Gymnastics Coaching.com

by Charlie Amerosa

My friends are at home warm and cozy and getting ready for bed

But I have goals and dreams to fill so I’m here in the gym instead

As they were chatting online, watching TV and eating lots of ice cream

I was flipping on the floor, swinging on bars, and trying to stay on beam

Near the end of training each night, after we are done with our routines

We have muscle burning conditioning, like little gymnastic machines

Well I hated it and I was lazy, it just seemed like punishment to me

I took shortcuts and had a bad attitude because I just couldn’t see…

We are spread out across the floor, always spaced evenly apart

It’s quiet because we have to be focused and ready for the start

He say’s “get ready for V-ups”, and that means stomach pain ahead

It’s not the first or second set of sixty, it’s the third set that I dread

On my back getting ready for the pain, I was staring up at the ceiling

When the brightest light blinded my sight and I had the strangest feeling

“Why am I here, I’m wasting my time if I’m not going to give it my all”

Wow! What just happened, was that some kind of magic wake up call?

He barks out the count, and it helps to keep up the pace

I know he cares about us, because you can see it in his face

But he’s firm and relentless about our physical condition

Every muscle, every movement, every body position

First I get the burning pain then my muscles start to feel numb

But I have to stay focused, I know there is a lot more to come

My teammates all need each other, to keep up with this brutal grind

Because we know we would have to start over, if one of us fell behind

My body is overheating, pouring sweat burns as it drips into my eye

A younger girl whimpers from the strain and it makes me want to cry

It is said that what doesn’t kill you, will always make you stronger

I’m trying as hard as I can but my body can’t take this much longer

He always seems to sense our limit, his counting slows down a bit

I dig in hard and finish the set, there’s no way I was going to quit

We all lay back when the set is done and the pain starts to fade away

No one speaks, we’ve been here before and we are all going to be ok

So that night something changed inside me, and I was finally able to see…

The effort it takes to be the gymnast and be the person I was meant to be

And although I keep this to myself, I have a six pack made of steel

I love how I look from all my hard work and I love how it makes me feel

What a great honor to march with my teammates into a gym for a competition

And hearing people whisper, “OMG look at them, they are in amazing condition”

It’s humbling to be admired by family and friends and by people we don’t even know

And I hope that soon you will see the light, just like I did, one night, not so long ago

by Charlie Amerosa (Flipr110 AT aol.com)

photo – Christchurch School of Gymnastics

More Charlie:

poem for a departed gymnast – from a coach

poem – handspring on beam

From a 1995 article:

Adriana Giurca, is dead — a victim of the same merciless system which turned Comaneci into probably the greatest gymnast of all time, but which makes no allowance for human frailty in its obsessive drive for perfection.

Adriana was beaten to death by her coach…because she failed.

It wasn’t a huge failure. Just a loss of concentration and balance which sent her tumbling from the wooden beam at the elite Dinamo Club in Bucharest, where she trained.

… Romanian officials have vehemently denied suggestions that the country is resorting to the same ruthless techniques used under communism to produce Olympic stars like Comaneci.

But a crime which should have shocked the nation has been largely dismissed as a one-off incident, an accident of fate.

That is, until you speak to Adriana’s parents, Maria and Emile Giurca. Maria, who visits her daughter’s grave every day, refuses to allow the brutal killing to be written off as an act of destiny.

Over and again Adriana had tried to complete the complicated beam routine under the unforgiving gaze of her trainer, Florin Gheorghe. But each time she was less than perfect.

Gheorghe, 25, couldn’t tolerate failure. Adriana, 11 by this time, was his favorite pupil and he demanded success. When the weary youngster faltered again, he snapped.

He grabbed this fragile wisp of a girl and smashed her head against the beam, lashing out with his fists and feet. She begged for mercy. “Please stop, you will kill me!” she screamed. But his attack was relentless. Finally he picked her up and threw her to the floor.

She landed on the padded mats with such force that her spine was pushed into her brain, leaving her in a coma. Two days later she died.

Today the small girl with big dreams lies under a simple white marble cross near her family home in Bucharest, while her mother lights candles and weeps.

Florin Gheorghe was jailed last month for eight years for the savage attack 15 months ago. …

Gymn Forum: The Little Girl Who Died for Gold – Adriana Giurca

source – In Memory of Adriana Giurca

Where is coach Florin Gheorghe today?

Gheorghe spent three and a half years in prison, released on parole for “good behaviour.” Three years after his release, Gheorghe granted an interview with Gazeta Sporturilor. “…I paid a price too high because I was honest and correct,” he told the Romanian newspaper. …

GymnPics.com

Here’s that interview.

But Romanian coaches of that era have told me that Gheorghe had a terrible temper. They did not believe Gheorghe was innocent.

Does it matter?

Guilty or innocent, either way Adriana Giurca is not coming back.

Gheorghe has nothing to do with gymnastics in Romania. But is a free man.

All coaches need vow this never happens again.

Two of the “Nasty Girls” — photo posted on the CrossFit Sonoma County blog.

I’ve linked to one of their training videos in the past (soundtrack Nasty Girl). It features 3 women doing muscle-up series on rings. (Not great technique, mind you.)

CrossFit Sonoma County – photo and video link

You know, 5-years-ago I would confidently say “there are no stronger female athletes in the world. Gymnasts are the most fit.”

If that was true then, it no longer is today. Top Crossfit and Acrobatic Gymnastics athletes, at least, could walk into our gyms and out-condition even our strongest gymnasts.

Acrobatically I see girls from many sports closing the gap with gymnasts and trampolinists.

