Gymnastics Coaching.com

cleaning a gymnastics foam pit

Someone remarked, “This should be on the Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe TV show.”

Quite right.

Of course we are scheming to replace this old style pit with the new Jim Walker system.

But that is months or years away.

A resi-pit is another (much more expensive) alternative. I suspect we will end up renovating our existing pit with the Walker system. Perhaps adding new resi-pit mats “floating” on top.

BEST of USA Gymnastics 2008

A year end summary from He Kexin = 14.

(That blog name still breaks me up.)

Click through for the other highlights: The Greatest USA Gymnastics Moments of 2008.

12 days of up-and-coming gymnasts

For the holidays, Gymblog is posting one young future gymnastics superstar each day.

the great â€œwhoâ€™s nextâ€ list of 2009

Four have already been chosen:

Sabrina Gill, Canada

Kohei Uchimura, Japan

Jeffey Wammes, Netherlands

Viktoria Komova, Russia

You might argue that Uchimura is not up-and-coming, but already a superstar. Yet, despite winning the silver medal in Men’s All-Around in Beijing, he’s only very recently become the anchor of the Japanese team. And born 1989, he’s very young.

Kohei Uchimura – Reuters

Who else will Gymblog choose?

boom goes the dynamite

Blythe on Gymblog for Christmas linked to a great video “Skills that make you go WOW.”

Here’s another compilation of shocking skills for your holiday viewing.

Click PLAY or watch Wow gymnastics montage on YouTube.

gymnastics poem montage

chachakid put visuals to this poem:

Patience is a man’s greatest virtue,
or so the saying goes.
A gymnast must have said it,
for a gymnast surely knows!
That in this funny sport of ours,
discouragement runs high.
And even the very best will find
this virtue has passed us by.
When hands are ripped and throbbing,
when every muscle’s sore,
will a gymnast still have patience
to limp in the gym for more?
When you’ve lost old moves
and progress seems slow,
will you still have faith in better days,
and not feel sad and low?
Can you admit your frightened,
yet not give in to fear?
Can you conquer pain and frustration
and often even tears?
When someone else does something,
you’ve tried so long to do…
can you still be happy for her,
or just self-pitty for you?
And when success seems far away,
your efforts all in vain,
can you force yourself to wear a smile
and disregaurd the pain?
If despite the pain and tribulations,
you can say “I won’t give in”
Maybe some day you’ll discover
that its now your time to win.

author unknown