Someone asked me if I would be willing to be on the USAG Board of Directors.
As Chairman of the US Elite Coaches Association I am on the USAG Advisory Committee which reports to the Board of Directors but the reality is I am not sure if I am qualified. Especially right now.
My answer actually was, “I am not sure if I could be a Barista let alone on the Board of Directors”
To prove my point- here is a video of me TRYING to make an espresso at my cousin’s cafe in Italy.
Today, for the first day in over a week, I was able to run on the treadmill at my local Planet Fitness and not see Larry Nassar’s face on any of the 16 TV’s. I am hoping that after his sentencing last week the media will be able to move on from this tragedy. What he did was terrible. The question many of us in the gymnastics industry ask is- WILL USA GYMNASTICS be able to recover? If they cannot or if as a club you decide to end your affiliation with USAG, WHAT DO YOU DO?
On social media there have been many people and groups calling for the decertification by the USOC of USA Gymnastics. If The USOC decides to decertify USAG all that means is that USAG will NOT be determining the Olympic Team. USAG can still run the JO and Excel Program. They can still run educational workshops, congresses and conferences. BUT- if USAG does get decertified by the USOC, they may have lost the confidence of the American public and they will probably cease to exist.
What would our gyms do then? We would continue doing what we do. Teaching gymnastics. We would associate ourselves with a different association. I met this with with the President of the USAIGC to learn about their program and for my gym The USAIGC seems to be our best alternative.
Day to Day in our gyms- nothing changes. For our teams- they will continue to go to competitions and continue to be AMAZING. Instead of being the USAG State, Regional or National Champion- they may be going to USAIGC or AAU or some other leagues State, Regional or National Champion. (BTW- USAIGC Also has an International division!).
There have been other groups and individuals which have been exploring the possibilities of starting a new organization. I sure have had some interesting phone calls and e-mails! I certainly would like to find out more about these. Competition is a good thing. Viable alternatives will force each organization to try to be better than the next. To let coaches and club owners feel a part of something great. To be a transparent organization that encourages participation and makes athlete safety a priority.
USA Gymnastics is facing some difficult times ahead. The reality is that they may not survive in their current form. THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY ARE GOING ANYWHERE. There will just be some major changes. I believe that USA Gymnastics had a strong foundation but grew too quickly and did not adapt to the times and was not able to implement the necessary changes and protections.
They are working hard at fixing this. They have hired a new president and will be replacing most if not all of the Board of Directors.
The National Team Training Center at The Ranch has been closed. Now, one Central Florida neighborhood is looking to be USA Gymnastics’ new home. Lake Nona is already home to several sports-centric complexes, including the United States Tennis Association. Tavistock Development Corp. wants USA Gymnastics to consider its sports and performance district as a place to get a fresh start.
There have been offers by private clubs to host the National Team in the interim until a permanent facility is built (WOGA in Texas and Aerial Gymnastics Club in Illinois). I have even heard a rumor about a private group of investors looking to build a training center and NOT associate it immediately with USAG until they see where things are headed. Possibly associating itself with a coaches group who would act as landlords leasing the facility to USAG or whatever organization comes next.
Some horrible individuals caused such pain in our sport – that should never be forgiven or forgotten. Lets not forget that there are so many wonderful coaches out there. Coaches who are role models, mentors and teach WAY MORE than just gymnastics.
Source: Olympic Committee Gives USA Gymnastics An Ultimatum Over Sex Abuse Scandal | HuffPost
The U.S. Olympic Committee is giving USA Gymnastics’ board of directors six days to resign or else have the entire organization stripped of its certification as a national governing body.
The call for the board’s resignation is one of six requirements that the USOC has handed to USAG in an attempt to completely reform the organization in the aftermath of the sexual abuse scandal involving Larry Nassar. The requirements were listed in a letter from USOC CEO Scott Blackmun to USAG’s board of directors.
The first three requirements focus on the board’s resignation and the selection of a new board. The current board has six days to resign and an interim board needs to be established by Feb. 28.
