Sunday Funnies

Best Christmas Present Ever!

From around late December 2012 or first week of January 2013:

Friday (Christmas) Funnies

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A Visit from Coach Nick.....

This is a repost video ('Cause I was too lazy to script a new one):

Anne Josephson:

‘Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the gym
not an athlete was training,
the lights were all dim.

The stockings were hung
from the beams just in case,
St. Nicholas and the reindeer
stopped by the gym space.

Some gymnasts were hopeful
that Santa would leave
some brand new leos;

preferably long sleeve.

 Read the rest on the JAG blog.

The start of my own version a few years back:

Seeing this post from Rick, I thought I'd share the following which I made up and would recite during warm-ups, adding a bit more to it each day and refining:

"T'was now 1 day [first time I started saying this in the gym, it was 10 days before Christmas] before Christmas and all through the gym,

The gymnasts began stirring, feeling mighty fit and trim.

Their grips were all hung by the lockers with care,

In hopes that Coach Kort soon would be there.

Thea lay snuggled all warm in her bed,

While visions of her overshoot danced in her head.*

And Amy in her Bruinwear,

And I in my Santa hat,

Had just settled down,

On the cold, cold hard panel mat.

When out on the Tumble Trak there arose such a clatter,

That I sprang from the panel mat to see what was the matter."

That's about as far as I got by camp's end.

Last year during winter camp, I had a bungee cord around the midsection of my gymnasts as they ran sprints, so they could drag me along. And I'd holler, "....to the top of the roof, to the top of the wall, now dash away, dash away, dash away all!" I also made up substitute lyrics then, but don't remember what used.

With my team coworker out for the holidays, I've been managing our preteam and level 3s and 4s all to myself, with some overlap between groups.  Last week Wednesday, I combined preteam and the new level 3s for running drills on vault.

All they needed were reindeer antler headbands.

Spotted Tsuk Drill

I won't be spotting them like this that often; but I wanted to try and give Marissa a sense of what it's like. Once they've done enough progressions and get their timers stronger, it should be less of me and more of them, so that anyone could stand in there and spot 'em- easy! Or better yet, no spot. Unfortunately there's not enough space here for them to generate much of a run.

Sunday Funnies

Chin Pillows

Some brilliant ideas work better than others.  This was not one of them:

This is related to the "sticky toes".

Oh, well.  I think the concept is still good- just not the execution of it   I've also thought of experimenting with some sort of modified neck brace.





How about a strip of velcro attached from a mouthpiece to the front top of a leotard?  I kid.  (Actually, as I type this, I think I have a clip somewhere of kids putting the front of their leotard in their mouths to back extension roll and feel their head position).

Sunday Funnies

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Wade TV

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Level 3 10.0 Floor Routine

Exciting moment at last weekend's State Championships:

Having the benefit of video review, I see a deduction in foot movement on the bridge kickover; and if one goes by Tom Koll's view on how the routine should be done, there are a couple of quibbles (pathway of the arms, arms soft instead of sharp at the beginning for example); but really, this was a clean routine and I'm glad the judges weren't afraid to award a 10.0.  It's so rare, it's a moment this family can carry with them forever.  It's a moment that everyone at the meet applauds.

There was a gymnast from GymJam who scored a 10 on vault as well, I think at 3rd prelims. 

Go Alexis and Broadway!

Happy T Day!

Hope you find time this weekend to stretch something more than just your stomach.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Backhandspring Shape Drill

We only have one vault table and I normally don't get to do this drill setup with my girls on a regular basis.  This was a preteam/new level 3 kid on Saturday.  She made some big improvements on her backhandspring.

Sunday Funnies

Press/Stalder/Cast Handstand Shape Conditioning

Have not done this exercise in a very long time:

That's a preteam/new level 3 kid.  Thought I'd try it with her at the end of her practice.


Below, I think this was a level 5 kid; maybe training old level 6:

Assisted Press Handstand Station

Day After Veterans Day

Conversation I had last week:

Me to 10 yr old excel kid in passing: "How was school today?"
Her: "Good."
Me: "Did you have school yesterday?"
Her: "No."
Me: "Because of Veterans Day?"
Her: "Yes."
Me: "Did you thank a vet?"
*confused look on her face*
Me: "Do you know what Veterans (Armistice) Day is?"
Her: "Wait....what's a veteran? Is that someone who doesn't eat meat?"
Me: :-/
Her: "....Or is that veterinarian?"

