Gymnastics Coaching.com

As a consultant to the Cirque du Soleil casting department, I track the many new roles available around the world to acrobats.

That’s gotten easier since Cirque started distributing a Casting Newsletter by email. I’ve just received the second edition:

In keeping with its global outreach, Cirque du Soleil now has satellite Casting offices in Las Vegas, USA and in Macau, China. …

… The Cirque du Soleil Events team gives you the opportunity to work for Cirque on a short-term or occasional basis, or even just one occasion, in an array of innovative events throughout the world. …

Cirque du Soleil currently offers over 250 male and female dancer roles choreographed by professionals such as Wade Robson, Mia Michaels, Philippe Decouflé, Martino Muller (NDT), Vincent Paterson, Bill Shannon, Dwight Rhoden and Daniel Ezralow. …

With well over 1000 jobs for “artists” on stage, they are by far the biggest employer of gymnasts and acrobats.

If interested in keeping track of opportunities for your athletes yourself, subscribe to the Cirque du Soleil casting newsletter. (top of page)

Just subscribed.

Check it out at The Gymnut

Hey, one post states that “Shawn Johnson has around $1,000,000 in the bank”. Is that true? If so, she’s already the next Mary Lou Retton. A gymnastics millionaire.

Or check the commentary on the Klimenko Memorial Mediterranean Cup won by Vanessa Ferrari.

Is she cool, or what?

… You came close to making the 2004 team, but didn’t quite. This year, you’re practically a lock. What’s changed in the last four years?

I’m in a lot better place this time. I have a lot more experience. I’ve been on the last three Worlds teams, and that’s been a big confidence boost. It’s helped me learn to compete with so much pressure. I had the skills in 2004, but it was all a maturity thing. Now I’m ready.

What kept you going after the disappointment of 2004?

It was really hard, and hard to watch the Games knowing I could have been there. I took some time off and evaluated what I really wanted to do. I realized I still wanted to do gymnastics, and I still had the talent. The year after, 2005, was my best year ever. I won a world title on floor. So that was definitely incentive to keep going!

The U.S. team won the World Championships in 2007. What does the team need to do to win in Beijing?

I think we have to go in there with a positive mindset. We have a really talented group of girls who have worked really hard. We did it once, so we can do it again. We have the skills to win, we just need the right frame of mind. …

Women’s Health

China may have the higher start scores. But they must HIT to stand any chance of beating the vastly more pressure proven USA.

Alicia Sacramone’s iPod Playlist

(via IG)

In a study reputable enough to be published by Pediatrics magazine, school students identifying themselves as gymnasts told researchers they had tried steroids.

I assume these were kids experimenting, not actually trying to achieve high performance in gymnastics through drugs.

If steroids worked for Artistic Gymnastics, we’d know about it by now.

Check the article out out for yourself:

Anabolic Steroid Use by Male and Female Middle School Students (PDF) by Avery D. Faigenbaum, EdD*; Leonard, D. Zaichkowsky, PhD., Douglas E. Gardner, MA and Lyle J. Micheli, MD§. Pediatrics, May 1998.

Not much of a sample, actually, but it’s still — I think — the first paper I’ve ever seen linking gymnasts to Anabolic Steroids.

Thanks TCO.

UPDATE: The Fabulous one later improved his World Record to 16.600 (!!) (start value 17.3) at a meet in DESSAU.

We’re picking another favourite:

… World and European champion Fabian Hambüchen then showed why he is No. 1 on high bar right now: With a world record A Score of 7.3, he earned a personal best 16.350 points. A routine made for Beijing and for sure the news of the day.

German Men Top Romanians, Swiss – IG

There’s simply not much competition on Horizontal Bar for the boy star from Germany. If he hits, he wins.

Hambüchen scored 92.900 in the all-around despite fighting a bit on 2 apparatus. He’s certainly got a strong shot at an AA medal in Beijing.

Click PLAY or watch Hambüchen compete at the 2008 German Championships on YouTube.

I can envision a scenario where Paul Hamm does not compete AA due to his hand injury. And Yang Wei faltering in the AA competition.

Hambüchen could be Olympic Champion. And I think that would be very good for the sport.

See the rest of our Olympic Predictions, so far.

Related post: German Olympic Gymnastics Team

From the capital, Phnom Penh.

Technical Coaching Course of Men’s Artistic Gymnastics, July 7-17th, 2008

I’m running a 9-day clinic for 24 coaches from across the country. Sent by F.I.G., my Olympic Solidarity course is sponsored by the International Olympic Committee as part of their mandate to raise Olympic sport in developing countries.

The sports of Bokator, Pradal Serey (Khmer kick boxing) and Khmer traditional wrestling are popular here. I’d say the people of the big city are sports crazy with thousands out every night playing tennis, soccer and almost everything else.

The gymnastics venue is at the National Olympic Stadium. They have superb mats. But not all the apparatus is F.I.G. standard as yet. New equipment has been coming in from China and Korea.