USOC is also launching an independent investigation into USAG to find out who knew about Nassar’s rampant sexual abuse of female gymnasts, who should’ve known, and which officials failed to report the allegations.
According to Blackmun, an interim board must be selected a new board must be seated within 12 months. Requirements also include having a USOC-designated liaison present at all USAG board meetings, progress reports and an independent investigation into the extent of Larry Nassar’s abuse.
“Our position comes from a clear sense that USAG culture needs fundamental rebuilding,” Blackmun wrote to the baord. “This was the overarching finding in the Daniels report and it was demonstrated again in the recent testimony of Nassar’s victims.”
The Deborah Daniels’ Report, which Blackmun referred to, is the result of a six-month independent investigation commissioned by USAG and aimed at fixing problems within the organization. In June, Daniels, a former prosecutor, gave 70 recommendations to the organization, including prohibiting adult members from being alone with minor gymnasts.
Blackmun’s letter was submitted one day after Nassar, the 54-year-old disgraced sports doctor, was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for child sexual abuse. Nassar is accused of sexually assaulting more than one hundred athletes, including many Olympic gymnasts, under the guise of medical treatment.
During a week of victim impact statements, many of Nassar’s victims harshly criticized the leaders of USAG and Michigan State University, where Nassar worked, for allowing the doctor to continue treating athletes even while he was being investigated for sexual abuse.
On Monday, the chair, vice chair and treasurer of USAG resigned. The board of directors consists of 21 members.
In his letter to the board, Blackmun said that USAG must cooperate with an independent investigation looking into “exactly who knew and who should have known of USAG athlete reports of abuse by Dr. Nassar (and when) and did not report these allegations appropriately.” The investigation will also look into “systematic failures that may have contributed to these failures to report.”
Over 140 women have accused Nassar of sexual abuse, including Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney and Simone Biles. Court documents revealed that Nassar used the cover of medical treatments to fondle and digitally penetrate the gymnasts while he was the team doctor for USAG and MSU sports teams.
In her victim impact statement, Raisman lashed out against her abuser in a powerful speech.
Source: Why Unionizing Is A Reasonable Option For The U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team
Hmmmmm. Certainly something to think about.
Marc Edelman (Marc@MarcEdelman.com) is a Professor of Law at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business and the founder of Edelman Law. He is the author of “A Short Treatise on Amateurism and Antitrust Law.” In addition, his article, “The Future of College Athlete Players Unions,” appears in Volume 38 of Cardozo Law Review.
Former U.S. Olympic gymnasts McKayla Maroney, Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman represent three of more than 100 gymnasts who allege they were sexually abused by Larry Nassar. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)
Our collective hearts broke last week when nearly 100 U.S. elite women’s gymnasts — including many famous Olympians — shared their personal accounts of being sexually abused by their team doctor, Lawrence G. Nassar. Since then, USA Gymnastics has attempted to turn the page on these tragic events by terminating its training agreement with the Karolyi Ranch in Huntsville, Texas. Meanwhile, Dr. Nassar is likely to receive a lengthy prison sentence.
Nevertheless, there is still a bona fide risk that another tragedy of this nature could occur in USA Gymnastics unless there are real structural changes to the relationship between the organization and its young athletes.
Perhaps one of the more meaningful ways to protect the interests of young, female gymnasts would be for the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team to unionize — thus affording these gymnasts with bona fide representation separate and apart from the private and commercial entity known as USA Gymnastics.
There are a number of reasons that the culture of USA Gymnastics, without a players’ union or similar external structure, remains susceptible to another sexual predator going undetected.
First, although the U.S. gymnastics team is called a “women’s team,” many of the top gymnasts compete on the elite level at ages as young as 15. At this tender age, some gymnasts might not fully understand the nature of their abuser’s grooming behaviors, and thus may miss the warning sides. At the same time, some athletes may lack the verbal skills and confidence to explain these inappropriate behaviors to the appropriate authorities.
