As chairman of the USECA I take my responsibility to the coaches I represent very seriously. I have an Advisory Council Meeting at National Congress. Please take the time to fill out this survey.
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Make a SUMMER Resolution
June 21, 2022. Summer Solstice
The Summer Solstice is upon us. Traditional celebrations include greeting the sunrise and partying until sunset (OK, I may have mede that up) outdoor parties and bonfires. As we welcome summer, it is a good time to revisit our goals for the year and check our progress.
For most gymnasts and coaches in the USA, summer is a time for recovery from a long competitive season and then laying the base for upgrades needed for next competitive season. We tend to only make resolutions on New Year but we could do so all year! Resolutions are just projects and goals that we set to reach an ideal. Summer resolutions… why not?
We sometimes find it difficult to keep our resolutions but at least they make us contemplate what we would like to undertake and what we would like to change in our lives. We must think of our resolutions as a way to improve ourselves. To be a become a better gymnast or coach. To become a better team-mate or leader.
Resolutions allow us to…
Evolve
Change
Improve
Develop
Move on
Follow our dreams
How to succeed in seeing your resolutions through
From resolution to action
This technique allows you to be more precise and to be in action. You are interested in becoming a better beam coach? Upgrade the gymnasts vaults? Good! Now is the time! There are many educational opportunities out there. From NGA Summit to USAG Congress to clinics and camps. GO LEARN!! Find a mentor, have a coach come into your gym or go to their gym. NOW IS THE TIME!
Set your resolution in time
Keep track of the progress and adjust the timeline and goals as needed. Have the gymnasts do this as well. Just a few minutes a week so that they can see their progress. Why not set a simple resolution every week or every month during summer? This is a good way to achieve many of the necessary skills/drills needed for upgrading.
Share the news
There is no reason this needs to be a boring task. Take photos and share videos. Isn’t that what Instagram is for?! The more we talk about our goals and objectives the less inclined we are to give up on them.
Less is more!
Your gymnasts are probably not going to add a D and E skill on each event. It is useless to start 6 big upgrades . Focus on an objective that is truly necessary. When they accomplish that goal, yo can go after another one.
Congratulate yourself and the gymnasts!
That way you encourage yourself and them to keep it going! And there’s no need to wait until the whole goal is achieved to pat yourself on the back. Just being on the right track is already an achievement in itself.
- Freezer Pops when 90% of the gymnasts reach a certain marker
- a day off conditioning when 90% reach a certain marker
- Spa day for YOU when they reach that marker!
Lastly, hold yourself and the gymnasts accountable BUT be failure tolerant. Not everything is going to workout. One of the best things I did was give each gymnast (and myself) a calendar that starts and ends at the end of the competitive season. On the calendar have all the competitions you MUST go to. (State, Regional and National Championships). Then have your “marker” competitions. For example, December 1 verification of all new routines. Landings can be soft (rest pit) or spotted but not both. Working WITH the gymnasts come up with a timeline for new skills and put it in the calendar.
Handling a Comment or Complaint on Social Media.
Traveling back from National Gymnastics Association Summit yesterday my plane was delayed on the tarmac for more than an hour while we waited for a gate to open up at Boston-Logan Airport.
It had been a slightly bumpy flight and I was just looking forward to getting the bus home. We landed with out incident and then sat. and sat. and sat.
Every traveler has been there. You give your self plenty of time to catch connection only to have to run trough the airport like a maniac. As we waited the pilot checked in and gave us updates. They let us stand up and use the toilets. I was impressed that no one was freaking out. We were 100 feet away from the terminal and not getting any closer.
I was getting tired and frustrated and fired off a Tweet:
What would YOU do if you saw a tweet calling you out?
Here is the e-mail response I received from Delta.
I truly appreciate their effort and I have learned a lesson on how to deal with an on-line complaint.
- Take ownership of the problem
- apologize
- do their best to make me happy.
Thank you Delta. Sorry for being cranky on twitter.
Tony
Create a Positive Coaching Environment in Your Gym. NO MATTER WHAT LEVEL! NGA Summit Lecture
Create a Positive Coaching Environment in Your Gym- No Matter What Levels You Coach. NGA Summit Lecture. June 10, 2022 8:00AM
Lecture Slide:
Regardless of what level you are working with it is necessary to have a positive environment for the gymnasts (and coaches) to flourish.
Some will tell you it is NOT possible at the highest level of our sport. I am living proof to tell you it is! I have coached from pre-school through World Championships and I have done my best to create a positive environment. I have learned from my mistakes and my success.
NGA Summit- Strap Bar Workout lecture.
I have been into many gyms and almost all have some type of “strap bar” but very few have a plan of how best to use it for long term development.
Here is a link to my lecture from 2019. I have made a number of updates that you will need to come to the lecture to get.