… No need to leave a comment telling me than many of them started as gymnasts. I know that’s true. Artistic gymnastics and trampoline are the base. We want all children participating in both from a young age.

First time ever, Woodward West in California is offering a WINTER CAMP for skateboarding, BMX, in-line and mountain biking. Between Christmas and New Years.

Camp Woodward

Gymnasts can go off-season too, at a great price. Contact the camp for details.

Aaron Fotheringham (born 1991) from Las Vegas, Nevada is a wheelchair athlete, or ‘wheelchair skateboarder’ who performs tricks adapted from skateboarding and BMX.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I understand and respect Aaron’s decision to do acrobatics in a chair much better after having climbed White Mountain with 4WheelBob this past summer. His was the first ascent of California’s 3rd highest mountain in a wheelchair.

Still, I don’t want Aaron or other athletes getting hurt.

They must get proper coaching and training facilities. Though the video does not show it, Aaron learned the somersault in the foam pit at Woodward West camp.

What about that Backflip at Woodward?

“The entire week was awesome. The best week of my life!

interview with Aaron

Aaron calls this ‘hardcore sitting’. He is famed for being the first person to successfully perform a back flip in a wheelchair at the age of 14. He performs other tricks in his wheelchair including a 180 degree ‘aerial’. He plans to fuse the back flip with the 180 aerial into what is known as a ‘flair’.

Aaron has Spina Bifida; he has had a wheelchair since the age of three and although he used crutches early on, he has been in a wheelchair fulltime since the age of eight. He would watch his brother riding his BMX at the skate park and one day his brother told him that he should try riding his chair in the park. Aaron later noted that “I did, and I was hooked”.

Aaron got a new wheelchair, a Colours In Motion’s Boing!” which was both lightweight and featured four wheel suspension. This enabled him to perform the same sorts of tricks that skateboarders and BMXers can do as the suspension cushioned his landings. …

Aaron Fotheringham – Wikipedia

(via THE GOAT)

Can you help?

Santa Claus is not getting any younger. Though his work is seasonal, he needs to be very agile for the big day.

Now this …

Santa is being told to shift the pounds before Christmas – because the obese saint is failing to set a “good example” for children. …

The revelation comes after a medical report earlier this month stated that by 2050 more than 50 per cent of Brits will be obese. ..

Bluewater shopping centre in Greenhithe, Kent, has … set-up a Santa boot camp.

…

“He will still be the same lovable jolly man, but will be fitter and healthier.” …

Santa told to slim down for Christmas to ‘set a good example’ | the Daily Mail

I have friends traveling to England. They hope to visit Huntingdon Olympic Gym Club, home of gymnasts Louis Smith, Luke Folwell and the new National Champion, Daniel Keatings.

Coach Paul Hall is obviously working some magic there.

Having qualified only 2 gymnasts for Beijing, the British Men’s program is looking towards the 2012 Olympics in London.

Daniel Keatings has been crowned the country’s best at the British Gymnastics Championships.

The 17-year-old from Corby took the All Around Senior Title at the event in Wigan with a score of 87.4 to edge out his team-mate Luke Folwell (86.0). …

Next up for the British champion is a trip to Scotland this weekend and some equally tough competition.

He continued: “I’m taking part in the Glasgow Grand Prix where most of the top performers in the world will be taking part. …

Keating bags British crown – Northants ET

photo credit – BBC

Just this week, on my hiking blog, I lambasted Discovery Channel for one of their TV shows called Man Vs. Wild. (The publicist actually emailed me, disappointed.)

Today I’m singing their praises for a special called Discovery Channel :: Discovery Atlas :: China :: Meet the People.

Recommended to me by Jennifer Isbister, this Discovery Channel program is excellent.

As with most of the pre-Olympics media coverage, the documentary includes a gymnast.

But rather than take a cliche story line — young Chinese girl robbed of childhood by Godless Communists, for example — this is an astonishingly balanced bit of editing.

Though Jin Yang has a disastrous competition in her first major National meet, her life is not ruined. I highly recommend the TV show.

(I cannot find it on-line. You may have to look for it on that old-fashioned television of yours.) Kecks notes that segments are posted on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

More information on Discovery Channel.

Chris Sharma, many would say, is the greatest “dyno” boulder climber who has ever lived. His style is unbelievably acrobatic.

A child prodigy, soon after entering the sport at age-12 he was challenging the best in the world.

I saw his latest award winning documentary — King Lines — and immediately thought, ” …if only he had gone to gymnastics instead. This guy is so talented.”

King Lines follows Chris Sharma on his search for the planet’s greatest climbs. From South American fantasy boulders to uncharted deep water soloing in Greece to the future of sport climbing at Mt. Clark, Sharma and friends find and climb the most spectacular routes in the world.

Click PLAY or watch the King Lines trailer on YouTube.

Chris Sharma – Wikipedia

Jean-Yves Blondeau from France (aka Rollerman) on the Grimsel Pass in Switzerland.

On his stomach! (You’ve got to see this.)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Jean-Yves calls this “sport” BUGGY-ROLLIN and debuted his first suit in 1995.

There’s a whole lingo of position names including SUPER BUG (arms outstretched forward), SQUELETON (arms outstreched against the body) and GRENOUILLE (frog). And actions like SNOOP, SPIN and STARWAR.

He will build you a suit. But it’s expensive.

Check another video I would call “Street” that may be even more interesting.

official website – Jean-Yves Blondeau

(via Straight to the Bar: Roller Suit and MarkFu)