Gymnastics Coaching.com

Excerpted from an interview of UCLA first year gymnasts:

What is the hardest part of the transition from high school and club gymnastics to college life and gymnastics training?

Niki Tom: The most difficult aspect about the transition from club gymnastics to college gymnastics is the dramatic change in training styles. Practices are limited in the sense that we are restricted to 20 hours/week and therefore cannot train as long as we would like. I personally had to learn the rule of less numbers while making each turn count! The transition related to gymnastics has not been extremely hard, for making gymnastics a team sport rather than an individual sport has made training an unbelievable and rejuvenating experience. …

Allison Taylor: The hardest part of transitioning from high school to college, pertaining to school and the work that comes with it, is the fact that some of my lectures have more people in them than my entire school did! It’s weird adjusting to having class with so many people, but I love it because it just gives you that many more opportunities to make friends! In terms of gymnastics, the hardest part of switching from club to college gymnastics has been the reduced hours of training. Every time at practice I look up at the time and it’s already time to leave to go to class! I just wish we could stay in the gym longer! …

read the whole article – Between The Bars – The 2008 freshman class answers a few questions …

I just subscribed to the videos of a young Australian montage video maker who goes by the name of nade00.

This one brought back a lot of memories.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

These are the most charismatic and famous gymnasts in Olympic history, who may not have won all the medals but touched audiences with their endearing qualities. …

Music – the 2000 Sydney Olympic song titled “Heroes Live Forever”. (I have to put the singer Vanessa Amorosi only just barely above Celine Dion at the bottom of my playlist.)

(via Difficulty Plus Execution)

Presentation at USA Gymnastics Region 2 Congress 2007 (R2R), Spokane.

Rick McCharles, editor of GymnasticsCoaching.com, says YES.

It is easy to be distracted by new technology. Diverted by sites like Facebook.

Yet finding just a few favourite sites on-line can be a big bonus. Locating a terrific video tutorial in the morass of gymnastics clips on YouTube.

Printing a good article at just when you need it at your gym.

A short video overview the state of technology in 2007, the PowerPoint presentation on YouTube:

Other sites mentioned by the group of coaches attending:

Skype – online telephony

Flickr – for photos

British Gymnastics

Gymnopolis – Google Group (by invite only)

Chalk Bucket forum

The Hub – Rafiki’s Gymnastics Video Sharing Hub

… Leave a comment below if I have forgotten any.

Region 2 Rising (R2R) Congress has just begun.

I’m in a hotel ballroom with 3 presentations happening simultaneously:

Jeff Metzger – Getting Employees To Think and Act Like Owners
Todd Gardiner – Understanding What Makes a Great Vaulter
Sheila Lehner – Getting That Series of Beam

Pretty cool.

Friends from Altadore Gymnastics in Calgary, Canada just sent me photos of their visit to the famous Tsukahara Gymnastics Center in Tokyo.

Here’s one. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger version.

My fondest memory from my own visit to that club in the early 1990s was Mrs. Tsukahara. On arrival her first statement was, “Why aren’t you married? I can arrange a wonderful coach bride for you.”

related – interview with Mitsuo Tsukahara 2004 – FIG

Faye Roberts from Queensland, Australia has a professional website, a book and video.

I immediately took advantage of this offer:

Subscribe to my Trampoline Newsletter and Blog and you will receive my weekly newsletter via your email Inbox that includes new Tips, Skills and Routines to practice. Advanced Moves, Trampoline Safety Tips, Free Online Trampoline Videos and Much More!

As soon as you subscribe you will automatically receive my FREE “Basic Trampoline Moves” ebook.

My Online Trampoline Course | Online Trampoline Coach

While everything looks great at first glance …

… red flags went up for me when I watched the sample video.

The (too skilled) demonstrator is using a competitive tramp, not a backyard trampoline. There are no spotters. No adult in view.

The girl bounces facing sideways at one point, a big no-no.

I could go on.

In my opinion our coaching community should be discouraging the use of backyard trampolines at every opportunity. Products like this simply legitimize something that should be disallowed.

The demonstrator on the video is skilled because she trained at a club with an experience coach. That’s what we want for all children, everywhere.

I am negative about marketing this resource to parents just as I am about the book Backyard Trampolining: A Comprehensive Guide for the Trampolinist which was written by a good friend of mine.

Leave a comment if you think I am being too cautious.

Related posts:

are backyard trampolines safe?

“spring free” trampolines

Wingsuit flying is the closest man can come to having the control of a bird in the air.

Loïc Jean-Albert of Fly Your Body is one of the featured wingsuit flyers in this BASE jump video.

Click PLAY or watch it on LiveLeak. http://www.liveleak.com/player.swf

(Via Get Outdoors and Straight to the Bar)

I’m a big fan of the Straight to the Bar strength blog out of Australia.

But Jason Kirby posted some CRAZY weight room videos yesterday, including The Amazing Flying Squirrel:

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

See more like this — Fun with Barbells.

Of course you’ll likely get thrown out of the weight room if you start trying any of these.

🙂

Once again I’m linking to one of Mark’s posts on the Jump Club blog:

… those that have an interest in Kung Fu and photography, may want to pick up a copy of the British Journal of Photography (£2).

… photographer Justin Guariglia has had the rare and privileged opportunity to document within the walls of the 1500 yr old Chinese Buddhist sect, known commonly as the Shaolin Temple.

more details … Shaolin: Kung fu Photography « JumpClub

The classic front lever on rings. (This guy has potential, by the way.)

larger original – RingTraining.com

Often we spot athletes on front lever “pulls” to this position on either rings or a bar:

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Much better for most athletes, however, are what I call “front lever rocks” — chin-ups to front lever position done continuously:

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Most gymnasts do not need spot on the variation above, especially if they bend the knees and / or pike at the hips to reduce resistance.

Front lever drills are terrific strength training exercises for males and females. In fact, front lever rocks can even be done by non-gymnasts as a general fitness exercise:

… “Begin in a momentary tucked flexed arm hang, and then swing the knees forward while simultaneously straightening your arms. Within a few attempts, you’ll be able to do these in sequence. I call these rhythmic swings front lever rocks. There is no isometric hold at first. As you get stronger, you’ll be able to increase the range of motion and the number of lever rocks. Soon you’ll be able to stop in the tucked front lever position for a half second or longer. One day when you feel particularly strong, keep your legs straight.

read the entire article … Lord of the Rings – Input Fitness

Thanks to shagy13 for posting those videos and more.