See you THURSDAY JUNE 9 at 9AM!
NGA Summit. Yurchenko Vaulting- GO BIG
FRIDAY JUNE 10, 10:00AM
Lecture slides from summit.
There are AT LEAST 6 important parts of the Vault.
Now that a gymnast can flip a their first Yurchenko- you need to improve on each of these parts in order to add the power needed to improve body shape (layout) and add twist.
- THE RUN
2. THE HURDLE
3. BOARD CONTACT
4. TABLE CONTACT/ REPULSION
5. POST FLIGHT BODY POSITION
6. LANDING
Each one of these parts can be a lecture in itself. I am going to concentrate on Board contact, Table contact and repulsion and post flight body position.
FRIDAY JUNE 10, 10:00AM
My Thoughts on USA Gymnastics National Team Coordinator
USA Gymnastics National Team Coordinator
Being in Europe for the past 6 months have helped me gain valuable perspective on the issues within the gymnastics community in the USA.
In my gym back in America I have always had 5 rules that all coaches and employees need to follow.
1- Be on time and prepared
2- Do not sit down in the gym
3- No cell phones in the gym
4- Do not come to me with a problem without a potential solution
5- Everyone leaves with a smile (sometimes you may have to fake it)
Last year, I added a 6th rule.
DON’T LET THE PERFECT BECOME THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD.
As USAG continues its journey it is simultaneously trying to save itself and move forward. Trying to find absolution at home and re-dominate the world stage.
Hindsight should always be 20/20 and looking back we can all point out the mistakes that have been made. We need to learn from those mistakes and continue to move forward. We cannot forget these mistakes. We need try to make amends to all injured parties but we cannot become mired down in them.
As a coach, I do not coach the same way today as I did 30 years ago or even 5 years ago. I will not coach the same way in 5 years as I do today. We learn, we make path corrections and move forward. What is completely acceptable today will be frowned upon in just a few short years. Like a hair cut or a suit, Today I look cool. In a few years, Oh my god, what was I thinking?!
The USA is searching for a new National Team Coordinator. Reality is that there are not a lot of qualified individuals. For the record, I do not feel I am qualified or interested.
Going down the list of my rules here are my thoughts.
- Be on time and be prepared. The National Team Coordinator (NTC) needs to be a tremendously organized individual. There are a lot of moving parts.
- Do not sit down in the gym. A high energy individual is a must. There will be a great deal of travel to training camps and competitions. This individual needs to lead by example. To be on their feet working, encouraging, assisting when necessary. The other coaches around them will mirror their behavior as will the athletes.
- No Cell phones in the gym. This really me be focused on the HERE and NOW. In this day and age everyone has at least one electronic device with them. Obviously you cannot have a phone on the floor with you at an FIG competition but during training, this coach needs to be focused on what is happening in front of them. There will always be exceptions, but you cannot make the exceptions the rule.
- Do not come in with a problem without a potential solution. Life has a way of throwing you curve balls. 3 weeks ago we had great plans for DTB Cup in Stuttgart. 2 minor injuries later we went to plan B. 2 positive covid tests the week of the competition we went to plan C. 1 bad vault landing at the competition we went to plan D. If you only focus on the problems you are just a complainer. A leader needs to search for solutions.
- Everyone leaves with a smile. It is important to be able to finish each training on a positive note. Even on the worst days there were some small victories. This doesn’t mean you are a hopeless optimist. This just means you have a positive outlook. It does no good to breakdown the gymnasts and coaches at the end of a training session or camp. Focus on the good. Learn from the mistakes of the previous day, address the issues at the beginning of the next training, make some course corrections and move forward.
- Don’t let the Perfect become the enemy of the good. As the USA searches for a candidate we are often blinded by the flaws of individuals. As humans we are imperfect creatures. We have all made mistakes. Hopefully we have learned from them and moved on.
I am not advocating to look past some coaches heinous acts. At the same time, we need to ask has that coaches been given an opportunity to apologize and rectify the issues? Have they learned and changed their behavior?
There are few truly qualified individuals and each one will have their strengths and weaknesses. Before we jump fully behind someone we have to ask if they have the support of the elite community. If they have the necessary background it takes to move us forward in the world. Are they a unifying figure?
I have seen many people say ATHLETES FIRST, MEDALS SECOND. These are NOT two mutually exclusive things. I may have a blind spot because I have always been an athlete oriented coach. I judge my success not on medal count but by how many weddings and christenings I have been invited to. I feel a gymnasts role is the driver and the coaches role is the navigator. They must form a partnership. A driver with out a navigator may never reach their destination. A navigator with out a driver is pointless.
The NTC will not just be navigating an athlete but the entire program. This may be a thankless job where anything less than a GOLD medal could be viewed as a failure by the general public.
