Last summer I had the opportunity to work with Gerson at the Camp Centroamericano in Guatemala. I really enjoyed the time together. He was nice enough to share these drills with us.
Podcast with Nick Ruddock
While on a trip to the UK and Germany I was able to meet up with Nick Ruddock and we recorded a Podcast.
I’m episode 006. (kind of wish I was oo7).
Become an A LIST Coach (Gym Momentum Monday on a Tuesday)
We all know some A LIST coaches. Mary Lee Tracy, Kelly Hill, Tom Forester, Valeri Liukin, Al Fong and Aimee Boorman to name a few. These are great coaches who put in their time and have had a great deal of success.
No one I know started coaching or teaching to be average. I think we all got into the professional end of the sport to become an A LIST COACH. It does not have to be an A LIST Team coach. Maybe it is the A LIST of Pre-school coaches like Beth Gardner.
I was listening to The Hidden Brain on NPR this weekend. The show was about A LIST celebrities in Hollywood. What they have in common and what do you need to do to become one. The A LISTERS are most photographed together than any other group. They are the MOST cliquey and it seems to be all about where you go and who you hang out with.
They go to the same parties and restaurants. It is as important where they DO NOT go as where they do go.
As a coach or teacher there are many lessons you can take from their research. You have to be seen. You have to go to the right meets and the right training camps. You certainly can go to any competition you want but if you spend your time going to small competitions with not a great deal of competition, what’s the point? What are you learning? Are you pushing yourself to compete with the best? I would rather be middle of the pack at a very competitive competition where some of the A LIST coaches are than be the best at a small competition.
In Hollywood and in Gymnastics you have to SEE and be SEEN. Your social standing depends on it in Hollywood. Your “street cred” in the gym depends on it as well. According to research, in Hollywood it is very difficult to break into that A LIST. You have to have a HUGE blockbuster movie/ TV show or you have to date/marry into the group. There are huge barriers to even meeting and being seen with the A LIST.
In gymnastics you can go to competitions and camps to see our A LIST coaches and even work with them.
At one point, social status was also influenced on flashy wealth. Now it is based more on inconspicuous consumption. It is no longer about the silver spoon but more about cultural capital. A spoon is a spoon. They all serve the same purpose whether it is SILVER or a more basic metal. A LISTERS are now spending time and money on less showy things like daily Yoga classes, Education, alternative energy cars and houses. These things are certainly expensive and the price tags add up.
Most team coaches want the social status of having a HIGH LEVEL TEAM or being a premier educator at a national congress. But NO ONE is going to hand you a group of high level athletes and you really can’t marry your way into the A LIST of coaches. You are going to need to spend a great deal of time and planning.
You need to spend your TIME and MONEY on less flashy things. A new set of bars or a brand new tramp looks great but maybe time and money is better spent on things like EDUCATION, COMMUNICATION and PLANNING.
A LIST actor Will Smith has said, “IF YOU STAY READY YOU DON’T HAVE TO GET READY”.
With your gymnasts and coaches, you can’t wait until you have a Level 10 to have a plan for your Level 10 Team.
What are you waiting for? Go and find a training camp this summer where you and your gymnasts can work with A LIST Coaches (like Chris Gallardo, Steve David, Don McPherson, Vasko Vetzev, Tony Retrosi, Jeremy Mosier).
As you plan next seasons competitions plan on a competition or two where there are some GREAT clubs to watch. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel. Go and see what they do. Have your gymnasts watch those sessions as well.
HOW TO TELL IF YOU ARE A GOOD LEADER?
Many years ago I worked at a gymnastics camp in Upstate New York. It was a great place where I learned a ton as a coach. What I didn’t realize is how much I learned as a leader.
Although there was a crew of people who worked at camp year round. One person in particular stands out. The Assistant Director Chris. His total gymnastics knowledge was that he knew the names of the equipment and knew that boys didn’t do beam and girls didn’t do rings. He had charisma and integrity. If you screwed up, he let you know. Then he helped you fix the problem. If you went above and beyond the job, he made sure he thanked you. If you saw him out in town he would always buy the first beer and then make sure everyone made it home at the end of the night.
