Gymnastics Coaching.com

Where I live there is often a slight drop in numbers after Christmas. But others see registrations climb.

Kelly Dornon-Heimsoth, owner of Siouxland Gymnastics, Dance and Cheer Academy, said the months of January and February are the busiest for her facility.

During these months, the academy averages a 10 percent increase in enrollment, Dornon-Heimsoth said.

There are more than 400 children enrolled in artistic gymnastics there, about 150 to 175 children in the dance/cheer program and about 80 to 90 children in the White Tiger Martial Arts Academy, also located within the facility.

Strength and flexibility are two of the main benefits of gymnastics, Dornon-Heimsoth said — attributes that will help youngsters in any sport they decide to pursue as they grow.

The article states

About 7 percent of U.S. children ages 6 to 11 were overweight in 1980. By 2004, that number had ballooned to 18.8 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The statistics are even more daunting among adolescents. Only 5 percent of U.S. children ages 12 to 19 were overweight in 1980. By 2004, that rate had more than tripled to 17.1 percent.

Sioux City Journal: Winter months thwart kids’ exercise

UWEC Gymnastics team poster – Rick Mickelson, University of Wisconsin

Former rhythmic gymnast Elena Lev is a work of art. She performed this simple but captivating act in Cirque du Soleil’s Alegría for 7 years.

This is the most watched video on YouTube tagged with the word “gymnastics”.

You’ll join over 560,000 other fans if you click PLAY, or watch Elena on YouTube.

December 8 & 9, 2006

UPDATE: More information on the competition posted on GymScoreDepot.

I wouldn’t miss the Canadian Men’s National Team selection meet, hosted once again in Cow Town.

Canada has a good shot at qualifying as a team for the 2008 Olympics. Guys will already be fighting for spots on the team.

Here’s a superb collection of Acrobatic Gymnastics shots taken by the official FIG Photographer.

more pics from this collection РFIG РF̩d̩ration Internationale de Gymnastique

Volker Minkus. minkusimages.de

I had a Spanish comment on this blog from Rafael:

deseo conocer muchos tips y consejos pero en español. please. thank very much.

Using the Babelfish webpage, it translated from Spanish to:

desire to know many tips and advice but in Spanish please. thank very much.

I recommend you use Babelfish (or one of the alternatives) for translating these posts if English is not your first language. The internet is still mainly in English though that is changing quickly.

Google already offers “translate this page” into English, a service I use all the time. It shows up on results pages when you do a search and find a non-English page.

Men’s coaches would have a hundred different pommel training devices if they could.

Here’s one at Calgary Gymnastics Centre, home of Adam Wong.

Alexandra Orlando is on some run!

She won all six rhythmic gymnastics events included as part of the gymnastics program at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne tying the single games record.

And now was just named Commonwealth Games “female athlete of the year”. Wow!

That puts a gymnast ahead of every other female athlete in the second largest international games. Congratulations.

The “male athlete of the year” was Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell, by comparison.

Alex trains at Ritmika in Toronto under Mimi Masleva.

… this stunning young woman instantly became the standard-bearer for her sport and its most recognizable star since Lori Fung of Vancouver won gold in the sport’s Olympic debut in 1984 at Los Angeles.

Alexandra went on to become our national champion for the fifth straight year and then cracked the top 15 in her sport internationally. Many say she is already number one in the world at ribbons, which is a key element of rhythmic gymnastics.

She has her eyes on an even bigger prize: the 2008 Olympics. Alex is now ranked 15th, internationally. She is now a current co author of her autobiography “Alexandra Orlando: In Pursuit of Victory” which came out on September 29th 2006.

Alexandra Orlando – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alexandra Orlando: In Pursuit Of Victory

Peter Pidcoe wrote a biomechanical analysis of common errors on the problematic flyaway dismount.

His article is quite technical. But most coaches will agree with the list:

1) gymnast tucks too soon prior to bar release

2) gymnast hangs on too long … or “closes” shoulder angle prior to release

3) gymnast throws the head back on or before release (often releasing in the arched position, as well)

Of the three, the first two errors are far more serious to me. If a beginner hits the bar once, progress can be set back 3-months or more!

The third error reduces the chance of hitting the bar. I call those flyaways “whip backs”.

