Gymnastics Coaching.com

With a healthy Courtney Kupets back in the line-up, expect 4 time defending Champions Georgia to be ranked #1 in every preseason poll.

Georgia freshmen (from left) Amber Trani, Kat Ding, Gina Nuccio and Mariel Box will try to help the Bulldogs win their fifth straight national championship.

Kelly Lambert/Staff – larger version

… Ding is expected to compete on uneven bars and floor exercise. Trani and Nuccio are projected to compete in all-around.

“They are both very strong, very fit, very explosive and very talented,” Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan said of Trani and Nuccio. “They will contribute immediately and be real difference makers.” …

Dogs hope freshmen will contribute to 10th title run – Online Athens

Oct. 10-13th Gymnastics Coach Education Course. Contact Catherine Dubinsky from BC Gymnastics if interested:

cdubinsky AT gymnastics.bc.ca

by site editor Rick McCharles

My home club Altadore Gymnastics advertised for a Women’s Head Coach. But better, for us, would be a Technical Director / Head Coach to oversee all our competitive programs: Women’s Artistic, Men’s Artistic, Trampoline and Tumbling.

… I’m a consultant and elder statesman for the program. Currentyly acting “Interim Technical Director” until we find the right person, I’ll be consultant to the hiring committee. Of course I will stay on to assist the incoming TD as long as needed.

If you have good people skills, as well as plenty of experience in leading a National level program, consider this great opportunity. As a training facility, our gym is excellent.

If you want to know more about this opportunity, email Rick McCharles and I’ll send you the details. Or contact the club directly through the website.

Alberta has huge reserves of oil and gas. The economy is booming. Salary and benefits very competitive with any other club in the country. The city is close to the Rocky Mountains and offers great outdoors opportunities.

Altadore Gymnastics Club

When you ask Olympic gymnasts who they admire, many include 2000 Russian Olympian Elena Produnova.

Her greatest moment was nearly sticking this vault at the 1999 World University Games.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Current A-score: 7.1 (0.6 higher than any other vault being done by a woman, such a Cheng or Amanar vault) and 1.3 more than a DTY.

No other (female) gymnast has successfully landed this vault. Only Choe Jong Sil of North Korea attempted it, at the 1980 Olympics, landing on her back. She clearly could not do the vault.

This video was included in Andrew Thornton’s Smooth Skills series on Gymnast.com.

CAUTION: This vault is extemely dangerous. Most of the catastrophic gymnastics injuries in recent years have resulted from multiple forward somersault skills like this one. One great coach I know has virtually banned them from his gym.

Chris Burdette and wife Kim Zmeskal Burdette are the directors of Texas Dreams Gymnastics in Coppell, TX. They are the personal coaches of US Senior national team member Chelsea Davis at Texas Dreams in Coppell, TX.

Anne Phillips posted a great interview. Chris started as a set-up, take-down preschool instructor. Very entertaining and inspiring.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.
http://www.gymnastike.org/assets/portal/add_ons/mediaplayer-3-16/mediaplayer.swf

On a good Tsukahara vault the lead arm bends in order to PUSH. The far arm is kept straight to BLOCK.

This was true when Mitsuo Tsukahara first popularized this vault in 1976.

This is true even for very young gymnasts.

Woodward West Gymnastics Camp

The stronger the vaulter, the more the lead arm can be bent with a net gain in power.

Sadly some Women’s judges are still deducting that lead arm bend as “bad form”.

No deduction if gymnast’s lead arm bends during a ¼ on or Tsukahara entry vault. Deduct for bending of second arm.

NCAA Rules Women’s Artistic Gymnastics 2009

Good luck to all my New Zealand friends.

2008 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, 26th – 30th September 2008, Hamilton, New Zealand

GymSports New Zealand

Back in early March the excellent video podcast GymnastTV went quiet after show #23 Shauvaughn Church.

Happily, Mihai Bagiu and crew have started up again. They posted an audio cast with Olympians Mihai Bagiu, Wendy Bruce, Chelle Stack, Dave Durante, and coach Ed Burch recapping the 2008 Olympics. Listen to it here: Post Olympic Round-Table.

Here’s the most recent post, a photo review of the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars from Anaheim, California on September 20th:

The arena set up was very rock ‘n roll complete with a stage, podium featuring some of the gymnastics equipment, two sets of rings and two silk ropes suspended from high above that allowed the gymnasts to soar overhead. The lighting effects throughout the evening, coupled with the music made for a really cool production, a real departure from the basic spotlights of tours past.

… Last night’s show featured the six member bronze medal winning men’s gymnastics team: Sasha Artemev, Raj Bhavsar, Joey Hagerty, Jonathan Horton, Justin Spring, Kevin Tan with supporting teammates Paul Hamm, Morgan Hamm, Blaine Wilson, and Luke Vexler. …

Not all of the women’s team are every tour stop but that didn’t keep the fans from screaming their appreciation for multi-medal winners Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, and Chellsie Memmel. Rounding out the women’s supporting cast were Ashley Postell, Shannon Miller, Tasha Schwikert, Shayla Worley, and rhythmic gymnast Olga Karmansky. …

read the entire review by Kris Bagiu – 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars

I still cannot subscribe to the podcast through iTunes. Best go directly to the site: GymnastTV.com

I’ve not heard much about Yang Wei (杨威, pinyin: Yáng WÄ“i) since his All-around victory in the Olympics. He must be one of the biggest Olympic celebrities in China.

larger original – flickr

And what about his wedding plans?

Yang Wei has a long-time relationship with former gymnast, Yang Yun, who is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist (in team and uneven bars) for China, and now a CCTV reporter.

In June of 2006, Yang Wei asked Yang Yun to a news conference, which turned out to be a ploy for him to surprise her with a proposal. In his training for the Beijing Olympic Games, the two had very few chances to be together, and keep in touch through text messaging.

After his Olympic gold in the All-Around in Beijing on Thursday, Yang Wei faced the camera and mouthed the words, “I love you,” to his fiancee. Yang Yun, who was watching said victory on television, shouted “I love you, too!” back to the screen.Yang Wei: “Gold Medal for my Love!”

The two plan to get married after the Beijing Olympics, receiving a professional okay from Yang Wei’s coach.

Wikipedia

Yang Wei of China competes on the parallel bars during the artistic gymnastics event held at the National Indoor Stadium during Day 1 of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics on August 9, 2008 in Beijing, China.

larger original – flickr – kinneyking

Leave a comment if you know what Yang Wei is doing now that he met his Olympic dream.

I believe this is Misha Koudinov, the up and coming gymnastics star from New Zealand.

http://gymnast.com/flashplayer/FlashPlayer.swf?v=http://www.gymnast.com/media/gymnast/0/pub/u/8/6//86/1/3/e/9/u-189c4e49-11c348dc13a–7fb1.flv&eb=1&ap=1&av=sportnet.gy.videos&pv=video&szv=320×240&apv=doubleclick

His Peach is done with what is sometimes called the “free hip” style. (Very little pike.) Much like a “free hip” on Horizontal Bar.

Much more common is the “Stalder style” peach here shown by Cal Berkeley’s Colin Christ:

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I prefer the Stalder style as it has the potential to be more powerful. But the straight body free hip style may be easier for some boys.

Related post: gymnastics Parallel Bars spotting belt