He had NO gymnastics knowledge. His job was THE CAMP. Basically everything OUT OF THE GYM. From making sure the cabins were ready for campers to making sure the counselors who stayed with the gymnasts were well trained and prepared for the job ahead. He had a thankless, never ending job. If their was a storm and the power went out- he was out with a flashlight making sure everyone was safe. If a tree fell across the road, he was up there with a chainsaw. He worked around the clock. Anything to improve on the experience for the campers and the staff. I remember walking back from the gym late at night. I had stayed after to take care of paperwork and phone calls to parents. It was close to 1 AM. I thought someone had left a light on in a maintenance shed. I went to shut it off. NOPE- he was in there. Working on one of the boats so that the could take the kids and coaches tubing the next day (his DAY OFF).
He was constantly looking for solutions. Finding a way to fix the problem- not the blame. We “employed” a local football team to assist with set up of the gym. One time the FLOOR EXERCISE got set up about 5 feet off. With the FLOOR being out of place, no other equipment would fit in the right place. While some people stood around and were trying to figure out the best way to take it apart and move it, He drove his truck into the gym- threw a tow strap around the ENTIRE FLOOR and pulled it into place.
We knew he had our back and we would do anything for him. Many times you found yourself doing some undesirable task and think- “HOW DID I END UP DOING THIS?”. In one particularly bad summer storm I found my self at midnight setting sandbags in front of a cabin (no kids were there yet) to divert the water. Then I am dragging pieces of a tree that he was cutting up because it fell across the road. When the sun came out the next day you could almost see the grass grow. The gymnasts were arriving that afternoon and the regular grounds crew was busy cleaning up storm damage. I look in the athletic field and there is a 2 time Olympian sitting on top of a tractor mowing. I was using a push mower to mow around the cabins (maybe I would have had a riding mower if I had made the olympics!). More gymnastics coaches were out clearing branches that fell and making sure all the cabins were clean and ready. Things FAR beyond what they had been hired to do.
His name is CHRIS SCHEUER. We would joke around about getting “Scheuered”. Those times where you found yourself doing some task that was a LONG WAY from “your job”. It was a job that needed to get done and Chris had asked. You would never want to disappoint him. It got to the point where if you saw that something needed fixed or that if there was a problem- you just did it. You knew he was busy and you didn’t want to let him down.
What I learned from Chris is that your goal as a leader should NOT be to have people do things when you ask. It should be to make people WANT to do things before you ask.
Yes, you need to have the right people in your organization but you also need to be the right person at the head of the organization. No job should be too small for you. No job should be too messy. And when you are over your head. Get Help.
Here are some questions to ask your self to see if you are doing a good job.
- Does your staff do things outside of their job descriptions without being asked?
- When you are struggling to get a sub for a class do they step up OR is their begging and bribing involved?
- Does your staff take on a nasty job and not let you know. Just because it needed to get done?
- Are you the ONLY one who SEES when maintenance needs to be done? When they see it- do they TELL YOU or do they fix it?
Some common sense rules to follow
- If you want a hard working staff- You must be the hardest worker
- If you want a staff that CARES about the facility and the program- You must care about THEM
- If you want an educated staff- You must value education. You cannot just send them away to a clinic or a congress. You must go as well. You should also have people IN TO YOUR GYM.
- Praise your staff when you see them going ABOVE and BEYOND their jobs.
- Catch them doing something right or when they find a creative solution to a problem- and then maybe have them present this at your next staff training
- When they mess up (and they will) you will have to speak to them and then help them navigate the situation and find a solution.
I wish I had a photo of Chris to post here. That way anyone in the Cleveland area who runs across him can tell him I said thanks.
That’s him in the center
Gym Momentum Monday May 28
I hope everyone had a great weekend. It was Nationals weekend in Canada, Memorial Day weekend in the USA and May Holiday through out most of Europe.
I want to thank everyone who called me, texted me or e-mailed me to wish me a happy birthday. It was a great birthday! I received messages from all over the world! I am so honored.
