Gymnastics Coaching.com

Last week I bragged on Gymtastics as a great club website.

Cindy recommended New Hope Gymnastics in Fountain Valley, California:

… It is one of the best I’ve found. It is kept up to date most of the time, especially their Calendar page. I like how the meet scores link to the athletes’ pages, and vice versa. I also like how the coaches’ names on the staff page link to their schedule. Very clever!

Their Meet Information page appears to be a good communication tool between the gym and their gymnasts (most of the meets I clicked on seem to include complete information — including spectator prices and a map link to the meet site). More clubs should have sites like this!

The one thing is that the alumni part on the teams page seems to be incomplete. But overall, I would give this site an “A” for meeting club gymnasts’ needs. They seem to cover the bases pretty well. The only thing I think could be improved is the ability to make payments directly on the website. Bottom Line: A well-designed site — decent graphics, well-organized, and lots of useful information!

It is elegant and easy to navigate. Check it out.

New Hope Gymnastics

Choreographer / coach Anastasia Umeh-Lees posted some photos and commentary on Australian Team preparation for the Olympics. You can’t see those unless you “friend” Stacy on Facebook, but here are a few highlights.

… the Australian Women’s Gymnastics Olympic team Preparation camp in Canberra. I REALLY enjoyed my time with the team, leading up to Beijing. The girls and coaches gelled so well as individuals, teammates and friends, and to be honest, this held them in good stead when they were faced with some difficult situations in Beijing. …

The Australian WAG Olympic team named late July

Everyday of my 4 weeks with the Aussie girls was filled with hard work, focus, great gymnastics and new experiences. It was an honor to support the Aussie team however I could!

Everyone was incredibly focused upon helping get this group of girls ready for the competition of their lives. And the girls daily rose to the occasion by hitting routines, sticking dismounts and remaining cool under pressure while being bombarded by many distractions in an attempt to prepare them for the onslaught of cheering and the like in Beijing.

It was a really professional and dedicated environment, where everyone was working together towards a common goal, and enjoying the process. Training sessions would often zoom by, without us realizing the passage of time. What a treat!

However, it wasn’t always work, work work. There additional activities that added to the preparation experience! These included:

Hearing a talk by 1 legged, speed skier, Michael Milton

Watching the So You Think you Can Dance, live tour & meeting the dancers …

Travelling to the opening night of Dralion in Sydney

Australian Swimming legend, Petria Thomas came to dropped by to give a few hints about approaching the Olympic experience.

Pistol shooter, Suzy Balogh, shared her Athens journey with all of us!

And…many video sessions arranged by Peggy, watching documentaries of inspirational stories of past Olympians, who related their tales of overcoming hardship and sporting triumph. These sessions really helped up all put our daily experiences in the gym into a great context! It was moving stuff! Thanks for all the extra effort, Peggy!

A few months ago we linked to the controversial Pediatrics journal article (PDF file) on gymnastics-related injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms over a 16-year period ending in 2005.

On average, 26,600 gymnastics-related injuries are treated by emergency room physicians every year, a rate of about 5 injuries per 1,000 participants. While only 3 percent of the patients were admitted to the hospital, many of the injuries were still serious: nearly half were strains or sprains and nearly a third were fractures or dislocations. Most were to the shoulders, arms and wrists, but a frightening 13 percent involved the head and neck. …

The findings were contested by USA Gymnastics. For one thing, they included all injuries: backyard trampolines, cheer, street tumbling, etc.

There was no breakdown for those who were training on proper equipment under a qualified coach.

Interestingly, more girls are taken for medical care than boys.

Seems the media panic is over now. This updated article offers a much more balanced perspective.

In the absence of firm data about the best age to start competitive sports, the solution may not be to discourage young athletes from working out too much, but instead to encourage them to try out more sports. The journal Pediatrics reported last year that young athletes who participated in a variety of sports had fewer injuries and continued longer than those who specialized before puberty.

Early Focus on One Sport Raises Alarms – NY Times

Front Row (from left): Rebekah Zaiser, Corey Hartung, Alicia Goodwin, Maranda Smith, Amy Ferguson, Ashley Kerr. Back Row: Elizabeth Mahlich, Kailey Tissue, Melanie Sinclair, Amanda Castillo, Courtney Gladys, Nicole Ellis.

larger original – Gatorzone

Time to start thinking about the upcoming NCAA competitive season.

