Gymnastics Coaching.com

Secret world of a gymnast: starvation, sex and fear – Guardian

“Why do these men want to coach little girls?” – Salon

Right now you can’t avoid hearing alarmist coverage of ex-gymnast Jennifer Sey’s new book Chalked Up. Certainly the publisher added this to the title: Inside Elite Gymnastics’ Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams in order to sell books in the run-up to the Olympics.

You and I know, there are very few “merciless” coaches. Some “overzealous parents”. And that eating disorders are no more prevalent than in the general population.

Getting to the Olympics is elusive. That part’s true.

(The story not interesting to the media is that gymnasts are amongst the best protected and nurtured kids anywhere. I wonder how many journalists covering this story go home after work and drive their kids to gymnastics.)

An Australian morning TV show called Sunrise (video) had slightly more balance than some of the American broadcasts I’ve seen.

At least, it referenced the official response:

Statement by Gymnastics Australia

“Gymnastics Australia is dismayed at former US gymnast Jennifer Sey’s critical view of the gymnastics world and the cloud that it casts over the high performance programs, coaches and athletes training and competing in the sport in Australia.

No one is denying that the goals for elite gymnasts are difficult to achieve and that the athletes require outstanding commitment, hard work and sacrifice to succeed. The athletes who take up this challenge are gifted. Gymnasts within our national high performance program receive the best possible support from Gymnastics Australia and from within our national and state institute programs. The athletes’ welfare is paramount and is an important factor in achieving their dreams. ”

Jane Allen, CEO, Gymnastics Australia.

Gymnastics under fire in new book by US star – Sunrise

Thanks Hannah.

Still, The Australia Gymnastics Blogger was incensed:

… I am sick of ill-informed and sensationalist pieces on our sport being put out for the public’s viewing. …

Let’s Give ‘Em Something Better to Talk About

I keep expecting media interest in this book to fall off the cliff as the events described happened so long ago. But this story seems to have “legs”, as they say. That’s why it was released in the run-up to the Olympics.

If you love gymnastics. And hate the skewed perception it’s getting from the media. Take comfort in the fact that the media is fickle. They will drop this story any day now. No one will want to interview Jennifer Sey.

On the bright side, it’s putting pressure on those few abusive coaches out there. And forcing clubs to be more transparent. Scrutiny on our sport is a good thing.

I don’t deny that the things Jennifer talks about have happened somewhere. But they are very rare.

Jennifer uses words like “endemic”. That’s simply a lie.

UPDATE – from the recent Salon interview:

Sey spoke with Salon by phone from her home in San Francisco. …

Salon: Is it possible that you were just the victim of rogue coaches? I know the Parkettes Training Center has a particularly bad reputation — it was even the subject of an unflattering CNN documentary in 2003.

Sey: [This behavior] is endemic to the sport.

When in “Maz“, escaping frozen Canada, I workout close to the beach every day.

A great gathering spot for local people interested in fitness. One of the best playgrounds I’ve seen anywhere.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube:

Related posts:

flying rings – on the beach (California)

RingFlyers – travelling rings (California)

Leave a comment if you have a playground you love.

An blog called (un)Orthodox Gymnastics — that’s cute — linked to the gold medal routine (9.975) of Lysenko at the Barcelona, Olympics 1992.

Click PLAY or watch her on YouTube.

It seems a bit silly to flag Jewish gymnasts as there have been so many great ones. But often we do in the context of what I’ve always called the “Jewish Olympics”, the Maccabiah Games started 1932.

Anyway, it’s a great excuse to see Lysenko once again.

She also won vault with a Double Twisting Yurchenko. WAY ahead of her time with that!

Click PLAY or watch her first vault to win Olympic gold on YouTube.

Her second vault was handspring front, half-out, STICK. (YouTube)

Jewish Gymnasts – (un)Orthodox Gymnastics

The next big thing in U.S. diving is 4 feet 11¾ inches and weighs 95 pounds if you put her on the scale immediately after she emerges from the pool, dripping wet. She’s also 15 and as recently as four years ago hadn’t jumped off a 10-meter platform.

USA Diving

Haley Ishimatsu

But before Ishimatsu could dream of learning how to translate her gymnastics skills to the pool, much less competing internationally, she had to jump off the 10-meter platform – the equivalent of a three-story building – for the first time. She climbed to the top, walked to the edge, peered at the shimmering water below and shook her head. No way.

For five minutes she stood there, until Tory climbed up, held her hand and jumped with her.

Both Hayley and her sister Tory were gymnasts who moved to diving. As was 2000 Olympic platform champion Laura Wilkinson, who is still competing.

Laura Wilkinson … started diving the same year Ishimatsu was born. Now, after Haley Ishimatsu has spent only 3½ years in the sport, U.S. national coach Chen Wenbo is saying things such as:

“When she learns how to put all the dives together, I think she has a good chance to win an Olympic medal.”

In 2012? In 2016?

“No,” Chen says, “I think she has a chance to win a medal in these Olympics (in August).”

Tiny ex-gymnast making big splash in U.S. diving – Sign On San Diego

I checked with Dr. Jeni McNeal, sport scientist working with the diving team. She assured me that Haley is the real deal.

There was a time as a club coach when I was dismissive of the Women’s NCAA.

It seemed a place for past-their-prime gymnasts to compete watered-down routines for outrageous scores like 9.95.