This weekend we went to a wedding in Charleston SC for the wedding of one of our former gymnasts. A gymnast who lived with us for 2 years. It was like my oldest daughter. I was so honored to be invited. As one of you commented, “ That’s so awesome that you keep those connections with old athletes! It speaks a lot to your character as a coach.”
It is a good reminder that what we are teaching, what we are doing goes WAY BEYOND Gymnastics.
I was being interviewed for a Podcast with Nick Rudock a few weeks ago. Prior to the podcast we were talking about transformational people in sports. Think of people who changed a sport. Jackie Robinson in baseball. Nadia in Women’s Gymnastics. The Karolyi’s in coaching our sport. Love them or hate them, the sport would not be what it is today without them. It got me thinking about what transformational moments there were in my gymnastics coaching professional life. There were so many moments with individual athletes that helped shape me. BUT- it comes down to one statement.
I became a better coach when I stopped coaching gymnastics and started coaching children. Before that, I was coaching and looking for an “ideal athlete”. When I realized that every gymnast is different and that we had to form a partnership- I became more successful.
When you walk into the gym after reading this, remember WHO you are coaching. Not just what you are coaching. It doesn’t matter if it is an 8 year old level 4 or and 8 year old level 10. What is important is that you are coaching an 8 year old.
If you are coming to Gym Momentum Camp, please remember that leotard orders and T-shirt sizes are due at the end of the week.
gym-momentum-t-shirt-size-form (Every gymnast and coach gets a T-shirt)
Gym Momentum Coach Waiver
Gym Momentum Gymnast Waiver
Gym Momentum Leotard Order
Have a good week.
Tony
Where I am coming up.
June 2-5 Upstate NY. (USAIGC Clinic at Valley Gymnastics in Utica)
June 13-17. Seattle. a clinic and some videos for Tumbl Trak
June 22-24. Louisiana Clinic
June 24-28. USAIGC/IAIGC World Championships Orlando
June 28-July 1. No Limits Camp Calgary
July 2-4. Lethbridge Albert Clinic
July 12- 15. GYM MOMENTUM CAMP. Can’s wait to see you there
Preschool equipment, WINE, and a Great Staff
Yes, this could be the recipe for success.
More importantly it is how my staff at Atlantic Gymnastics encourages me to buy new things for the preschool program.
I enjoy my wine and I get a case of delivered every month or so. Recently I was out of the country when I wine was delivered. One of my coaches took a photo to let me know it had arrived.
Your wine has arrived
I responded, “Thanks“. And Then I received this photo
Followed by:
I love my staff. I will be shopping for a new HOP SCOTCH Mat tomorrow.
Anyone help me out and tell me where to get one?
20 Questions to Reflect on Your coaching Year to Make Next Year BETTER
I don’t know how your competition season is going and/or ‘went’ (depending on when you’re reading this).
Maybe it was amazing. Maybe you think it went amazing and it wasn’t. Maybe you think it went poorly and it was really amazing. Maybe you think it went poorly and it did.
Maybe all of these adjectives aren’t nearly sufficient to evaluate the performance of what is, increasingly, one of the most complex (and often thankless) jobs?
It is time to reflect on the last year in the gym. Just to get a sense of what GOOD happened and what changes need to be made going into next year.
- When were the gymnasts at their best this year? How did the year go, and how do I know?
- What did I think was going to go well, but maybe didn’t? What was a complete waste of time? What can I learn from that experience? Should I tweak it and try it again, or just take an idea from that experience and use it in a different way?
- If I was watching a time-lapse of me coaching all year–a year-long, fast-motion video–what would I notice myself doing the most? What about the gymnasts? Do these need tweaking? How can I save time as a coach?
- What are the characteristics of a highly performing gym? How is mine similar? Different? How should I respond?
- What do I tend to underestimate and overestimate as a coach, and how does it affect my effectiveness?
- What do I tend to ‘look for’ as a coach, and how does that affect my coaching? What do other more experienced coaches ‘look for’ and what can I learn from that?
- What are the indicators of great coaching in your mind? What is your personal coaching philosophy? Is it time to give your philosophy some thought and maybe update it to better serve the gymnasts?
- How are teaching and coaching changing? and how should I adapt as a result?