 

:-/

Ankle Weights

Dr. David Tilley:

To start, I’m aware this is a another controversial topic in gymnastics. I have spent quite a long time organizing my thoughts and how to present them in a positive, constructive article. As a younger coach I used to do a ton of ankle weight work, but have changed my approach quite a bit in the last few years. I hope to outline the reasons why I don’t use ankle weights based of the research and literature I’ve read, as well as the increase in hip related injuries I have treated gymnastics patients for lately. Then rather than only being a “negative Nancy”, I’ll offer alternative ideas as to what I do in practice for improving hip strength, power, and skill development.

Read his thoughts.

I've never really used ankle weights; and have consciously been turned away from them for the past few years, in part from reading discussions at the Chalk Bucket Forum and with the advocacy of therabands as an alternative.

Sunday Funnies

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International Gymnast June 1988

Gymnastics Tricks are the Treat!

All That I Need

Sunday Funnies

International Gymnast May 1991

Drilling the jump to the high bar

Jump blocking is pretty commonly seen on the low bar for low bar glide kip.

At a recent meet, one of my girls remarked seeing GymJam warming up with jump block for the high bar.  I didn't witness it myself, but thought that's an idea worth exploring.

For most of the girls in the video this is the first time they tried it (on the high bar):

Sunday Funnies

Spotting Method for Pre-Team Chin Ups

  I learned this spotting method from Michael Manzanet at BGS, for spotting chin-ups/pull-ups.
Open hand squeezed between the legs by the gymnast. It helps the gymnast maintain form (like squeezing a beanbag); and the gymnast only gets an assist if she needs it by squeezing the spotter's hand.

This was just a quick take (and the coach in the video is new to this.  The spotter does not grab the gymnast.  The gymnast "grabs" the spotter's hand).  The gymnast can also squeeze with the feet, too, instead of the knees.

Happy Birthday R & A!

Missing you two more than you possibly know.

Sunday Funnies

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International Gymnast Nov 1987

A Brian Meeker Moment Early On in Life

Posted by Paz on Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Sunday Funnies

Curriculum & Lesson Planning with Smart Moves with Jeff Lulla

Clinic description:

Published on Nov 17, 2014

This is the same live presentation Jeff Lulla has delivered at the USA Gymnastics Regional and National Congresses, Gymnastics Ontario Congress, Alberta Gymnastics Congress and at the GymCon Conference in 2014.
Here, at a staff workshop hosted by Fun & Fit Gymnastics, with club owners and staff invited from other Southern California gymnastic clubs, Jeff explains the importance of using a progressive curriculum and creative lesson plans built online with the Smart Moves teaching system to make classes fun, safe and exciting.

Region 3 Congress- Yurchenko vaults with Steve Arkell

Sunday Funnies

Living an Abnormal (RE: Extra + Ordinary) Childhood

Wendy Bruce:

Because of gymnastics I was able to experience and learn things that only sports was able to teach me. I was able to be better than normal, I was able to be extraordinary.

I learned how to be on time.
I learned how to be dependable.
I learned how to de disciplined.
I learned how to travel.
I learned how to be mentally strong.
I learned how to take criticism.
I learned how to fix mistakes.
I learned how to work hard.
I learned how to be independent.
I learned how to compete.

Sacrificing is giving up or losing something that you wish to have. When gymnastics is what you wish to have, then there is no sacrifice. Gymnasts that train 25 hours a week do not sacrifice their childhood. They have a childhood, and it is an amazing childhood filled with amazing experiences that only sports can bring them. And my stories about my childhood are far more interesting, inspiring, and entertaining because they aren’t well, “normal.”

Hat tip:  JAG Gym

Sunday Funnies

Today is Tuesday...

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Remembering David, Ron, Daniel....

 

Video description:

Uploaded on Sep 5, 2008 These tiles were put up on the fence across the street from St. Vincent's, the hospital in the Village where they waited to take care of the survivors who never came. In case you can't read it, the name on the tile I walked up to at the end is David Reed Gamboa Brandhorst, who was only three years old. His fathers Daniel R. Brandhorst and Ronald Gamboa died with him. I didn't know any of them. I just walked up at a certain point and pointed at the first tile that caught my eye. RIP.

