tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports … and more
I’m looking to escape the cold of Canada and flee to see Cirque du Soleil’s QUIDAM in sunny Monterrey, México. (Jan. 24 to Feb. 8, 2008)
There’s a great thread on the Cirque Tribune forum:
The Cirque Tribune :: View topic РQUIDAM in Monterrey, M̩xico
Quidam – official website
Just because we’ve always done it that way, doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly stupid.
Tradition – despair.com
Dave Adlard calls it “traditionitis”. Coaching inertia.
What about you? As a coach, are you willing to change? Try new drills? Use innovative equipment? Work smarter instead of harder?
Since you are reading this blog, I suspect you are.
One of my biggest complaints in 2008 is seeing coaches assign too much tumbling on hard surfaces. Repeating technical and form errors. And putting athletes at greater risk of overuse injury.
Too much “pounding” is just stupid.
I noted that Utah coach Greg Marsden, after too many injuries last season, had his team train “on soft surfaces” up until the first meet of the year with Georgia. Which Utah won.
At minimum, kids need to tumble on sting mats atop the hard Floor. Best case scenarios: trampoline devices from companies like TumblTrak. Or rod floors. Or even air floors.
I often assign “wheelies” or “roll-outs” to athletes in a general conditioning program. (Advanced only. These drills can be hard on the lower back.)
Ross Enamait explains in detail the making of his custom ab-wheels:
Why Bother?
Before constructing this tool, you are likely wondering why bother with such a project. Why not simply purchase a two handed, store bought model? I have my reasons…
In addition to its unilateral benefits, the single handed model allows for several additional movements (demonstrated within the video …). Many of these exercises would not be possible with a traditional wheel.
The single handed wheel also offers a smoother, more controlled roll when compared to many of the poorly constructed (plastic) models. The lawnmower tires that I use are also built to last …
Furthermore, traditional wheels have become slightly more difficult to locate in recent years. After the ab wheel craze that came several years ago, many of the wheel manufacturers have either gone belly up or simply abandoned the product. Five or six years ago, I can remember purchasing cheap wheels at Wal-mart for just a few dollars. Wal-mart no longer carries the wheels however. You’ll likely need to spend more money for a product that is still poorly constructed, sitting atop plastic wheels that lack stability. As you can see, the homemade wheels may not be such a crazy idea after all. …
Click PLAY or watch Ross demonstrate how to use them on YouTube.
(via Straight to the Bar)
I believe that IOC (International Olympic Committee) and FIG (International Gymnastics Federation) are quite undemocratic.
Worse, they are very unaccountable.
A group of coaches asked me recently how to send input to the Men’s Technical Committee of FIG.
From what I could find, there is no specific mechanism set out by FIG. You could try emailing the committee members. (If you can find those email addresses.)
Men’s Technical Committee President
Adrian Stoica (ROM)Men’s Technical Committee
Istvan Karacsony (HUN), Julio Felipe Marcos (ESP), Huang Liping (CHN), Sawao Kato (JPN), Enrique Salanitro (ARG)Women’s Technical Committee President
Nellie Kim (BLR)Women’s Technical Committee
Yan Ninan (CHN), Lyubov Burda-Andrianova (RUS), Kim Dowdell (AUS), Donatella Sacchi (ITA), Anca Grigoras (ROM), Yashie Harinishi (JPN)
Perhaps contact Men’s chairman Adrian Stoica directly at his office at the Romanian Gymnastics Federation. (He’s President. Conflict of interest?) I’m sure Adrian will be happy to hear from you.
Or, you could try the general contact form on the FIG website. (Don’t hold your breath.)
Leave a comment below if you know of a better way to send FIG feedback on the regulations that affect the lives of athletes.
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Certainly FIG is not all bad. One bit of bright news to me was learning that many of the FIG documents are available as free downloads in PDF format.
The Men’s Code of Points, for example:
See what else is there: FIG – Downloads section – International Gymnastics Federation
Rick McCharles
I’ll be visiting the high flying Stanford Men’s team Jan. 29th, ranked #1 in the preseason poll.
31 October 2007: Alexander Buscaglia during practice at the Ford Center in Stanford, CA.
high res photo available for sale – Stanford Photo : Buscaglia103107_15.jpg – Credit David Gonzales
You get the feeling the Cardinal is destined to win Championships at home April 17-19th. Certainly they are the team to beat. I say this despite their upset loss this weekend to cross town rivals Berkeley. (Stanford was missing Sender and Nakamori who were training at the Olympic Training Center.)
And I’m really looking forward to visiting the exciting Stanford Women’s Team on Jan. 28th.
Many are predicting BIG things. GymGemz ranked them #2 in their preseason poll. Gymblog feels Stanford has the talent to contend for a Championship.
A short snippet of the training videos from coach Edouard Iarov in France in the 1990s. These kids were way ahead of their time.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Iarov, former coach of Valeri Liukin, is currently National Coach of Canada.
Related posts:
Interview with Coach Rhonda Faehn following Florida’s narrow loss to Georgia on Jan. 18, 2008. (No sign of the baby.)
http://www.brightcove.tv/playerswf
(Video by Tricia Coyne/The Gainesville Sun)
Looks like Florida just might be my favourite team again this season. They are going BIG difficulty. A risky strategy — but great for the fans.
Can Cory Hartung challenge for the All-around at Championships?
With the wonderful NCAA College gymnastics schedule in full swing, a sad documentary about College hazing is being completed.
The trailer to the film is streamed on this page:
A documentary concerning the death of Chi Psi pledge Lynn Gordon Bailey, Jr. (Gordie) due to a hazing incident held near CU Boulder. A documentary about the crisis facing America: young people are dying in increasing numbers due to alcohol abuse. A documentary that takes a hard look at lifestyles of young people within America’s Universities, Sororities and Fraternities.
But I have never feared to send our gymnasts off to College in the NCAA.
University athletes away from home for the first time tend to be very focused on academics and their Team. I’ve always been impressed with how well they are taken care of by College coaches and support staff.
Canadian Junior National Coach Markos Baikas of Taiso Gymnastics likes his new Gaofei Parallel Blocks from China.
Many of the drills we do on P Bars can be done on padded boxes much more safely.
The biggest worry for coaches of young gymnasts is injury to the sternum and chest. These boxes go as narrow as you wish.
More photos from Taiso Gymnastics, Saskatoon, Canada.
The first set of PBar boxes I bought from another company, quickly deteriorated. This Gaofei version look much sturdier.
Don’t try this stupid human trick at home!
Go to circus school.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube
Thanks Alick Warburton (Facebook).
Gymnastics Coaching.com 