Thanks to Contributor Owen Field from Nebraska for sharing these. Make sure you follow his blog at: Coach Owen Field
Al Fong Beginning Yurchenko Vaulting from Region 4 Training Camp. [Read more…]
Thanks to Contributor Owen Field from Nebraska for sharing these. Make sure you follow his blog at: Coach Owen Field
Al Fong Beginning Yurchenko Vaulting from Region 4 Training Camp. [Read more…]
“Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.” Arthur Schopenhauer
“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You musn’t lose it.” Robin Williams
“The pleasure which is at once is the most pure, the most elevating, and the most intense, is derived, I maintain, from the contemplation of the beautiful.” Edgar Allen Poe
“Frequently the more trifling the subject, the more animated and protracted the discussion.” Franklin Pierce
“I got a rock stuck in my nose at recess.” Overheard in the lobby of my gym.
“Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate.” Vince Lombardi
“Chess is intellectual gymnastics.” Wilhelm Steinitz
“When I go in to compete, whether it’s gymnastics or anything else, I do my own thing. I compete with myself.” Shannon Miller
Shared by Jay Soucy, Owner of Evergreen Gymnastics. Jay and his wife, Nancy, own and coach at their gym, Evergreen Gymnastics in Lisbon, NH. Both from Methuen and MHS sweethearts, they moved to northern NH in 1998 and purchased the gymnastics school in 2005. Jay began gymnastics after watching Luke Skywalker flip through the swamps of Dagobah with Yoda on his back.
“Do or do not! There is no try.”
Nancy & I installed beautiful, cocoa, hickory hardwood at the house last month. We couldn’t be more pleased. Our puggle, Molly, loves them too. She shares all her unwanted dog hair with the new flooring. The contrast is something to behold. Needless to say, we started shopping for a handy, easy to use broom or mop to clean the floors. A friend told us to try a Shark Steam Mop. You can find them at Walmart, Home Depot etc.
It works as advertised, no cleaning supplies needed. You add water, attach the re-usable cleaning pad, plug it in, and you are off. The steam seeps through the pad as you push it back and forth and the pad pick up the dirt, hair, and CHALK. That’s right. Chalk. We found the perfect cleaning device for those chalky mats around the gym. The steam mop is light and glides along those gymnastics mat surfaces with ease. In no time, we had all our mats done.
You cannot add cleaners or deodorizers into the mop, because of the heating element and risk of damage to the device. Because of this limitation, we like to spray some deodorizer down on the mats to “freshen-up” the gym. It would be nice to be able to add the water and deodorizer into the mop.
We purchased the two-sided version. This cuts down changing out the pads. You may want to buy additional cleaning pads. Two pads come with the mop. We bought an extra two for an additional $19. When the pads get dirty, you wash them in the laundry. We love it!
Give it a try!
JAY SOUCY
Have something to share? Don’t be afraid! SHARE
Thanks to contributor Casie Millhouse-Singh, Casie is an American gymnastics coach with over 20 years of experience in the sport as both gymnast, coach and judge. Currently, she is coaching for the Singapore American Community Action Council, better known as SACAC, gymnastics program. She is elected as Singapore Gymnastics Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Recreational Pathway Technical Leader and is also a Singapore National judge. You can follow her blog at: COACH CASIE [Read more…]
Today we escape (a little) from the gymnastics world to talk about delivering a quality, memorable toast at a Holiday Party. We just had our Holiday Party last night and as the owner of the gyms I felt it important to get up and say a few words. My goal was for my staff to know that I really appreciate all their hard work and that I look forward to working with them each and every day.
The actual point of ANY toast is to get your audience to like themselves (and you) a little bit more than before you started speaking. Think about the toast beforehand. Maybe make some notes-BUT, when you are standing up in front of everyone. NO NOTES. I think that if you have notes, it seems less sincere.
When delivering the message itself- think about what you would say about your employees to a group of other club owners. Leave out the negative- AND THERE IS YOUR TOAST.
Key Technical Matters
Thanks to Mary Lee Tracy from Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy for sharing This drill.
Mary Lee has some great drills up on her YOU TUBE Channel
I DO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS, I DO NOT CONDONE THIS. IF YOU DO THIS YOU WILL PROBABLY DIE. But- I had to share this.
Thanks to Samantha Sendel from Canada for letting me post this.
Thanks for another posting from Yin Alvarez.
Charles Tamayo preparing for 2011 Valerie Liukin Invitational
Have a routine you want to post? SHARE
Secrets To Better Brainstorming
We have all been called into those meetings where we are asked to brainstorm on-
Some times these session get way off track and lost in the woods. Sometimes they do not even create a BRAIN BREEZE let alone a Brain Storm.
Let’s start at the beginning- HOW DO YOU LEAD A BRAINSTORM MEETING?
The Invitation-
How To Begin The Meeting
Bad Ideas
Silence
To the person leading the meeting, silence suggests time is being wasted by people who don’t know what they are doing.
Getting Out
KEY TECHNICAL MATTERS
Bruno Grandi was first elected in August 1996 at the 70th Congress in Atlanta (USA). He succeeded Yuri Titov of Russia after a twenty-year reign.
When asked about his reasons for running, Prof. Grandi casts back to his age of seventy-seven, hoping to leverage his experience in sports to bring numerous projects to fruition. “This will be my last mandate!” announced the President, with a nod to the international gymnastics community. “But before I take my leave, there are several issues that need my attention, and I am committed to finishing what I started.”
According to statute, candidates for the 2012 elections must file for office at the FIG Secretariat by May 21, 2012 midnight, at the latest.
LETTER FROM BRUNO GRANDI
LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, December 2, 2011:
Friends,
I have decided to run for re-election at the FIG General Assembly in Cancun (MEX), October 25 – 27, 2012. I will solicit the votes of the 130 national affiliated federation delegates for a fifth mandate.
My decision is the product of long consideration. A fifth term is the logical continuation of a mandate that the Atlanta Congress first issued to me in 1996 when I succeeded Yuri Titov after a twenty-year reign. Historians will remember that he and I ran against one another in the memorable elections of 1992 in Salou (ESP), in which my friend Titov reclaimed office by a single vote!
It is no mystery that I am getting along in years. At the age of seventy-seven, I hope to leverage my experience in sports to bring numerous projects to fruition. This will be my last mandate. But before I take my leave, there are several issues that need my attention, and I am committed to finishing what I started. I am both pugnacious and consistent.
Among the issues at hand is the debate surrounding eligibility to be part of the technical authorities; members must be in possession of a category I or II judge and level III coach brevet as of 2013. It is my responsibility to provide our sport and our gymnasts with individuals who are both trained and competent. It is a credibility issue. Other topics include development, solidarity and promotion of gymnasts in underprivileged countries. Gymnastics cannot fall into the trap of catering to wealthy countries. We must reach higher, we must strive for universality. Such is the Olympic ideal, and the justice I hold dear.
But the most ambitious project by far is that of competition reform within the Marketing project. Our product needs to be streamlined; and to keep our competitions attractive for sponsors and the public, it has been found imperative to review our Codes of Points.
Since the day I first took office I have laboured toward attracting more attention to our sport. Gymnastics needs to simplify the rules, give a face lift to its formats and speak in terms that Generation Y can understand. This is imperative. My experience has taught me that success is a passing thing and that what we achieve today must be pursued tomorrow; fundamental truth!
With these things completed, I will be able to hand the keys of the FIG over to my successor knowing that I have finished the job.
With my warmest wishes for an excellent New Year 2012,
FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE GYMNASTIQUE
Prof Bruno Grandi, President