Hurdle Drill for Feet in front

Several years ago, I took this hurdle to flatback drill (for exaggerating and emphasizing hurdling feet in front) for vault and added in a bit of fun factor:

I've done the same sort of slip n slide idea for ro bhs drilling and handstand flatbacks, dropping from an elevated height.  Kids love it.  Because it slides!

Sunday Funnies

Straddle-L Press Drill

I love half presses and holding pancake handstands.  Most beginners will rush to reach the handstand and end up unfolding the legs prematurely and arching.  This looks like an interesting way to train straddle-L 1/2 presses:

Featuring @our_acro_trio 👏🏼 press handstand drill! #gymnasticsshoutouts

A video posted by Gymnastics/Dance/Cheer/Acro (@gymnasticsshoutouts) on Sep 3, 2015 at 7:32pm PDT

Hat tip:  World Gymnastics Academy

Fall Season is Here!

Hat tip:  Gymnasticscoaching.com

Sunday Funnies

Flashback Friday: Heather Dorniden

It's hard to find a good quality video of this inspirational athlete:

When you fall down?  Get back up.

Gymnastics Among the Ruins

Photo by AL Shaibani Wedeea

So I learned this photo posted earlier was taken of a facility in Yemen. 

Yemen, in recent time, has been experiencing a crisis in leadership and stability.  It is on the verge of a civil war; and made vulnerable to being a safe haven for al Qaeda and IS.

Rick McCharles had blogged about gymnastics development in Yemen a couple of years ago.  He linked to this article written almost exactly three years ago:

As the first gymnast sprints down the fraying stretch of carpet toward the vault, his gruff coach shouts encouragement in Arabic: “Jump big, like you dream!” Hurdling himself onto the vault, the gymnast’s height on his takeoff is impressive. Later on, as he tends to the blisters on his hands from the dozens of conditioning drills he executes each practice, he admits with a shy smile to the big dream that motivates this dynamic explosion off the vaulting table – to one day compete in an international meet.

It is sad to see the setback and downward slide of a country like Yemen.


*UPDATE* 12:30pm 8/26/2015

Gaar Adams, who authored the above article, left a comment on Nick Blanton's page:

MAG Among the Ruins

Nick Blanton posted this up yestereday; and I've been waiting for him to respond to find out the origin/source/backstory of this photo.

Syria?  Iraq?  In a war-torn country?  Natural disaster?  Where?  What?

Region 1 Congress, San Jose August 21-23

Justin Howell's lecture on Round-offs, last session on Saturday- filled up to standing room only capacity.

It's been quite a while since I've been to a Regional Congress. Long overdue for me. The last time might have been back in the SMGC days, when I was not interested in being a team coach. Speaking of which, I had lunch with a former co-worker; and also ran into these former SMGC students, now coaches:

 Rachel is now at the gym Lilly was at before she moved to Chicago.  Angie had a brief opportunity to work with Eddie Umphrey before Eddie gave up his head coach position to be with his fiancee at Airborne.

Speaking of Umphrey, I brought my cohorts over to Chainey's house for some dinner to meet the new addition.

 Prior to seeing them, I asked Chainey if he'd been working out.  He says he runs about "3 blocks" (direct quote) and does some push-ups.  That's about it.  So this is what he looks like as of yesterday:

 I used to get into arguments with people all the time back in college- people who were adamant in their belief that Chainey was taking steroids; or that he must lift weights.  Nope.  None of that.  The only weight he lifted was his own body.  Nor did he do a lot of extra strength training- mostly routines.   He's just a genetic freak of nature. 


I did a lot of videoing, in part to bring back and share with the staff back at home base.  Not sure how much I will share on YouTube and this blog.

My co-workers did not bring their video cameras; but I shared my digital camera (the Casio that can also film in slo-mo and back to normal speed all in one shot) and my iPhone 4 while I used my iPhone 5 (64 gb).  2 extra battery packs.  After each lecture, I'd have 45 minutes to dump the memory into my laptop and would recharge while filming the next lecture.


What kind of perplexes me is how many coaches- even if fairly new- seem unaware of so many drills and concepts that seem easily acquired through the internet.  I guess some coaches don't waste as much time as I do on YouTube; or run detective searches through blogs and social media for content.

I was disappointed that Neil Resnick was not present yesterday for his lectures. 

Everyone has something to offer, though; and I enjoy listening to anyone express their thoughts and views and share their ideas about anything related to gymnastics. 