I was way wrong. The Championships this year, on podium, was fantastic.

UCLA gymnast Anna Li competes on the balance beam during the first day of the NCAA Gymnastics Championships Thursday April 24, 2008, in Athens, Ga.

(AP Photo/John Amis) – original – ESPN

The Women’s NCAA is by far the “best” gymnastics competitive program in the world:

85 schools had teams Division I, II, III in 2004-05 (down from 179 in 1982)

wonderful opportunity for girls to keep doing the sport while getting a degree

scholarships at some Universities

employment for coaches

fan appeal

media and TV appeal

motivation for young girls to one day get to the NCAA

superstructure of the entire NCAA sport system

beam, floor and bars are very entertaining to watch

most extreme floor choreography anywhere

where else am I going to hear ACDC as floor music?

The success of the NCAA, I feel, is mainly due to Nadia’s perfect 10. Everyone in the world understands the 10. It’s easy for fans and the media to follow what’s happening at a meet even if they cannot recognize a full-in or Jaeger.

This is BIG TIME sport.

A few things I disliked at the Women’s NCAA Championships 2008:

Only 4 programs have ever won Team: Utah, Georgia, Alabama and UCLA. That’s too predictable. I would prefer rule changes allowing other teams a better chance to upset the superpowers.

Clarification added: Too much weight put on Team and All American lists relative to the All-Around and Event Finals winners.

Not enough I wish there were MORE emphasis on All-Around and Apparatus medals. They seemed to be deemed “less important” for some reason than All-American status.

Courtney McCool FX (Georgia), Grace Taylor Beam (Georgia), Susan Jackson Vault (LSU), Tasha Schwikert Bars (UCLA) – event winners

The Men’s NCAA Championships has a better system for determining the All Around winner. The women should use it too.

Women qualify to finals with one vault. Then are asked to competed “two different vaults” in Finals. That’s not safe. The Men qualify with one vault, and compete only one vault in finals. Much better.

On vault there are too many Yurchenko 1/1s. It’s boring. Provide more incentive for different vaults, not necessarily more difficult vaults.

Too much emphasis on sticking landings. An average routine with a stuck landing is often over-valued.

The NCAA is super strict on hitting handstand on bars. But judges do not seem to deduct bad body alignment. Performances are so good in 2008 that those girls with superb line should get more credit than they do.”

The greatest criticism of the NCAA program looking from the outside is the injury rate. But I’m not completely sure that’s true. Certainly the NCAA teams provide far, far better medical than anything the girls had in clubs.

I do wish they competed fewer meets in a season.

Leave a comment if you agree, disagree or having something to add. I’ll send the comments on to the NCAA Coaches organization as feedback from the fans.

166 senior and 145 juniors from 41 nations. Lausanne, Switzerland May 8-11, 2008.

official competition home page in 3 languages

Excellent article in Sports Illustrated by E.M. Swift examines the relationship between the World Gymnastics Champion and her Head Coach: East Meets Midwest

… “I’ve been with Chow since I was six, and I’ve trusted him with my life,” she says. “He’s like my second dad.”

Eric Risberg/AP

… Chow accepted a scholarship two years later to a place he’d never been, the University of Iowa, to study English and help coach the gymnastics teams. In doing so, he left behind a world of relative wealth and privilege for the spartan life of an American college student. “I was pretty famous in China,” says Chow, who was making more money than his father, a senior electrician. “He was a pretty tough guy. I’d never seen him cry before, but he cried when I left.”

Chow was 23 when he arrived in Iowa City with a suitcase and a kindergartner’s grasp of English, but he relished the adventure. “Gymnastics trained me, not just for gold medals, but for life,” he says. “There is no fear in gymnastics. If you can do a double backflip, you can do anything. It was hard at first, but later on, Iowa seemed like heaven to me. I love this country and this system because if you have the talent and the knowledge, you can use it.” …

click through to read the entire article – Sports Illustrated

(via Live.Breath.Love.Gymnastics – Shawn Johnson, The Poet?)

China will compete some of their “big guns” at the Bank of China World Cup gymnastics competition, to be held in Tianjin on May 14-15.

(‘Prince of Parallel Bars’ swings back into action – China Daily via People’s Daily)

Bank of China is a BIG sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Should be a good meet. I’m looking forward to seeing how the World Champion performs.

Yang Wei

… After the Internal Test Event conducted, a few of the team members were supposedly selected. …

Competing on the Olympic team
» Cheng Fei
» Jiang Yuyuan
» He Kexin
» Yang Yilin

For the last two spots it is between
» He Ning
» Sui Lu
» Pang Panpan
» Xiao Sha

Gymnastics and stuff

Just speculation, I’m assuming.

It’s quite early to be naming team members.

Click PLAY or watch Jiang Yuyuan at 2007 Worlds Event Finals on Floor. YouTube

Some nice parts in this routine. But I don’t need to see front step-out through to double twist in Finals at World’s. Rules changes MUST do something to reduce the number of tumbling lines. Three is enough. Four should be rare.

Mitchell Mays from Minnesota had the highest score this year in the NCAA on Vault — 16.700.

And was the nation’s No. 1 ranked College vaulter.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Unfortunately Mitchell fell (safely) at NCAA Championships 2008. And did not medal.

I’ve never spotted Tsukahara Double back on vault. And I’m not sure I ever want to.

spotting Mitchell Mays

Related post: gymnastics – the less spotting, the better