Gymnastics Coaching.com

Sports Girls Play, inspired by Tom Burgdorf, posted something really important. Something you just don’t read about very often.

I was a very average athlete. Yet gymnastics became my life.

It’s great to see someone thinking about the most of us.

Parenting the Average Athlete

If you have a child on a sports team, chances are they are an average athlete – after all, the stars are few and far between. Every team is made up of more average athletes than it is stars, yet so much self worth of parents and athletes is caught up in the star mentality.

When Tom Burgdorf’s Parenting an Athlete newsletter showed up in my inbox this morning, his first message really struck a chord with me:

Teams will always be comprised of athletes who are different. Teams will always have “stars”, “athletes with a little less of everything” and “athletes with even less of everything.” That is the way it has been, is now and will be in the future. The kids had better learn about it and get used to it.

They are going to be faced with the same situation in EVERY aspect of their life where there is a group. Middle school, high school, college, sports, business, relationships, everything. We can’t all be stars in everything we do. To learn that you are talented in some things and that others are more talented in other areas is a huge life lesson.

…

A team is great because of a lot of people, not just the “stars.”…

Parenting the Average Athlete

In 2007 the BBC aired a documentary called Children of the Chinese Circus.

On the BBC website, the viewers were “horrified”. Read the comments.

This grim and fascinating documentary looked at the Shanghai Circus school. …

Behind the scenes, we witness gruelling training regimes with kids as young as eight having their limbs stretched to the point of agony and tested to breaking point. Seeing these children being pushed around while a trainer shouts “REMEMBER YOUR COLLECTIVE DUTY!” and “YOU SIMPLY DON’T WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL!!!” is heartbreaking.

…

The documentary/film is without narration… leaving the tale to be told by the people being filmed. This leaves the whole thing feeling incredibly stark, cruel and cold… which in itself is a masterstroke as it shows the incredible hardships suffered by the children as they learn horrific looking postures like ‘The Sweat Push’. The pressure and the seething anger of the trainers is almost palpable, which is all the more hard-hitting without being softened by an overdub from an overly concerned saccharine thespian.

To watch these children being mentally abused, pushed to the point of injury and pressure by everyone they meet is amazingly woeful. Robbed of their childhood and forced to met unfair demands, you cannot help but wonder what becomes of them in later years. Briefly, we see a man in hospital who used to perform with a circus, and his list of injuries is frankly appalling. Children of the Chinese Circus is one of the most terrifying and depressing things I’ve ever seen. Tragic and grotesquely fascinating.

TV Scoop: TV Review – Children of the Chinese Circus, BBC4, Tuesday, 10pm

A similar documentary is up on YouTube. (I think it’s not the BBC special. Leave a comment below if you have seen Children of the Chinese Circus online.)

Here’s a sample of the kind of unbelievable acrobatics children do at Chinese Circus Schools.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Before we get too judgmental about severe coaching of children in China, consider the alternatives for those kids. Would you rather have them working in a factory?

I want to hear what they and their parents think about the coaching.

Yet more great captures from Trent Nelson, Chief Photographer at the Salt Lake Tribune. Utah gymnasts:

Two eerily similar photographs of dismounts. Above: Katie Kivisto, Below: Jamie Deetscreek.

Tribune Blogs — Fly on the Wall

You might expect the girls to have their arms pinned to their sides. (That would be more artistic.) Having the the arms forward like this allows them to either increase or decrease rotation slightly, depending on what is needed to “stick” the landing. (This is the NCAA, remember. Landing is everything with their scoring system.)

Related:

vault photos from the end of the horse

great gymnastics photos – Trent Nelson

by Rick McCharles

A group of experts brainstormed the best ways to introduce rope climbing to children at a recent clinic.

I volunteered to put together a short video of the techniques discussed.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Note that none of the activities shown have children climbing high. In fact, we said any athlete who wants to climb to the roof must first prove ability to climb half way, down, half way, and down. Then you can be sure they have the “stuff” to get to the top.

We also asked every demonstrator to climb down with feet. This reduces the risk they might be tempted to slide down, burning their hands.

Not yet included in the video is this point emphasized by Keith Russell:

Knots at the end of a rope are a danger when “flicking” through the air. They also make the rope deteriorate more quickly. (If you must have a knot, make a figure-8. And remove it once the activity is finished.