Secondly, Olympic hopeful gymnasts — much like some child actors and entertainers — spend substantial time in an environment where achieving stardom is seen as critical to maintaining self-esteem, both personally and for their families. In this environment, even some gymnasts who recognize the horrible wrongdoing of a sexual predator may still fail to report the wrongdoing in fear of suffering retaliation in the form of lost career opportunities.
Finally, there is sadly a monetary interest for the coaches and supervisors of the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team to keep sexual abuse scandals internal. This does not mean that every administrator and coach would turn a blind eye to such abuse. But much as in the sexual abuse scandal involving youth football at Penn State University, there are growing reports that at least some coaches and administrators failed to take reasonable steps to protect gymnasts from sexual abuse.
While there is no effective way to absolutely prevent the arrival of another sexual predator within U.S. gymnastics, at least with the creation of a union there would be an outside body, overseen by adults, with a non-conflicted legal interest to protect the well-being of the young gymnasts. While many Americans associate unions with bargaining solely for salaries, unions have also had powerful effects in changing the working conditions in many industries — especially where workers, for a variety of factors, have appeared relatively powerless.
Even though the National Labor Relations Board declined in recent years to recognize the Northwestern University grant-in-aid football players as an official bargaining unit to negotiate against their college over terms and conditions of employment, a bargaining unit consisting of Olympic athletes might have a better chance at garnering the labor board’s favorable review.
This is because the ultimate reason that the National Labor Relations Board failed to recognize a Northwestern football union was because it believed it would hamper labor stability in college football given that many of Northwestern’s rival football teams were public universities and thus purportedly lied outside the National Labor Relations Board’s jurisdiction.
The labor stability approach, however, would not be a strong argument to prevent the elite U.S. women’s gymnasts from unionizing. Unlike the National Collegiate Athletic Association, USA Gymnastics is a singular, private and commercial actor that financially benefits from the services of the U.S. elite women’s gymnasts and exercises extreme day-to-day control over their actions.
Meanwhile, from a public policy perspective, after the most recent recent sexual abuse perpetrated against many elite American gymnasts, it would be very hard for any reasonable person to deny that the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team needs all the legal protections imaginable. That, of course, would include an athletes’ union.
MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIRMAN, Tony Retrosi
As a gym owner and industry leader, I have had numerous contacts from many of you expressing your frustration with USA Gymnastics. We are all more than a little shocked by recent revelations. It seems like each day another piece of bad news drops.
By no means am I a USA Gymnastics apologist or defender. I am just as frustrated and angry. I want to find solutions—to be the voice of fellow coaches within the industry. Attending the USA Gymnastics advisory board meetings gives me no additional information. I am just urging you to not get caught up in the social media storm. Don’t stir the pot without suggesting any real viable solutions. This is irresponsible and adds fuel to the already intense fire.
USA Gymnastics has a long way to go to fix some of these issues. They have started but it will be a long process. The biggest comment I am hearing is—Is it time for the National Team Training Center at Karolyi’s Ranch to close? Yes! It is tough to think what has happened there and that some of our athletes have to return for training camps. The information I can share is USAG is working on a plan for the new training center. In August they had 5 parties interested in working with USAG to build a new training center. It is unfortunate this process takes time to close up shop and move to a world class facility capable of housing the all disciplines, both athletes and coaches and still provide all the necessary safety measures. No location place that meets those needs immediately has been mentioned, Some have mentioned the USOTC in Colorado Springs as an alternative—good idea but it can barely handle the training schedule required for the men. I am an East Coast guy. I do not know any camps out West. I know that the bigger camps in the East COULD handle the necessary arrangements almost immediately. This would be a TEMPORARY fix until USAG settles on a permanent facility.
Some coaches who attend numerous camps at The Ranch do not like the idea of being anywhere else—and some hate every minute that they must be there. As frustrating as this is, I want to believe USA Gymnastics will find a suitable location with no past history.
The USA needs a world class training facility where coaches and gymnasts can learn and train with minimal distractions—a National Team Training Center where our National Teams in all disciplines can train on a regular basis and where we can develop the talent of our up and coming coaches as well.