- What are three key moments with gymnasts this year that stand out for me more than any others, and why?
- What are three key moments with colleagues this year that stand out for me more than any others, and why?
- How do I know I’m spending my very-finite time and energy doing the ‘right’ things as a coach? What experiences from this year can help me answer that? How specific and actionable things can I do to improve how I use my time inside and outside the gym?
- What is one ‘big idea/thing’ I can focus on this summer to grow as a coach? Or maybe two or three smaller things?
- What do I hope the gymnasts will remember from this year next year? In 20 years?
- What do I do well, and how can I make the most of it?
- Of the things that I don’t do as well, which are most worth my time to improve?
- What can I automate in the gym? What are the tools to do so?
- How can I empower gymnasts and assistant coaches to make my job easier?
- What am I most excited about for next year?
- What should I be more grateful for as a coach? and how might that gratitude help me grow? Where do I ‘beat myself up’ as a coach but need to stop? Where do I ‘beat myself up as a coach’ and need to respond and grow?
- What do I do that makes coaching fun for me?
Let’s get back to Gymnastics. Enough of the B.S.
A bit of a rant but this is how I am feeling today.
I just read the letter from Kerry Perry. I am feeling pretty annoyed because USAG was supposed to begin a transparent future. It does not seem like they are.
They have created an information vacuum and only react to things. They seem to move from crisis to crisis. By not putting out information and still lacking transparency they leave the “news” to the trolls on twitter and FB who fill the void with insane thoughts and ideas.
I’ve said it to many of you individually but working with USAG right now is like having an alcoholic friend. You love them, but they keep making bad choices.
USA Gymnastics is in a tight spot. There is a lot of change that needs to happen. I understand that they are prevented and counseled from making statements. But please- tell us anything.
So, enough of the bullshit. We need people who will build us up not tear us down. We need critical thinkers and creative minds. Not just reactionary hacks.
We need individuals who can stand up to the media and answer questions. We need people who will not just do what is right but will surround themselves with others who want to do the same.
We need leadership.
We need someone to say, Enough of the Bullshit. Let’s go do gymnastics.
Tony
Changing Behavior
Whenever I travel internationally for a clinic or training camp I am frequently reminded of how similar we are. As coaches we face many of the same challenges. One of the most frustrating challenges to all coaches and gym managers is CHANGING BEHAVIOR.
Whether you want a gymnast to accomplish more in practice, or you want another coach to pitch in more when you need to clean the gym you can’t force someone to change their behavior.
You can, however, have a strong influence over another individual. But, nagging, begging, or threatening aren’t effective ways to motivate others to change.
The best way to have a positive influence on someone is by asking a question that causes another individual to examine their behavior closely.
On the plane home from Germany I read this article either on Forbes or INC magazine. Unfortunately I cannot find the original article. Just my notes. (I am certainly not smart enough to come up with these ideas).
The Question-Behavior Effect
A study, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, found the question-behavior effect is the key to behavior change.
This psychological trick involves asking a question about the future to speed up an individual’s readiness for change.
For example, if you want a coach to be more hands on in the gym, you might be tempted to say something, “It’s important that the gymnasts understand the correct body shapes on bars a young age.” But that statement isn’t likely to evoke change.
Researchers found you’re more likely to see behavior change when you ask a question like, “Are you going to spot cast handstands in conditioning?”
Discomfort motivates people to change. And saying, “No,” would likely create some slight discomfort for a person who isn’t spotting.
The researchers involved in the study found that asking a question that reminded an individual of their poor choices was effective in motivating them to do something different.
The study concluded that questioning effectively produces consistent and significant change across a wide variety of behaviors. Direct questions influenced people to cheat less and exercise, volunteer, and recycle more.
The key is to ask a question that forces individuals to choose a definitive yes or no answer (as opposed to an open-ended question).
Researchers found the question-behavior effect was effective in person, but it was even more effective when administered via a computer or a paper-and-pencil survey. I am really NOT a fan of e-mailing staff or gymnasts with questions like this BUT I will probably give it a try.