Training Uneven Parallel Bar Back Salto Dismounts – Technique

At every age group competition I attend, there are very few good flyaways. This is one of the most challenging skills kids learn.

Coaches need to start at a younger age / stage and devote more attention to flyaway dismounts.

Check my progressions to prevent these errors.

If you like this article, you may want to search for other posts with the key word “flyaway”.

– Rick McCharles, editor GymnasticsCoaching.com

Horizontal Bar and Asymmetric Bars

Shaping skills with drills:

One of the worst things that can happen to a young gymnast is to hit the bar on a flyaway dismount.

As a coach, planning to prevent this accident is my highest priority.

My favourite drills include:

simple release drills with beginners age 4-5

flyaway release to “flat back” landing age 5-6

spot layout forward (reverse) flyaway to flat back age 5-6

I recommend doing 1 year of 3/4 forward flyaway (3/4 salto forwards to flat back landing) with beginners before starting regular flyaway (salto backwards).

Why start with forward flyaway?

It is no more difficult than regular backward flyaway — but is much safer. Children have far less chance to hit the bar with their feet. Beginners can see where they are going, as they do on dive rolls.

Indeed, I have had hundreds of once-a-week recreation gymnasts learn 3/4 forward flyaway in one or two trainings. And be able to show off that impressive skill to Mom & Dad into a pit, safely. (Easiest is a forward somersault from rings into the pit, if you have rings over a pit in your gym.)

When I have a great deal of confidence in a child doing forward flyaway, I start developing the regular backward flyaway.

Unfortunately, backward flyaway requires a great deal of safety spotting. Normally I do not have time to spot as many backward flyaway drills as I wish I could.

To supplement, I set up as many non-spotting stations as I can — the ultimate being the one shown in the photo sequence.

The foam cube is a target for the feet, set lower & further than optimal to ensure the gymnast deliberately releases early.

Kids love these drills. They are happy to practice flyaway all work-out. They build confidence.

The set-up in the photo sequence is very steep! Recommended only for advanced, confident kids. Most beginners would have the mats closer to the bars.

This drill is a game, not a flyaway. But it will help the kids learn to “pitch out” — displace the centre of gravity forwards at the instant of release. They need hang on only about 1/10th of one second too long to hit the bar.

I still need to spot hundreds, or thousands of flyaways for each gymnast watching closely for the phenomenon I call “creep”.

Many kids tend to creep closer & closer to the bar before the one turn when they hit their feet or shins. If I suspect a gymnast is creeping, they must go back to pitch-out drills.

Ideally a gymnast learns layout flyaway first. No tucked flyaways until they start turning double somersaults.

Why?

Tucked flyaways have a tendency to bring the feet & centre of gravity closer to the bar, not further. Tucked flyaways are more dangerous than layout.

The only problem teaching layout flyaway first, is that beginners often do not have enough swing to rotate to their feet.

Solution? I do all layout flyaways as 3/4 somersaults to land on hands & knees on a soft mat. This again helps avoid the off-chance of hitting the feet on the bar.

Ideally, a gymnast needs not land on their feet until they swing from handstand.

The result? A high, slow rotating flyaway dismount.

Does it sound too easy? It is. This is a short article.

If you find a coach who has all gymnasts in a club doing reasonable flyaways, you have found a very good coach. Flyaway is one of the most technical skills we teach.

Go slow. Be patient. Withdraw spotting reluctantly.

At Taiso Gymnastics we required gymnasts doing flyaway dismounts without spot to do them over the pit. And had a team mate slide a soft mat along the bar just in case they were close on that one turn. This safeguard is quite common in men’s gymnastics, surprisingly rare in women’s.

photo sequence – Funtastics Gymnastics, Idaho, USA – coach Derek Rennebaum

This post was updated from the original on the i-NEEDtoKnow website.

If you like this article, you may want to search for other posts with the key word “flyaway”.

trivia – that’s Hardy Fink, past FIG Men’s Tech Chair in the background of the photo sequence

Yet another one of these cases.

Is it not a waste of time for the legal system?

MADISON, WIS. — A state appeals court on Thursday rejected a lawsuit by a boy who wanted to compete on his high school’s girls’ gymnastics team.

Newsvine – Court: Boy Can’t Join Girls’ Gym Team

The simple solution is to disallow anyone in any sport from competing against the opposite sex, except in co-ed sport situations.

Sorry Michelle Wie.