Although I was at the same competition as USA this weekend I was busy with my own team and athletes (Switzerland) and didn’t get to see a lot. The USA looked strong, confident and happy. They performed extremely well for so early in the season and seem to be on track in this covid shortened quad.
Just my thoughts.
An Offer to Help Ukrainian Gymnasts
The Swiss Gymnastics Federation (STV) has sent a letter to Oleksandr Sukhomlyn the President of the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation stating that If the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation wishes, we can arrange accommodation, meals and training facilities in Switzerland for Ukrainian gymnasts and their support team and coaches.
I am so proud to be part of this organization that searches for solutions and takes action. This is what leadership looks like.
Request from Swiss Gymnastics Federation for the Immediate Exclusion of ALL officials from Russia and Belarus from ALL bodies of the FIG.
The historically neutral SWITZERLAND has taken a stand demanding for the immediate exclusion of all Russian and Belarusian officials from the FIG. At the same time the Swiss Gymnastics Federation has reached out to Ukraine offering their gymnasts a place to train. I have never been so proud to be part of an organization.
Tony.
*Request for immediate exclusion of all officials from Russia and Belarus from all bodies of the Fédération internationale de gymnastique as well as European Gymnastics*
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen 2 March 2022
The Swiss Gymnastics Federation is shocked by the war against Ukraine. The Russian government, with the support of the government of Belarus, is thereby also violating the Olympic values, the values of sport and gymnastics, which are universally committed to peace, understanding and solidarity between countries and peoples.
This behavior must be sanctioned and it must also have consequences in sport.
We demand from the world federation of gymnastics, FIG, as well as from the European federation European Gymnastics to exclude immediately and until further notice all Russian and Belarusian representatives from all committees.
Politics should not be made and carried out at the expense of sport, this is the basic position of the Swiss Gymnastics Federation. However, in view of the aggression of the Russian government towards a sovereign country and the obvious breach of international law, we consider a change of our previous position to be appropriate.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus together with their support staff have already been punished and excluded from all international competitions. However, the consequences must be borne by everyone in the sport system – including the officials. Therefore, we call upon the FIG and European Gymnastics to immediately and until further notice exclude all Russian and Belarusian officials and to relieve them of their functions.
European Gymnastics Blog. Interview with ME!
I was recently interviewed by the European Gymnastics Blog about my adventures here working with the Swiss National Team. They were kind enough to let me repost this here. SO PLEASE FOLLOW THEM!
Tony Retrosi is a gymnastics coach from the USA who owns two gymnastics clubs and runs the consulting company Gym Momentum. Having spent some time in Italy as a consultant with the Italian gymnastics federation, Tony was offered an interim role coaching the Swiss national WAG team following the dismissal of the previous coaching staff in September 2021. He stepped in to coach Switzerland’s best gymnasts last October, alongside 1992 Olympian Wendy Bruce Martin, who has since accepted a permanent role as the team’s head coach, and Switzerland’s most decorated gymnast, Giulia Steingruber, who saw out the end of her contract with the federation by helping to coach her former teammates following her retirement from the sport. Tony’s commitments back home in the USA mean that he can’t stay permanently at the National Sports Centre in Magglingen, where the national team trains, but he plans to continue working with the team as a consultant. Tony kindly agreed to share his thoughts and impressions of the team and talk about their goals.
“Gymnastics federations in many countries have had a very difficult quad and Switzerland did not escape problems. When Wendy and I were hired, there was already new leadership within the STV (Swiss gymnastics federation). I have not met everyone but the confidence I have in the leadership cannot be understated. Beatrice Wertli (Director) and David Huser (Head of Elite Sport) provide great leadership. It really is a pleasure to be part of their team.
Every day I look forward to going into the gym. The girls work so hard. They believe in themselves and believe they can be great. There will always be setbacks and bad days. But the girls know that tomorrow is another day. There is a mutual trust and respect. I am going to be a total mess when it is time for me to go back to the USA. I have been coaching for more than 30 years. These are some of the best young women I have ever had the pleasure to work with. I came to Switzerland to try to help out a team that needed a coach. I hoped to make a difference. Instead, I made a family.”
Could you describe what the coaching team in Magglingen looks like right now? Are there any other coaches working alongside you and Wendy? Are there any plans for Giulia (Steingruber) to return as an assistant coach?
“Currently, the coaching team is mainly Wendy and I. We have Dessi (Buergi), our choreographer, a few days a week. I know STV is interviewing coaches to replace me. For me, this was always an interim position. Although I absolutely love it here, I own 2 gymnastics clubs in the USA as well as some other business ventures which make it impossible for me to stay. I plan on remaining on as a consultant and helping out with whatever is necessary in the future. Coaches education has always been a passion of mine. I am hoping to become more involved in that aspect as well. Once a second coach is hired to assist Wendy, they will likely look for a third coach. Giulia was such a fantastic part of our team. She made the transition possible. Currently she is recovering from foot surgery and has decided to take some time away from the sport. That being said, she stops in the gym every once in a while. She is a valuable resource that I hope will at some time continue on as a coach.”
