Week – Kyndal Robarts, a junior at the University of Utah launched a huge vault at the end of the Utes vault lineup when they defeated the Georgia Gym Dogs at home. She nailed the landing cold a sent a crowd of 15,552 to their feet. She even received a perfect 10 from one judge!
Kyle’s was famous for his form and consistency on Floor and Vault.
But not many people remember his Horizontal Bar.
Not surprisingly, Kyle had superb form, line and technique. Some of the only “clean” stoop Stalders and Endos you’ve ever seen in MAG or WAG.
In 2004 I watched him do many “perfect” routines in sequence in training, often the only issue being whether or not his knees bent on the regrasp of Def.
This is how gymnastics is meant to be performed. (Horizontal Bar depresses me in 2010.)
Gymnastics Coaching.com 