Sunday Funnies

IG 1977

Sunday Funnies

Sendback Saturday!

One year ago to the day:

Regular Fall session starts up again on Monday.

All in for Full Out tonight?

Sunday Funnies

TBT

I miss these two to pieces.

Sunday Funnies

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Lateral Ladder walking in handstand

Sunday Funnies

Worst Workout Ever?

This poem by Chanie Gorkin, an 11th grader, has been gaining some traction over the internet.

Tonight at the end of practice, I had the JO Girls sit and read it out loud; asked what it meant to them (one of the older girls thought it was an awesome poem because it sounded real and relatable- interesting!). So our discussion segwayed into a reading of it backward. We then talked about the Yin and the Yang- the dichotomy of perspective and attitude; of looking at things from a perspective of half empty and half full; and on the importance of flipping things around in your own head when you think you're having a bad day. 

The girls thought the poem was really cool (You could see the light bulb go off on their heads upon reading it backward) and they even wanted to keep their handout copy and share it with their parents.

I have one level 4 girl in particular who has been struggling with her kip.  On account of that, and comparing herself to her teammates, she's been sabotaging her workouts by allowing her emotions to affect her self-confidence and energy output which reinforces her negative feelings, which....a vicious cycle that needs to be broken. 

Here's hoping she can turn her negative energy around on its head.  Attitude is everything.

Sunday Funnies

Water Weights

Novelty item just for fun.  If I could just fill these up with even more water- then we're talkin'!

Maybe some bottled water company should market their bottles in the shape of dumb bells.  I'd love to bicep curl a 5 gallon jug a few times before setting it on the water cooler dispenser.

And here's a Gymnastike throwback Thursday to a Technique Tuesday:

Home-Made "Sticky Toes"

Tumble Trak is now marketing this idea as a new product ("sticky toes").  So I finally decided to see if I could make my own.  I was going to use sweat bands or the tube end of cut-up sports socks; but then I was in the 99¢ store and saw these ankle braces for....99 cents.  So I picked them up, some needle and thread and industrial strength strips of velcro.  Tested them out on Marissa at the end of practice tonight.

It might be a useful tool to pull out once in a while; especially for kids who can't feel that they are breaking form.  Not only can the gymnast feel the velcro separate, but she can hear it happen as well.  Great instant feedback!

Here's a link to Tumble Trak's product because they deserve support and you might want to save yourself on time in sewing labor:

Sunday Funnies

You Just Got Served!

Partner Relay Slider Race

What Gymnastics Teaches

Fall down 7 times....

Think about the first time you failed at something: blowing a job interview, not getting in to your dream college, even struggling through a bad breakup. Now imagine someone told you the next day to go back to that employer and try again, march up to the dean at your dream college and demand to be let in, bang on your ex’s door and refuse to leave until you work things out. Crazy, right? People do crazy things like this maybe once or twice in their lives, if they truly feel passionate enough to put aside their pride and refuse to give up.