What does a typical day at the gym look like? How many hours do the gymnasts train? Are there dedicated days for working on floor choreo, upgrades, etc.?
“Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, we have two trainings per day. Morning is typically warm up, event conditioning, beam, vault, dance or floor routines. Afternoon training is a longer warm up and line drills. Bars, floor, finish beam and then strength. Having the sports scientists from Magglingen, like Christoph Schaerer, is a great benefit. They set up our strength program. Wednesdays and Saturdays are just one training. We tend to focus on basics and recovery. Every day has a little different rhythm to it. Different assignments and expectations. .We are just beginning to focus on routines. We have DTB (Pokal) Cup in March that begins the season. Every day we try to leave some time for goals and upgrades.”
The gymnasts on the Swiss national team come from all over Switzerland and speak various languages. Have you and Wendy had any issues with language or cultural barriers? How are the gymnasts adapting to being coached in English?
“We are lucky that all the girls are very good in English. I do speak some Italian but no German or French. Wendy and I have both learned a good deal of German and Swiss-German. There really have been no cultural issues of any real consequence. There are numerous things that get lost in translation or mistranslated. We bought a birthday card for one of the girls, deliberately trying to be cute and juvenile, only to find out that the card said, ‘congratulations on your baby’. Oops.”
What have been the biggest challenges and the biggest surprises for you over the past few months?
“Coming from the USA, we were used to working longer hours at a higher intensity level. The physical preparation of athletes in the USA is just instilled from a very young age. Here we have learned to work smarter, not just harder. We are also used to having our gyms very crowded. Here we have more space to train and fewer athletes in a group. It is not uncommon for there to be 10 gymnasts in a group in the USA. Here we have 13 women on our team. The gym now feels busy if there are 30 athletes in the gym (men and women). At my gyms in the USA, there is going to be 30 team gymnasts and another 30- 40 kids in classes all at the same time. What I miss is the mat shapes like wedges, barrels etc that I have gotten used to for drill work. Again, coming from the USA, Switzerland wasn’t really on our radar. I am pleased with the talent level and work ethic. These girls are hungry. They want to be successful. They have risen to every challenge we have presented.”
What are the main goals for the national team in 2022? And for the rest of the quad?
“Right now we are staying focused on a good showing at European Championships. There is a lot that goes into that. The new code presents challenges, some gymnasts coming off of injury. We were not able to spend enough time getting back to basics and building strength. We came in (to work with the national team) 10 days before World Championships in 2021. We really are not looking past Europeans at this point. From there, World Championships.”
Some of the gymnasts are recovering from injuries, for example Leonie and her knee and Anastassia and her ankles. Can you tell us how they’re doing?
“In gymnastics, some days, it feels like everyone is coming off an injury. Even everyday ‘aches and pains’ can limit a gymnast’s training. Leonie (Meier) is swinging bars and beginning to do some skills on floor and beam. This was a major surgery so she is still a few months out. Ana (Pascu) is making great progress. She does one hard leg event per day. Right now she is tumbling on the rod floor and vaulting into soft landing. Anina (Wildi), who was injured at World Championships, is back at about 90%. It is important when coming back from injury to go slow. If you rush back, you are just going to get injured again. As a coach, it breaks my heart when a gymnast gets injured. We try to get the gymnasts as strong as possible. Strength is injury prevention.”
We’ve recently seen lots of videos of the gymnasts training upgrades and some cool skills, such as Livia’s double front and Chiara’s DTY. Do you think the gymnasts have gained confidence over the past six months and if so, what has contributed to that?
“The gymnasts know that the gym is their safe space. They know that the only way to improve is to get outside their comfort zone. When we started we focused on strength, basics and drills. Now they have the strength and understanding to do the skills. Confidence was pretty low when we arrived. Now they have swagger. They believe in themselves. They believe in the process. They believe in the team. Wendy and I are pretty positive people. We don’t push the gymnasts. We lead them. We believe in them.”
We’re seeing more and more European elites going to the US to compete in NCAA. Do you know if there’s any interest in this among the current Swiss gymnasts?
“Our main focus is preparing a team for Europeans and Worlds. To share information throughout the RLZs (Swiss regional performance centres) on technique, on philosophy and what we need in gymnasts coming up here. For some gymnasts, they know they are not in consideration for Europeans and Worlds and that college in USA would be a great experience. If that is their goal, we are happy to work with them. But not to the detriment of the overall Swiss program.”