The top boys are skilled at tumbling and vault having worked recently with a top Korean coach. Cambodia has high level competitors in Aerobic Gymnastics, as well.

Each morning we spend 3hrs in the classroom. Translation has been excellent. Videos and photos require no translation, of course.

Tomorrow we take all coaches and demonstrators on a “study tour” to a top gym outside Phnom Penh. We are all excited about the “road trip”.

The organization has been excellent since I arrived. And I’m happy to be back in Cambodia, a nation I visited as a tourist 10yrs ago.

I have a few more photos up on Flickr.

One of the 11 greatest bodies on earth.

As ranked by Glamour magazine.

(via IG)

The biggest surprise to me is that the 2004 Olympic Champion’s first release — Temporary Life (Ordinary Girl) — is quite listenable. I almost like it.

But the direction and content of the video is getting harsh reviews in the blogosphere. At least they resisted the urge to edit in clips of her gymnastics. (That will come in the second video, I expect.)

If you haven’t seen it yet, click PLAY or watch Carly the waitress on YouTube.

(via difficulty plus execution)

Good interview with Head Coach Andrei Rodionenko in English. And an overview of the Olympic readiness to fight with China and the USA for top spot in Beijing.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

This was linked from another excellent article by Amanda Turner on International Gymnast:

… The top three gymnasts from the Russian Cup all-around competition in Lobnya automatically qualified to the training squad. Six males and seven females were added Sunday to the squad, which will train in Leninsk-Kuznetsky until the final teams are announced at the end of July.

Women’s squad: Ksenia Afanasyeva, Kristina Goryunova, Lyudmila Yezhova Grebenkova, Svetlana Klyukina, Yekaterina Kramarenko, Yulia Lozhechko, Anna Pavlova, Kristina Pravdina, Ksenia Semyonova and Daria Yelizarova.

Men’s squad: Alexander Balandin, Maxim Devyatovsky, Dmitry Gogotov, Anton Golotsutskov, Sergei Khorokhordin, Nikolai Kryukov, Konstantin Pluzhnikov, Yuri Ryazanov and Anatoly Vasilyev.

The squads include four Olympic veterans: Pavlova and Yezhova, members of the bronze medal-winning women’s team at the 2004 Olympics; Devyatovsky, a member of the sixth-place men’s team in 2004; and Kryukov, a member of the gold medal-winning men’s team in 1996 and the bronze medal-winning team in 2000.

Not selected to the squad were two-time Olympians Yelena Zamolodchikova and Alexei Bondarenko. Both gymnasts announced plans to continue training. …

click through to the original article on IG for more including videos.

Related post: is Russia the next Russia?

UPDATE: Check the comments. Many disagree with this ranking, especially the absence of WOGA, arguably the most successful club in the world. Also, All Olympia.

As ranked by Meet Scores Online:

The 2008 Top Ten Women’s Teams in America

… This year’s list included three clubs from California. While in gymnastics terms NorCal and SoCal are different states, the reality is that it is still one great place for competitive gymnastics. The Pacific Northwest also flexed some muscle and two clubs displayed awesome accomplishment. Oregon Gymnastics Academy (OAG), and Leading Edge Gymnastics (LEGA – Nice job Tony!) deserve special recognition. …

You need not be a big traditional powerhouse to make the list. At Number 10 is Folgers who did a lot with limited numbers. How many gyms their size sends 8 gymnasts to National level competition? This year with Samantha Pedigo and Marissa Housley both finishing in the top ten nationally, Folgers made themselves known.

The # 9 gym, GAGE, did not finish as high as in previous years but their coaching staff keeps turning out great competitors.

Wonderful to see Parkettes, #8, once again at the very top as a competitive club on this their 40th anniversary.

A gym made up of teams (Levels 5, 6, 7, 9, & 10) of state champions, the Colorado Gymnastics Institute comes in at #7.

Orlando Metro, a home for top gymnasts, is #6, another MSO “Atta-Boy” to Jeff and his staff of professionals who keep producing champion level competitors.

When MSO says Gliders, MSO means as in Charter Oaks, as in awesome year! At #5 they also have a young coaching staff that is Hecka good.

A powerhouse type year in a state (and region) full of strong gyms. That is why Gedder’s Twistars is #4.

#3 Airborne is one of those name other clubs have, but this is the high flyer in Santa Clara.

Most likely known for men’s gymnastics (home to John Roethlisberger) the women at #2 Twin City Twisters made a strong statement this year, and MSO will love watching them compete at the collegiate level.

Who is the Top Club in America? MSO could write a book on what these gymnasts and their coaches accomplished. Across the board, all levels, at Invitationals and Qualifiers, they were consistent. To be NUMBER 1, you had to get past BYERS OF SACRAMENTO.

Meet Scores Online

CONGRATS to Debbie and Eli Rodriguez for their selection as top club in the USA.