Great Leaps and Jumps make Balance Beam and Floor Exercise routines stand out at any competition. In this DVD, Tammy Biggs explains how to make your leaps and jumps exceptional. Tammy breaks down leaps and jumps into their simplest elements, shows how to drill all these elements and how to put all the elements together. The excellent demonstrations on floor, trampoline and beam show exactly how you can learn and teach great leaps and jumps. This video is a must for any coach or competitive gymnast of any level.

This video and more are linked from the GymSmarts home page.

All of the Tammy Biggs DVDs are recommended.

Many coaches are still in shock after hearing about the injury to Taylor Lindsay-Noel from Seneca Gymnastics in Toronto. Seneca has been one of the top clubs in Canada for decades. Yet they still had a catastrophic injury.

Coaches everywhere must do all they can to prevent this kind of thing happening in their gyms.

Parents and gymnasts, too, must be aware of the dangers of advanced gymnastics. It’s more dangerous than most other sports.

Most of the media does focus on Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin and the stars who succeed. A combination of talent, luck, timing and good coaching. Let’s not forget the many athletes — some equally talented — who did not achieve their dreams. Or died trying.

From video editor nade00 from Australia:

A montage about the sad stories in gymnastics. I cannot even imagine the pain of training your whole life for a dream then having it taken away.

Footage includes Julissa Gomez, Christy Henrich and Yelena Mukhina, whose stories are perhaps the greatest examples of tragedy in gymnastics.

Also included is Sang Lan, who is a very inspiring amd courageous woman. She has managed to keep a positive outlook on life and do many great things. She hopes to be one of the final torchbearers at next year’s Beijing Olympic Games.

The other gymnasts I chose becasue they were perhaps the best examples of gymnasts forced to retire in their prime, or before their career even really began.

I also included those who never lived up to expectations, those supposed to be the next big thing who were then forced to watch their dreams slip away in the spotlight.

REST IN PEACE:
Julissa Gomez
Christy Henrich
Yelena Mukhina
Alexandra Huci

The song is ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ by the Verve.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (WARNING – this video is graphic and very depressing)

After watching that I had to remind myself that the girls in my gym are safer there than at Physical Education class at school. That they are safer at the gym than in the car driving to the gym.

Still …, these tragic stories are an important reminder to be even more cautious in training.

The Vitaly Scherbo Invitational, this year for Men and Women, will be held Jan. 17-19, 2009.

official website

… Michael Phelps is reported to earn a whopping $100 million in endorsements for his gold medal run, which promises lots of exposure for the swim stud, and world champion Nastia Liukin, well, she is doing pretty good as well.

Not only is the Texas native fronting a CoverGirl campaign this fall, but she’s also going to be the face of brand Vanilla Star. Her “Smart Girls Rock” ads for the company were unveiled earlier this week …

Nastia Liukin for Vanilla Star – Style List

Vanilla Star Jeans

related: Olympic Gymnast, Agent Work As Team To Appeal To Sponsors – Sports Business Daily

 
If you have ever dreamt of becoming a circus performer, now is the time to cartwheel your way into a career as one! The National Institute of Circus Arts is holding auditions in cities around Australia for 2009 entry into the Bachelor of Circus Arts degree.
 
Those with a flair for the physical and a desire for a challenge should take the opportunity to apply, with successful applicants participating in the three-year full time degree, on the Swinburne University Prahran Campus, Melbourne.
 
NICA students have come from around Australia and overseas, with backgrounds in areas as diverse as martial arts, ballet, gymnastics, theatre performance, acrobatics and youth circus.

Graduates of NICA’s Bachelor of Circus Arts have gone on to work for Circus Oz, Cirque du Soleil, Tokyo Disney, Cavalia, Circa, Spiegeltent, La Clique and Silvers Circus, amongst others.
 
Apply to audition for the National Institute of Circus Arts now! … call 03 9214 6537

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Liukin was a member of the 2007 world championships team that was named the U.S. Olympic Committee’s 2007 Team of the Year. At the 2007 world championships, Liukin helped lead the U.S. women’s team to its second world team title, the first at a worlds held outside the United States, while individually claiming first on the balance beam and second on the uneven bars. Her three medals at the 2007 world championships brought her career world medal count to nine, tying the mark held by Shannon Miller for the most by a U.S. gymnast … .

Liukin led the 2008 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team with five medals: one gold, three silver and one bronze. She became just the third U.S. woman to win the Olympic all-around title and also claimed silver in the team, uneven bars and balance beam, and bronze on the floor exercise. She also tied the U.S. gymnastics record of five Olympic medals at one Olympic Games held by Mary Lou Retton and Miller (August).

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