We need USA Gymnastics University to be both a brick-and-mortar University (at the National Team Training Center) and an online source as well. We need the best and brightest to be teaching at national, regional and state congresses and conferences. I personally would like a university where gymnastics professionals can go and learn from the best and one to where the best can go and share their ideas and drills with each other.
This university and training center must be a safe place for all participants.
The funding involved in doing this would be astronomical, however, we MUST move forward at all costs and anything worthwhile starts with a dream.
It has been a while since I was able to say I was proud to be a member of USA Gymnastics.They have lost the confidence of some and many will need to search for a reason to be proud of the organization once again.
Please remember many staff in the office at USAG work long and hard hours keeping gymnastics running in the USA. They are not the faces in the news, they are not the “hard decisions” makers. They are people entering sanction information and USAG numbers—the people scheduling educational courses and workshops. The program decisions are made by the hundreds of volunteers, the State and Regional Chairmen who give their time to our industry. It has been a while since we have been REALLY proud of our governing body but we show up to our gyms each day and do our jobs. For many of the people in the USAG office, it is the same.
There are no easy answers or decisions—real change will take time. Otherwise we become the pendulum that just swings back and forth.
The USECA started by making a difference in the late 1970’s with our elite gymnastics women’s program. We served as a guiding force for what was best for our international and national athletes and coaches—we were an organization set up by coaches. While some have now gone on to the ownership ranks or even retired, we must remain diligent and strong in our belief in our athletes.
As an organization, we are calling on USA Gymnastics to permanently close the Ranch to athletes and coaches representing our sport in all disciplines. We also implore USA Gymnastics to secure immediately, facilities that will allow our athletes, of all disciplines, to continue to train in a safe environment. We owe this to our USA athletes and our children.
In closing, I would like to start a dialog here on social media for all to read, give your input, your concerns and your solutions. Thank you!
Tony Retrosi, Chairman
US Elite Coaches Association
I’m turning 52 this year and I’ve been involved in gymnastics my entire life. When I was first coaching I was looking for “the secret”. There must be some secret to achieve gymnastics excellence. If I could only learn that secret from other coaches! Now in the day of social media it seems like every other week there is an “expert” selling Their Secret.
It is always good for a laugh when I see a new article or a post on the unveiling of the latest secret training method.
I will let you in on a little secret – there are no secrets!
There are no secrets; There are no shortcuts to the podium. You can keep looking if you want but you are wasting your time. Know the basics, master the basics repeat them until they are flawless. Every gymnast and group is going to be different. Individualize the training and adapt the techniques so it fits the athlete. Stop trying to fit the athlete to the event.
Here is my path.
Practice with purpose and direction and realize that it will take time. A little talent helps, but a little talent can go a long way if it is maximized. There are no secrets!
** I was at a gym and they had a REALLY weird bar setting. Low bar and High Bar set at as high as they would go. The spread of the bars relatively close (Not all the way out. Maybe just a little larger than FIG). I asked why- They said they had one VERY tall gymnast and she needed that setting so she wouldn’t touch the floor and was close enough for her to straddle back. They were making ALL the gymnasts compete on this setting. No one likes to set the bars in workout- but now you have made the exception the rule.
READ ORIGINAL ON GYMBLOG CENTRAL This is just an excerpt.
Over the past few weeks it has been reported that many companies have decided to pull their financial support from USA Gymnastics due to all the controversy surrounding the Larry Nassar fiasco.
The Orange County Register first reported in the beginning of December that Kellogg’s and Proctor and Gamble were going to pull their support from USA Gymnastics.
Proctor and Gamble has been the leading financial sponsor for National Championships for the past 5 years. According to ESPN.com, Proctor and Gamble is currently evaluating their options to renew their partnership with USA Gymnastics or not.
After the past couple of Olympic Games, Kellogg’s has sponsored the Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions. With 2 more years to go before the next Olympics, maybe Kellogg’s will reconsider and show their support of our Olympic Athletes.
