Gymnastics Coaching.com

I have promoted the DVDs from GymSmarts.com since I first heard about them from Tom Beach.

But I was a little fuzzy on their MembersPlus Program until Tom gave me a sample at USA Championships.

Here is a screenshot sample of what is available to those who pay an annual membership fee. Coaching articles called “E-reports”:

You get all the new articles for $60 per year. Or buy them one at a time for $5 each.

Details on the GymSmarts.com E-reports page.

Gym Smarts contributors include Steve Butcher, Dan Connelly, Barbara Davis, George Hery, Cheryl Jarrett, Dave Juszczyk, Jeff Lulla, Jeff Robinson, Debbie Rodriguez, Sam Sandmire, Jason Selk, Michael Taylor, Yoishi Tomita, Glen Vaughan, and Mas Watanabe. A great line-up!

Coaches are raving about the new spring beam the same way they raved about spring floors when they were introduced.

It’s been approved for Jr. Olympic age group competition in the USA.

Gym Trix
A Completely Revolutionary Balance Beam!

Gym-Trix Inc. has recently received patent approval for our NEW spring loaded balance beam. The combination of internal steel springs and a completely movable top create a “Spring Floor” action for the entire working surface of the beam.

Much debated at the USA Gymnastics Congress trade show was a spotting belt over a beam which required no spotter.

It worked as advertised.

The Zero Gravity Chamber is a patented spotting system that enables gymnasts to safely learn and practice advanced beam skills and series without physical assistance from a coach.

But I’ve never like belts, this one in particular. Kids can land skills while doing very much the wrong thing.

It might be FUN to try once or twice. But a training aid?

No way.

Details: Zero Gravity Sports

Like everyone else, I flipped out when I saw Sacramone vault at the 2006 USA Championships.

I wish there was a “height bonus” in the new code of point regulations!

Alica could vault in the Men’s competition with her kind of power.

Incidentally, the FIG vault horse is fixed at 125cm. But in the States, Jr. Olympic women’s rules state the horse can be raised to the men’s height of 135cm. This is a great move for the USA women’s program.

Many girls will vault better at the higher horse height.

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

Gymnastics Excellence Through Education?

That is the question.

The major convention of coaches in the USA was good, I thought, but not great. They need to bring in more new presenters — perhaps international experts who have never led sessions in the States.

The quality of presentations is mixed. Many speakers are there mainly to sell a product or promote their own service. There are too few sessions I would categorize as “education”.

Cost for me as a non-member of USA Gymnastics was US$400, a bit steep for a 2-day course. A better bang for the buck, I feel, is the equally expensive US$200 1-day Annual Business Conference which precedes the Congress.

USA Gymnastics Congress “Gymnastics Through Education”.

USA Gymnastics plans to take over (in future) the Regional Congress events. This is controversial. Many believe that quality will suffer. Many believe that the takeover is financially motivated.

On the other hand, if a master plan could coordinate presentations at Congress and around the States, some efficiencies may be gained. Lets keep an open mind and see how USAG handles it.

Jon Bennett of Cheerleading-Music-Mix.com:

1) Using “Pre-made” cheer tracks. Yes, judges can spot “pre-made” tracks a mile away.

2) “Home-made” music mixes that use “basic” techniques full of weird transitions and out-of-place sound effects.

3) Themes: The problem with themes is that in order to make them work, you end up using songs that should never be in a cheer mix. ( we can make themes work, but in general, they are a bad idea )

4) Using too many different genres in the same mix. For example: 4 hip hop songs and 1 country song…. bad idea.

5) Using someone else’s cheer mix.

Jon recommends you use a service like Cheerleading-Music-Mix.com for a customized, professional sound.

Click PLAY on the video below or hear a sample mix on YouTube.

Other options for music editing.

Many gymnasts interested in applying for a College scholarship make a mess of their video. This is especially true of non-American gymnasts who often do not know what recruiters want.

Consider hiring Springboard Video to put together your tape.

At about US$300 it could be a great investment.

IDEA – I wonder if Springboard would put together audition tapes for athletes wanting to be invited to Cirque du Soleil auditions?

At the USA Congress I spoke longer to Doug Davis of TumblTrak than any other vendor. He is as farsighted about equipment innovation as anyone I know.

I was disappointed to hear that my absolute favourite piece of new gymnastics gear was not selling well.

What a shame. This device is fantastic for all gymnasts, especially those training Yurchenkos.

It is a miniature Tumbl Trak, shaped like a vault table. It offers a quick and responsive rebound off the vaulter’s hands. The surface is so forgiving that vaulters can do multiple repetitions without the threat of overuse injuries. It is a safer design that gives the vaulter more confidence to try new skills. The Porta Table also gives the vaulter more air time to perfect technique and can be set up in several stations around the gym.

There are several ways to use the Porta Table.
1. Velcro to the floor going into a pit.
2. Attach to a Porta Base (base sold separately)
3. Velcro to the Tumbl Trak using the Cross Supports (sold separately).
4. Velcro to base blocks and/or spotting blocks.
5. Attach to your existing vault horse base (conversion bracket needed for this set-up which is sold separately).

This is the first piece of equipment I would buy if setting up a new gym.

TumblTrak – Gymnastics Equipment Vaulting Porta Table

Tom Beach directed this excellent video which clearly explains the famous George Hery “Flip Charts” to those of us who were not there when they were being invented.

You get a “Flip Charts” booklet as well as the video allowing you to try it out right away.

The program assumes you know a fair bit about trampoline. Beginner coaches would be better to start with Hery’s Trampoline Flipping and Twisting DVD.

More videos and coaching resources on GymSmarts.com.

It is interesting to compare the traditional DVD sales approach of GymSmarts with that of American-Gymnast.com which plans to roll out a membership subscription approach to short gymnastics instructional video clips. I expect there will be a market for both companies.

I am very impressed with the USASF (US All Star Federation) magazine and have added a link to their website in the right hand navigation.

In the confusion of competing Cheer companies, competitions and products — this is a good one. I recommend it.