Gymnastics Coaching.com

SPECIFIC NUTRITIONAL NEEDS FOR FEMALE ATHLETES
By Dawn Weatherax, R.D.

Coaches Tips:

Team up with a Dietitian that specializes in sports nutrition to promote healthy eating for performance.

Have monthly presentations on nutrition related topics.

Promote a healthy (training) environment and avoid continuously putting emphasis on weight and performance, especially if you coach a sport that appearance is half the score. This could backfire and escalate disordered eating issues and increase injury rates.

Any athletes with special nutritional needs must see the Sports Nutritionist. This allows the Coach to be a Coach.

Must work as a team and have the same (team nutrition) philosophy.

Promote 5-9 servings of fruit and vegetable servings a day (At least 3-5 servings of vegetables).

Limit the freebies to one a day.

Take a pharmaceutical grade calcium supplement starting around age 12 (Consult Dietitian for earlier ages). Recommend four tablets per day that provides 800 mg/d elemental calcium (as calcium citrate and carbonate), 400mg/d elemental magnesium (as magnesium citrate and oxide), 400 IU/d vitamin D3, boron and silicon, (two additional minerals thought to be essential for bone health, in trace amounts) 1.33 mg/d and 9 mg/d respectively.

Take a pharmaceutical grade multivitamin/mineral supplement specific to age.

Full article on USOlympicTeam.com

Do you know this image? It’s the new nutrition MyPyramind, updated in 2005

American-Gymnast.com posted good video on that most imprssive of ring strength skills, the Maltese Cross.

World class gymnast David Durante is the demonstrator.

To see the video clips you would need to join American-Gymnast.com (free membership for now) and click on the TRAINING TIPS link.

“This, by far,” he said, “is the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”

Danny Way dropped in off the 78ft-high guitar in front of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Apr 6th, 2006.

Way’s new world record for longest skateboarding free fall is 28ft. The old mark was 12ft, 3.6in.

Watch the video on DannyWay.com

Acrobatically, skateboard is limited. They can’t flip, for example.

Or can they?

See the video for yourself.

Way skates out of gainer back flip on DannyWay.com

Fast computer and high speed internet needed.

If you have a fast computer and a faster internet connection, check out high.tv

The best source of extreme sport on the internet.

High.tv is close to what I am waiting for. Dedicated TV stations online: The Gymnastics Channel, The Trampoline Channel, etc.

Unfortunately, high.tv is slow and choppy on my computer.

Former World Champion Shannon Miller has her own show on CN8, the Comcast Network that airs only in Northeastern markets including New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston, reaching a total of 7.1 million cable homes on the east coast.

GYMNASTICS USA WITH SHANNON MILLER – Inside Gymnastics

Shannon is the most decorated American gymnast, male or female, in history. She’s done it all.

I wish I could see her show but it is not yet streamed on the internet

American-Gymnast.com posted a good video article on the round-off for tumbling.

The emphasis is on the “scoop” (flight phase off the hands) over-rotating to a soft mat.

To see the video yourself you would need to join American-Gymnast.com (free membership for now) and click on the TRAINING TIPS link.

Practice Like a Girl, Compete Like a Boy: Training the Total Athlete
By Kathleen J. DeBoer

“I’d rather coach women in practice settings any day, but if we are talking about coaching in competition, I’d prefer coaching men.” I have heard this statement or a variation of it from many coaches who have worked with both female and male teams in a wide variety of sports. This pattern in preferences for different genders in different situations, while not universal, is certainly common enough that it cannot be attributed to isolated coaching idiosyncrasies.

Full article on USOlympicTeam.com

Seems every gymnastics club I visit lately has athletes training Capoera (Capoeira).

Kyle Shewfelt, Olympic Floor champion 2004, considered adding Capoeira elements to his routine.

Dozens of video games, TV commercials and films include Capoeira movements.

So what is Capoeira?

It’s a Brazilian martial art developed initially by African slaves. It’s interesting to coaches because it includes extreme acrobatic elements too difficult for gymnasts! One arm handstand spins, for example.

Good Capoeristas often also breakdance & take their acrobatics to the street.

There are plenty of video clips tagged with Capoera on YouTube.

Photo from Capoeira.com

It was a lifelong goal of mine to attend a Woodward Camp. I finally got there in 2005.

There are actually 3 Woodward Camps:

Lake Owen, Wisconsin

Woodward West, California

Woodward, Pennsylvania

I chose Woodward West because many Canadian coaches and gymnasts had raved about that facility and location. It is beautiful. Markos Baikos, in fact, insisted I go.

Woodward West is a huge camp, half boys, half girls. They offer gymnastics and cheer, as well as some trampoline, tumbling and acrosport.

The Action Sports offered: BMX, skateboard and in-line skating.

Woodward thinks BIG. Their goal for every athlete: Have the best week of your life!

Details on the Woodward website