The following is part of a statement provided to ESPN;
“Procter & Gamble and Kellogg’s have decided they can no longer support an organization which refuses to take responsibility for the crimes committed by their National Team doctor and their failure to warn others of his criminal conduct,” the three said in a statement.”
Source: Op Ed – Who Will Suffer From Lost Sponsors – GYM BLOG CENTRAL
We talk a lot about having our athletes get out of their comfort zones to move forward and progress. How about us? As coaches we all have our comfort zones too. Some of us are great on certain events. Some of us can prepare an athlete for a State or Regional Meet and then are out of our element when we have to prepare for a National competition. In short we all have our comfort zones.
Step back and do an honest evaluation of where you are as a coach.
What events are you most comfortable with?
Where are you uncomfortable?
Is where you are comfortable holding you and most importantly your athletes back?
I know try to pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone in certain areas.
After 20 years of coaching Level 9,10 and Elite I stepped back and started working with the compulsory gymnasts and the developmental kids. It is tougher than may think. But it was what needed to be done.
It may be just little things, but a succession of little things could make a big difference. What are you going to do today to get out of your comfort zone to help make your athletes better?
Just getting in hours will not do it. Anyone can go through the motions, huff and puff and look like they are working.
Just doing work is not good enough; you must train with ICE –
Intensity,
Concentration,
Effort.
If you consistently achieve a high ice score eight to ten on a ten-point scale. A score of ten being frigid, ice cold then you will win the workout. If you can consistently win workouts then you give yourself and your gymnasts a chance to perform in competition, remember there are no guarantees. Champions are champions everyday, when there are no crowds, no coaches, and no teammates, just you and them against the clock or the weight or the apparatus. It is all about the will to prepare.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely is the best known quotation of the 19th century British politician Lord Acton. He borrowed the idea from several other writers who had previously expressed the same thought in different words.
I remember a conversation I had with Doc Massimo decades ago where he spoke about the importance of getting the gymnasts involved in the decisions in the gym. A good coach should be a facilitator and a leader. Not a dictator.
As a coach I am sure you are proud of your team of gymnasts and coaches (or at least you should be!). You have put in countless hours at clinics and training camps to get to where you are. Those fortunate enough to be in the “Head Coach” position should ask themselves a
simple question that will make them look at their team differently:
“Are the gymnasts and coaches in my program proud of their roles, and the club?”
If you cannot answer immediately, YES, then there is work to be done.
Steven Goldstein points out in INC magazine that it all comes down to CULTURE.
I have worked with many leaders whose teams were fundamentally dispassionate and it affected both their behavior and their performance. This culture affects everyone, regardless of the role. Creating the right culture is a great way to keep your people and guaranteeing you deliver consistent, strong results.
I have used and seen the following three techniques really produce great results:
1. Recognize achievements regularly.
2. Enable them to make decisions.
3. Offer skill development opportunities and resources. (Through Training Camps, Congresses, Clinics and Conferences)
Recognize Achievements
In the gym you expect your gymnasts to work hard because they want to get better. You expect your coaching staff to work hard because the want the gymnasts to improve and for the gym to succeed. With our gymnasts we try to encourage them along the way. Reward their accomplishments and help them learn from their failures. DO WE DO THE SAME WITH OUR COACHES? A bit of encouragement goes a long way. With my staff I have a police of PRAISE publicly, PUNISH privately. I know that sounds harsh but everyone makes mistakes and needs to be reminded what their job in on occasion. When you recognize their accomplishments, both privately and publicly, they feel good about what they do and it motivates them to continue striving to be even better.
At GYM MOMENTUM camp every night we ask each other, “What was the BEST part of your day?” It allows me to give a shout out to each coaches accomplishments that day. The other day at my Portsmouth Gym One of my coaches, Ryleigh, was super animated and engaged with the preschool class that was coming in. When she was done I made sure I told her how much I appreciate her energy and that her attitude is what ATLANTIC is about.
Enable them to make decisions.
