Gymnastics Coaching.com

On this site I’ve linked only 4 posts referencing books and manuals. But 60 references to video clips and DVD.

Gymnastics coaching is so complex it is difficult to explain on paper. A few great books and manuals have been written. But most of those sit on the shelf getting dusty.

It’s easier and faster to access digital content like a video clip on YouTube, a web page, or this blog, for example.

The once excellent Gymnastics Canada competitive coaching manuals (one published 22-years-ago) still have some good content. But at a recent coaching course nearly every coach attending found them outdated, questioning why they were mandatory.

Jeff Thomson in New Zealand found a solution to the dilemma of outdated curriculum texts. He put together binders of up-to-date articles and book excerpts. This is legal, cost effective and the resource was far more useful to coaches than any text.

Are there any excellent, up-to-date coaching manuals available in 2006?

I help promote the Up Down All Around gymnastics lesson plans. No coach or teacher wants to take a laptop into the recreational program — hard copy lesson plans are best.

Other lesson plans are good value too. Gymnastics Canada’s CanGym program I recommend to all recreation coaches and leaders. It is currently under revision, by the way.

Please leave a REPLY below if you have any other books and manuals to recommend. We will post them on the blog.

I track search terms like “gymnastics coaching” in order to post the best links on this blog.

For years Google has been the best search engine. The biggest competitors (Yahoo and Microsoft) produce far inferior results and a lot more advertising links.

Imagine my surprise when GymnasticsCoaching.com came up #1 on Microsoft today:

On Google we are only #10.

The higher the ranking, the more coaches will find this site.

Words I never expected to utter in the same breath: “Congratulations Microsoft.”

Lets look again at the controversial finals Horizontal Bar routine of Alexi Nemov from Athens 2004.

Click PLAY or watch the video on YouTube.

I spoke to one of the judges who felt strongly this routine could not have finished higher than 5th no matter how many times you watch the replay. There are definite deductions.

Nemov is a crowd favourite with fantastic style, amplitude and artistry. Everyone wanted him to finish with a medal — but he made errors.

This type of routine with multiple connected release parts is what should be winning the 2006 World Championships. I look forward to seeing what happens with the new code.

Nemov is a class guy who handled Athens with aplomb. Certainly one of my favourite gymnasts of all time.

UPDATE – some good comments on the Yin blog

Olympic Floor Champion Kyle Shewfelt is training for his third Olympics.

But it’s not easy when you are a National hero. As a popular motivational speaker, Kyle has no end of engagements and celebrity appearances around which to juggle training.

This time he’s off to the world’s most important Film Festival, a star in the critically acclaimed White Palms — a Hungarian film where Kyle plays a talented but problematic Olympic hopeful. (A scenario entirely fictional he’ll be quick to tell you.)

Around promotional appearances for the film, Kyle will be training with former coach Kelly Manjak.

cover boy Kyle Shewfelt – most influential Calgarians under 40

Rick McCharles

Gymnastics Canada recommends coaches use the “Understand – Teach” model.

This is a simplified representation of the process that every coach uses when teaching gymnastics skills.

The fill-in-the-blank form below is the one I use in Canadian coach education workshops to:

describe an ideal model of a skill

identify important biomechanical “movement patterns”

list prerequiste physical qualities necessary

list important progressions

list common errors seen in the skill, usual causes and possible corrections.

It’s a useful tool for coaches.

larger version (.pdf format)

If this form is of interest to you, you can get a detailed 8-page description of how it works. Below is sample content.

entire document (.pdf format)

It had to come.

A website dedicated to the sport of jumping on hotel room beds.

UPDATE – A couple of days after posting this link I visited Cirque du Soleil’s training centre in Montreal. Coincidentally, 4 gymnasts in training were learning a comedy routine for the Corteo show on two trampolines dressed up like giant beds. Acrobatic skills included 1/1 twist and 2/1 back.

The ultimate bed jumps, I would say.

We got an enthusiastic shout out from BedJump.com

Every coach worries about a “fluke” accident resulting in a serious injury.

I was moved by Andrew Donnellan’s story and his admirable response to a quadriplegic spinal injury suffered May 12th, 2006.

The Arizona Daily Star is posting a series on “Drew’s Journey” and I respect the reporting. It is not at all sensationalized.

I have taken a team to Drew’s club in Tuscon in the past. Indeed, many gymnasts on that trip called it our best ever gymnastics tour. The facility and coaching are first class.

Drew was a nationally ranked Level 10 gymnast doing a basic single somersault he had done perfectly hundreds of times.

How to help Drew:

The Andrew Donnellan Recovery Fund has set up an account, numbered 2552379782, at Wells Fargo Bank. Donations are also accepted at:
P.O. Box 89173, Tucson, AZ, 85752-0173

On Oct. 14, Drew’s friends and family will hold a fundraiser featuring a dinner and a silent auction. For information, call Kate Muniz at 520-631-4026.

Last week coach Pat Carmichael showed me this video clip of Tye Hill, one radical tumbler. I like the split layout into quad twist off TumblTrak.

Looks to me Tye could do standing double twist.

Click PLAY on the video below or watch the clip on YouTube.

Former Canadian National Team member Steve MacLean finally blasted off (the flight was delayed), his second trip to space.

Steve is looking forward to 2 spacewalks and working the robotic Canadarm2 during his 10 days in the space shuttle.

My favourite images of Steve, however, are seeing him doing flips and twists in weightless conditions in space.

We all dream of doing acrobatics in low gravity conditions!

More information on Gymnastics Canada.

I’d like to try the wide single pommel as a progression for single pommel circles.

Gym-Trix, the creator of the Ultra Dome, has added a Pommel Top to the best circle trainer in the world! Safe and stable, the Pommel Top is the latest innovation in the pommel horse training. This new top adds yet another dimension to progressive horse training. Best of all, the Ultra Dome base interchanges with the Pommel Top trainer. Current Ultra Dome owners can order just the Pommel Top and accessory parts to make your Dome a complete pommel trainer!

The Pommel Top is easily detached for advanced training right on the floor, creating that extension which separates the best from the rest. The trainer comes with a pair of pommels and one extra long single pommel.

details on Gym Trix