Better is to set a “no knots” rule. And be sure to buy your rope long enough so that it lies flat on the ground:

Want to know more? One website documents the decline in the popularity of rope climb.

I’m not so sure about that. There are more kids climbing ropes better today than ever in history, I reckon. Thanks to gymnastics coaches. It’s one of our very best activities.

If you have any suggestions or additional drills for the video, leave a comment below. Thanks.

Chessia made us aware of this interesting program:

The New York Kids Club, now in its seventh season, has become New York City’s premier facility for children between the ages of 6 months and 12 years old.

Firmly believing that children succeed in a structured and nurturing environment, the curriculum for the New York Kids Club classes provides children with the opportunity to build confidence through consistent performance in both physically challenging courses such as gymnastics, rock climbing, and martial arts, as well as the opportunity to express their own creativity and individuality through dance, drama, music, art and cooking. …

New York KiDs Club

Seems we don’t have CN8, The Comcast Network, streaming where I live. (At least their confusing, slow loading website has never yet delivered me streaming Shannon Miller.)

The best gymnastics TV show anywhere — Gymnastics 360 — is on cn8. I guess it streams only to 9 million Comcast cable viewers in 12 states on the east coast of the USA.

Too bad, so sad, for me.

Here’s the tentative line-up of shows for this season:

… Hosted by two-time Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller and CN8’s Emmy Award-winning Gregg Murphy, the show features exciting gymnastics action, up-and-coming stars and local athletes. …

“Gymnastics 360” episodes airing on CN8 include:

Good Luck Beijing International Invitational, Saturday, December 29

In Pursuit of Gold, Saturday, January 12

George Washington Invitational, Saturday, January 26

Gym Gala, Saturday, February 9

UCLA at Georgia, Saturday, March 29

European Women’s Championship, Saturday, April 19

NCAA Men’s Championship

European Men’s Championship, Saturday, May 24

Beijing: Ready or Not, Saturday, June 28th

Shannon assesses the U.S. Olympic Trials and the European Championships as the stage is set for the Olympic Games in August. The special will feature highlights, interviews and expert analysis.

***Schedule subject to change

CN8 Press Release

Am I confused?

Is there no way for me to purchase these shows? Or must I wait until someone posts them on YouTube? Leave a comment if you know how to make it work.

Seems Comcast should find some way to market their product to fans around the world who want to buy it.

See a sample: In Pursuit of Gold, Saturday, January 12

A good event coming up in my part of the world:

National Gymnastics Week is an opportunity to increase gymnastics awareness by generating interest and enthusiasm about our sport.

This week-long celebration is held throughout Canada, February 9-17, 2008 and is dedicated to bringing together the thousands of Canadians of all ages and levels who already participate in gymnastics and to encourage all other Canadians to try the sport.

The Alberta Gymnastics Federation (AGF) has organized mall demo opportunities where your participants will act as ambassadors of gymnastics by performing and demonstrating their love of the sport. This event will allow gymnastics to be showcased for the public to see and will generate interest for your club and the sport. …

Gymnastics Alberta

More information complete with documentation on Gymnastics Canada – Gymnastique Canada.

Back in the 1990s I was interim Head Coach for a year of Can-Am Gymnastics. A really great coaching experience.

And I got back to my old gym for the first day of classes in 2008. The real Head Coach Sheralynn Steele and I attended a coaching clinic together in Saskatoon.

Children learn to understand movement through exploration, experimentation and practice. Gymnastics activities improve coordination, flexibility, strength, and endurance like no other sport can. Gymnastics also enhances self-esteem, and encourages a positive self-image. Our coaching staff is nationally certified in gymnastics and has many years of experience working with children of all ages.

Can-Am Gymnastics Club

more photos

This is cool. At a Georgia NCAA demonstration:

… Grace Taylor apparently attempting to set a school record for number of Comanecis in a row on bars.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube:

(more videos via A sneek peek at Georgia « The Gymblog)

A large crowd is expected for Friday’s gymnastics meet featuring No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Georgia.

Gator Gymnastics News @ GatorZone.com

Gator Gymnastics

Georgia Dogs

Three-time defending national champion Georgia Gym Dogs have set a new season ticket sales record with 6,836 sold to date surpassing the previous record of 6,043 set last year.

How many spectators are you getting out to your competitions? Parking is not a problem in Canada.

This battle is going to be close, I expect. New Mom Rhonda Faehn will be back coaching her team at home.