How to Effectively Employ the Question-Behavior Effect
The question-behavior effect can be useful in a variety of circumstances. Here are a few examples:
Influence your employees. If your coaching staff have become a little too relaxed about showing up to practice or competitions at the last minute, send out an email that asks, “Are you going to show up for practice early today?”
Use it in marketing. Advertisements that ask questions like, “Will this be the year you finally sign up your children for gymnastics” can convince people to sign up their children for your gym.
The next time you’re tempted to lecture someone about what they should do differently, try asking a yes or no question instead. You might find it’s the simplest, yet most effective way to inspire long-lasting behavior change.
The Head and the Heart.
A few years ago I started a new tradition at my gyms. Being near the University of New Hampshire I have a number of college students who work at each location. As the seniors finish their last final and prepared for their college graduation we all go out to dinner together. I want to make sure they they know how much I appreciate their work, their integrity and their dedication to the gym and the students. I can only hope that I have been a good boss. That I have helped guide them and that Atlantic has been more than just a job and a pay check.
Last night was a wonderful evening. We had a great dinner and toasted their future. We shared funny stories of incidents in classes along the way and I refrained from my habit of offering fatherly advice!
As we were preparing to leave I wanted to thank them once again. I said to them, ” I may be the HEAD of this organization but you are the HEART. “
My job is to market the gyms. Set up an organization that runs well and smoothly. I can get the students to the door. They have to keep them (and their parents) happy.
To our Graduating Seniors, Kadi, Erika, and Emily- Thank you. I am proud of you, we would not be who we are with out people like you.
Meagan (Dover Manager), Kadi, Erika, Emily, Me (Tony)
Dina (General Manager) , Meagan (Dover Manager) , Kadi, Erika, Emily
Being the “Dad” of the gym I cannot let you go without giving you some advice:
This is an exciting time, with all that is in front of you; endless possibilities, and just as many opportunities, waiting for you to grab hold. It can be scary— uncertainty, confusion, and choruses of, “What do I do now?” will surely ring in your ears from time to time.
Here are my words of wisdom of the things they probably didn’t teach you in college.
- Learn the art of listening.
- Nothing worthwhile is easy and nothing easy worthwhile. Only when we get out of our comfort zone do we set ourselves up for greatness. You will not learn by taking the easy way out— of anything.
- Be tolerant.
- Be kind to yourself and kill the naysayers with kindness.
- Never stop learning.
- Your words have meaning, choose them wisely.
- Unplug, unwind and quiet the chatter.
- Think outside of the box. On second thought, don’t put yourself in a box in the first place.
- Forgive because you won’t ever forget.
- Remember the old folks; respect them, for you too will be old one day.
- Be compassionate.
- No tanning beds.
- Ask for help. People will show up, as will the universe. Pretending doesn’t make you smarter.
- Don’t accept explanations as whole truths from people just because they have a business card. Question everything and do your own vetting.
- Take chances and risks. Have certainty that there will be someone to have your back. Don’t let fear paralyze you. Bravery is acting in the face of fear, making friends with it and moving past it.
- Share yourself, and your talents, with others. Give back and give often.
- It’s okay to change your mind. Walk a road that you hadn’t envisioned, and then, when you are ready, make a sharp left, and take that road.
- Keep your heart and mind open. You will find it, although it may not look like what you had pictured in your mind. You may find that there’s more than one it.
- Doc Massimo would always tell me Control the controllables. The quicker you can distinguish between what you can control, and what you cannot, the happier and lighter you will feel.
- Surround yourself with positive people and let the others gently fall away. Don’t count people out. Sometimes they will surprise you. Gather those around you that will assist you on your path; those that support and encourage need only apply.
- Don’t save things for a rainy day, or the perfect time. They don’t exist. Wear the new dress, tell someone that you love them.
- You have to look at yourself in the mirror every day. Be sure that you can smile at the person looking back at you.
- People are doing the best that they can (most of them anyway), be patient with those that aren’t as capable as you are.
Good luck! You will always have a HOME here at ATLANTIC. If you ever get lost- enter these into your GPS-Latitude: 43.095321 | Longitude: -70.790951. It will help you find your way back here.