Gymnastics asks you to do this every day. Fall flat on your face? Get back up and do it again. Break your leg? You better be back in the gym tomorrow, conditioning and doing everything you can to make up for lost time.

~~~

It is easy to work hard when you are doing well, but it is a whole lot harder to give your best effort when you have already failed multiple times. Gymnastics teaches you to push yourself even when you’re tired or have tried the same skill twenty times. And that twenty-first time when you finally do it right is what makes it worth it.

 Read from the beginning.

Hat tip:  ChalkBucket Forum

Find a way or find excuses

This photo has been trending on my FB newsfeed. It was taken last month by Joyce Gilos Torrefranca, a medical student in Cebu:

It shows 9-year-old Daniel Cabrera kneeling on the pavement with the famous golden arches in the background. He's using a makeshift wooden bench as he writes in his workbook. "For me as a student, it just hit me a lot, like big time," Joyce Torrefranca told the Philippine news network ABS-CBN. "This kid, he doesn't have anything but he has dedication to study." Joyce said seeing Daniel struggling with his homework inspired her to work harder. The photo was quickly shared thousands of times with other people saying they'd been inspired by him too.

An inspirational reminder of the blessings in our own lives, the struggles of those less fortunate, and the adage that if it's important enough to you, you will find a way; if it's not, you will find excuses.

Gymnastics is an expensive, "elitist" sport; and many kids don't have the opportunity to discover their potential in the environment of training in a well-managed, well-equipped, well-coached facility. As a gymnastics coach, I try and remind my athletes to never take their opportunities in life for granted. I have one athlete on the team whose parents struggle to afford her monthly tuition. The mom does not speak fluent English. Does not have a computer or email. She once pulled her daughter out of gym. At the end of the month and at the end of practice, without fanfare or warning, her kid comes up to me and matter-of-factly states, "This is my last day. Bye." I guess the mom was too embarrassed to let us know her husband lost his job and they were struggling. She was doing extra work just for her daughter because she knew how much her daughter loves gymnastics Fortunately we were able to talk her into keeping her daughter- my gymnast- enrolled in our program. I'm grateful to the gym I work for in that the owner and office management were willing to work with the mom and negotiate something that she could afford.


 At the annual Vidmar Invitational out in Los Angeles, '84 Olympian Peter Vidmar reminds the competitors of this life lesson, telling the gymnasts that the next time their parents drop them off at the gym, to take pause and thank their parents and show deep appreciation. Because their parents don't have to do any of this: Driving them to practice, financing it, watching meets, etc. The 3 golden rules for the staff at my gym: Do your best... Always do the right thing... And everyday, do something selfless that benefits others.

Iconic Chris Pratt Jurassic Pose

I've not seen any of the Jurassic movies (yet); but I did read about a meme taking shape:

Since the release of Jurassic World the raptor training pose has become a sensation, with people all over the world taking up the challenge to copy the look and post the results to social media,

 That's my Gym-rassic pose.

Who says this ol' fossil ain't hip and up-to-date on trending pop culture? 

Sunday Funnies

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"I find the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."

- Thomas Jefferson

Horizontal rope climb & slider relay

Partner Sprint Block Pushes with XPodz Sliders

Broke out our new XPodz sliders and had the girls test them out with partner block push sprints. Once they get the hang of these, we will turn them into a relay race competition.

Partner doing the pushing gets to exercise leg power. Partner being pushed has to keep core and body tension/shape to make it work.

For the XPodz sliders: http://xpodz.com/

More expensive than standard furniture movers but you get what you pay for and what we got is a quality product with a unique, patented surface bottom that I think glides better. The foam is also thicker.

Sunday Funnies

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Sharks & Minnows Game with Sliders

Capture the Strap Conditioning Tag Game

The girls love this.  You can come up with tons of variations and rules and create teams.  Now that it's summer, we're incorporating more conditioning games and team-building challenges.

Sunday Funnies

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Bella at the Bar- never heard of this before:

Bella, originally titled Bella at the Bar, began as an ordinary serial and ended as arguably Tammy’s most popular and beloved character. Going on from an ordinary serial to endure for ten whole years, Bella Barlow holds a joint record with maidservant Molly Mills (q.v.) for the longest-running character in Tammy.

Bella Barlow was the product of a flourish of gymnastics stories in girls’ comics in the wake of Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci. Before Bella, Tammy had only one gymnastics story, Amanda Must not be Expelled (1972). But when Korbut and Comaneci made gymnastics the favourite sport for girls, girls’ comics wasted no time in jumping on the bandwagon. In Bunty, Josie the Gymnast scored top marks with readers while Tammy’s answer to Olga Korbut was Bella Barlow!

~~~

Whenever Bella finds the opportunity, she indulges in the one thingshe has in life – gymnastics and working out on the makeshift apparatus she has installed in the back yard. The Barlows disapprove of her “monkey tricks” – except when they find a way to make money from it. Bella starts making headway when she finds proper coaches but still faces obstacles from the Barlows and other people. But of course everything ends happily when Bella saves a man’s life. He happens to be the Soviet ambassador, and he rewards her with a scholarship at a top Soviet gymnastics school.

Sunday Funnies

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International Gymnast Oct 1989

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Bar Basics with Tom Stevens

Swing Big links to a bars clinic by Tom Stevens:

Of course all gymnasts want to grow tall!

5-9-2015

A favorite spotting technique: Encouraging the gymnast to grow tall by pushing her toes up to the ceiling, against your hand. If she doesn't push tall, she doesn't feel the pressure of your hand spotting her.

As demonstrated by California Sports Center's Christopher Brown:

Sunday Funnies

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From Mai, the Psychic Girl:

  During physical education, Mai uses her powers to lift herself up onto an elevated bar. Her form is that of a gymnast, far surpassing her two friends who go before her.