Gymnastics Coaching.com

I use Panasonic HDC-SD5 camcorder I bought in December 2007 for about US$1000. Including some accessories.

It’s great. But $1000!

Gymnastics video guru coach Don Eckert at Woodward West Camp was the first I saw using an iPhone to demonstrate specific drills to gymnast.

Coach Ed Louie uses one of the inexpensive Sanyo Xacti series. He paid less than US$200. For in-gym use, I think it’s better than mine. Faster. The playback is clearer. It has frame-by-frame advance.

Here’s an up-to-date waterproof version.

Amazon – Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (US$228)

related post – flip Mino video camera

Leave a comment if you’ve found an in-gym camcorder you like.

An excellent special event to add to your annual calendar.

You need good coaches, though. That are able to spot beginners. Especially older Cheer tumblers.

CGA’s Back Handspring Clinic is open to all Superoo’s and Level 1 – 3 students. This is an excellent opportunity to develop strength and technique to successfully complete the “Back Handspring!”

SUNDAY, APRIL 26th
3:00-4:30
$25.oo per gymnast

Cincinnati Gymnastics

MasterPuppeteer, “Proud Parent” of a 7-year-old male gymnast, is looking for a book about boys gymnastics.

It’s for a school project.

I can’t think of children’s book of that description.

She’d be happy with one with both a girl and a boy on the cover.

Leave a comment if you can think of one.

Or if you plan to write one.

I had been looking forward to a new TV show called Perfect 10. Original announcements included descriptions like this:

“Perfect 10” is set in the world of competitive gymnastics and follows a group of teen Olympic hopefuls.

Seems it will launch on ABC June 22nd. But be called “Make It or Break It”:

… Big-time gymnastics is the setting for Make It or Break It, an ABC Family drama (June 22, 9 p.m. ET/PT) that follows Olympic hopefuls at an elite Colorado training academy. …

USA Today – ‘Make It’: Families bend over backward for young gymnasts

I doubt it’s going to be very popular with the readers of this blog. Can you forsee all the inaccuracies?

“Roz” Doyle (actress Peri Gilpin) from the TV sitcom Frazier is the mother of one of the top gymnasts, played by actress Ayla Kell.

Peri Gilpin and Ayla Kell

One report even said Peri Gilpin would be the Coach.

The interwebs are conflicting on all this.

Leave a comment if you know more about this TV show. Especially if you know at what gym it filmed. And what gymnasts acted as stunt doubles for the “stars”.

(via gymnasttwit on Twitter)

Click PLAY or watch the “teaser” promo on YouTube.

Looks disappointing already.

Fourth-place finisher on Floor at the 2009 NCAA Gymnastics Championships Brandi Personett threw a full-twisting double layout mount, becoming the second gymnast to compete it at the College level.

I saw on Gymblog that Kristin Maloney in 2005 was the first College gymnast to do this super trick.

This is the first of what I hope will be an ongoing series of videos of female coaches spotting BIG tricks. I’ll call these clips:

female coaches cannot spot … (I’ll abandon that attempt at humour. People won’t “get it“.)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

That’s coach Jessica Bastardi spotting.

Here’s another angle.

Brandi competed it last year at Championships in Prelims, actually. But fell.

Penn State’s Brandi Personett – the Gymnastike interview

Former Soviet National Coach Alexander Alexandrov spent 15 years in the USA before returning to his homeland to resume the position as Head Coach of the Women’s National Team.

How is it going for Alexander?

Russians finished in the top 2 AA spots at Europeans:

1st – Ksenia Semenova – 58.175
2nd – Ksenia Afanasyeva -57.600

He’s cautiously optimistic that Russia will again challenge for World and Olympic titles. The first BIG test will be World Championships.

.. we will select the strongest gymnasts to go to London in the autumn. The Americans and Chinese will be there. But I do not think we will be merely “extras”. I think the Russian team will be strong competition for any other team.”

VIOLA ROADKILL quotes an Alexander Alexandrov interview – I hope that our team will have confidence to compete with China and America as equals

Here’s a good edit of “glory years” Soviet Gymnastics artistry. And some HUGE skills.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

Artistry Is Dead posted another 19 excellent videos on Gymnastike. Check them out.

Last month we linked to a triple back video montage from European Championships 2007.

Lourenco Franca now sends us this link. Quad is shown at about 40secs.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Acrogym CUP Albershausen 2009 – Men’s Four from Great Britain – Spelthorne Elite Acrobatics.

This was the winning routine. Link to more videos.

I saw this on Twitter …

twitter.com/gymnasttwit and twitter.com/InsideGym

Sad.

It’s economics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has more varsity sports than they can fund.

… cut … spending by $1.45 million over three years; the cut amounts to a sharp 24% reduction in spending out of general Institute funds. … current annual budget is $12.9 million. …

MIT Will Eliminate Some Varsity Sports

Both Men’s and Women’s Teams will be cut. Losing a Men’s team hurts the Collegiate program worse than the Women’s, however, because the Men have so few teams left.

UPDATE:

… Last season, the MIT men finished the season ranked 19 out of 20 men’s teams, qualifying three individuals to NCAAs. The women were 76th out of 84 squads. Both programs have had success in the USA Gymnastics-sponsored alternate collegiate nationals. …

… MIT left the door open for club programs to be created for the eliminated teams. …

read more on Inside Gymnastics – MIT ELIMINATES MEN’S AND WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

An idea suggested by marikis on College Gymnastics Board.

There are a dozen reasons why this won’t happen. But it’s certainly a compelling idea.

Who better to succeed Márta when she eventually steps down than a master mind College coach?

Suzanne is only in her mid-50s, at the top of her game.

I think it would work.

Photo – Suzanne Yoculan – Kelly Lambert

related – new site for Georgia’s Suzanne Yoculan

World Cheerleading Championships, Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida.

Prelims: Saturday, April 25, 2009
Finals: Sunday, April 26, 2009

… The Cheerleading Worlds has grown to be so large that it needs to be held at two seperate arenas. Disneys Wild World of Sports’ Milkhouse arena and Disney’s Hollywood studios . The Dance Worlds is held in Disney’s famous Epcot.
…

The Milkhouse and Jostens Center at the Wide World of Sports. The Worlds Showplace at Epcot.

USASF Worlds – FAQs

Good luck to the team that trains out of my gym, The Pythons. The first Alberta team ever to be invited to this prestigious event.

Brittany Crowe competed Artistic until age-18. On graduating High School, she decided to join Cheer. That was last September. Eight months later Brit’s going to Worlds.

We gave her pom-poms as a send off gift. (Cheerleaders HATE pom-poms.)