Gymnastics Coaching.com

Dick Kimball, the 1964 U.S. Olympic Diving Coach, posted a .PDF article on use of spotting rigs for divers. Kimball likes them, especially for age group and developing divers.

Better, I think, is for diving coaches to consult with expert trampoline coaches who use progression instead of belts. I would only use a belt if I had problems with the progressions.

Coaching gymnasts I avoid belts if possible, except for very few specific gymnastics drills.

They can, however, be a great novelty for recreation gymnasts. I like using a spotting rig for carrying beginners through backward handspring, for example.

I need to learn how to make these photo sequence shots.

A third instalment of the popular cheerleading series is due for release on DVD.

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

Details on BringItOnMovie.com

I’ve not heard much about this one. Have you?

Great photo.

Every gym has at least one extremely flexible gymnast. Most are born with some “unusual” range of motion and (surprisingly) bending the body through these positions seems to cause no long term damage.

gymnast at Mountain Shadows Gymnastics Camp, Canada

And every circus includes a number of contortionists.

There are a couple of myths acrobatic coaches should dispel:

“Double-jointed” is just a slang expression used to describe the appearance of a person who can bend much further than one might think a joint would allow a limb to bend. In spite of the origin of the word, it is a perfectly acceptable expression to describe a person who is hypermobile.

Since some loose-jointed people are able to pop a joint out of its socket without pain, it may be hard to tell whether a joint is actually dislocated without an x-ray. However, as long as the joint socket is the right shape, most extreme bends can be achieved without dislocating the joint. Actual dislocations are rarely used during athletic contortion acts since they make the joint more unstable and prone to injury, and a dislocated limb cannot lift itself or support any weight.

Wikipedia – Contortionist

Past world Floor medallist Charlie Tamayo from Cuba is one powerful tumbler.

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

He’s done 7 forward somersaults off tramp into the pit at Woodward West.

Rick McCharles

This was my third year coaching the Mountain Shadows Camp in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada. The club is owned by Jim McLuskey, a legend of gymnastics in my region, the first man to hire me as a coach back in the 1970s.

The most unusual aspect of this camp is that girls as young as age 7 spend 5 nights in sequence living and training in the gym. This is the first time away from parents for some of the kids.

The camp is an unforgettable experience in the life of a young girl. I recommend it.

more photos on Flickr

Any athlete training at a high level, training a high number of hours per week, risks getting “stale”.

Cross training is ideal for keeping athletes “fresh” and may even enhance physical development. I schedule one voluntary cross training activity each month: kick boxing, swimming, cycling, even “tree climbing”.

Here athletes from Altadore Gymnastics take a hike in the mountains.

The Canadian Men’s Gymnastics team trained in Beijing June 30-July 12th as part of the team preparation plan for the next Olympics. Kyle Shewfelt, 2004 Olympic Champion on Floor, sent us some photos of the Chinese National Training Centre.

The US Olympic Team got advice from USOC Coaching and Sport Sciences: ANY WHERE, ANY TIME, WE WILL BE READY: PLANNING FOR BEIJING

I think Beijing (official website) may well be the best Olympics ever. Certainly the Chinese athletes will be very well prepared. But can they handle the added psychological pressure of competing in front of the home town crowd?

Peter Soul from Integrity Gymnastics in Ohio makes many training aids including a forward hip circle teaching device for bars.

It is awkward to get into — but quite fun and easy to swing a series of forward hip circles.

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

A group of coaches at Mismo Gymnastics were discussing the many reasons why it will not work — when it did work. One of the girls did forward hip circle on her own right after doing a series in the machine.