In my Coaches as Educators lecture I say, As the head coach you cannot just create the masterpiece, you must also prepare the canvas. One of your core responsibilities is to find and develop talent. Both with gymnasts but also with your coaching staff. Too many coaches refuse to let go of any power and I have seen this be a downfall to many programs. Why did you hire and train these coaches if you are not going to let them make any decisions? This is a sure way to have talented staff leave and go to another gym or undermine you behind your back.
With your gymnasts you also need to give them some power in the decision making process of their workouts. Obviously you need to lead them into making the right choices but they will be more motivated if they have some responsibility in the process.
Offer skill development opportunities and resources. (Through Training Camps, Congresses, Clinics and Conferences)
Education is an ongoing process. It should NEVER end. For your coaching staff they need to have the opportunity to grow. Send them to congresses, send them to training camps. Have a coach in to the gym to work with them. ** Become members of USECA or other organizations that focus in education.
Engaged coaches and gymnasts want to grow. They constantly look for opportunities to learn new skills, improve their performance and move to a higher level or position. It’s your responsibility to present opportunities for personal growth and skill development. The reasons gyms often give for not doing this is that it takes too much time away from their jobs and it costs too much. Education is expensive. Ignorance is too.
**I know that my staff doesn’t listen to me all the time. But I can have a different coach in who says the same thing and they listen and take action. Yes- this is a pain in the butt. It is also the reality of the Proximity Paradox- I was looking for a definition to describe the case where because you are too close to the information source you do not believe it. I am sure there is a better phrase that describes it.
I love going to comedy shows and have done stand up comedy for about a decade. That being said- Improv makes me so nervous. Not really knowing what is coming next or what direction we are going is a little bit outside my comfort zone.
Teaching, Coaching and LEADING is probably about 90% improv. I was reading INC Magazine and came across the article. 8 Ways Improv Can Make You a Better Leader. It got me thinking about how the Rules of Improv can make us be better coaches. We must learn to embrace our fear and own our power. Improv forces us to be better listeners and learn how to collaborate. You learn how to be part of a team and you know at times you need to LEAD and other times you need to FOLLOW.
There are some Basic Rules of Improv and here is how they relate to our businesses and in the gym.
1) Say Yes-and! (or YES, BUT…)
2) After the `and` or but add new information.
We all know the adage “the customer is always right”. We also know this isn’t true. We want to keep our customers happy (and our gymnasts happy) so why not say, “YES” to their question. When a gymnast or parent makes the most CRAZY request answer, “YES, but…” For example, a gymnast comes and asks you if they can miss practice so that they can go to a concert. Answer “YES- but you will NOT be able to compete this weekend.” or “YES and I expect you to be here for practice Saturday morning so that you can attend the competition on Sunday”.
When a customer/ parent asks if they can get out of paying some necessary fee (ie. registration fee) , ANSWER, “YES, but that will mean your family will not be able to receive any of our discounts and he will not be able to participate in our end of year show”.
Of course there will be times where you need to say NO, but lets try to say YES.
3) Don’t Block.
The opposite of saying yes-and is blocking or denial. How many times have we learned something from our athletes? On VAULT my plan is about 97% Yurchenkos. I had one athlete I was trying to teach a Yurchenko to. She had all my prerequisites. She asked one day, “Can I try a Handspring front?- just for fun.” I let her try and although her Yurchenko was GOOD, her HS Front Pike (and eventually Pike 1/2) was GREAT.
4) Focus on the Here and Now.
Another useful rule is to keep the focus on the here and now. In the gym as well as business we need to always look and plan ahead but when things are happening RIGHT NOW- we need to focus on that. The change, the struggle, the win or loss will happen . Focus on what is going on right this at this moment.
5) Be Specific- Provide Details!
Details are the lifeblood of moving forward. Each detail provides clues to what is important. Details help provide objectives and flesh out potential problems.
6) Change, Change, Change!
Improv is about character change. The characters in a scene must experience some type of change for the scene to be interesting. In our sport, the ONLY thing that is consistent is change. We need to go on journeys, be altered by revelations, experience the ramifications of our choices.
