Draft For women’s Code of Points 2017-2020
Learning- What I do to educate myself
Not long ago someone asked me what I do to for professional development and to keep learning. I thought I would share what I do, that is not to suggest that is the way to do it rather to share a process that has worked for me over the years. Even though I call it a process for someone like me who is full of questions and inherently curious it is more semi-organized chaos. Those of you that followed this blog over the years know that I love to read, so for me reading actual books (I like the tactile sense of having a book in my hands, although I do use my iPad when I travel) is the cornerstone of learning for me. I read on the average of two books a week. I also subscribe to several on line sport science journals, numerous coaching journals, The New Yorker, Atlantic Magazine and Fast Company Magazine as well as Olympic Coach and, of course, USA Gymnastics. For current events I read the Huffington Post and then our local papers. I try to devote an hour a day to professional reading and research and probably another hour at night to recreational reading. All too often the time I have allotted for research gets interrupted by life and sometime life gets interrupted by research or reading.
I have my journal where I where I record my ideas, notes from Conferences and notes from my reading. **Maybe I am old school but I like the longhand writing process a notebook. In my office at home I have a bookshelf devoted to these journals. I keep them more or less chronologically. If I am searching for an answer that I remember writing down it doesn’t take me too long to find.
I have not bought a journal in a while because people tend to give me them as presents which I really appreciate. Below are the notebooks that I have been using in the last year. Thanks to a couple friends in Australia. Much of what is in these notebooks probably would not make sense to anyone but me, but it helps me organize my thoughts.
I keep of log of all the books I read and I try to Log of my own training, something I started doing when I was in high school (I wish I could find those old logs, I know they are buried somewhere in a box). I keep track of things that work in the gym and things that don’t, recipes I found and like and jokes I am writing (I do stand up comedy on occasion)
I try to talk to professional colleagues as often as possible and speak to my mentors as often as I can. I can’t emphasize enough the role that my mentors have played in my learning both in terms of guidance and inspiration. I go to many more conferences than I used to but I am speaking at most of them and do not have a huge opportunity to go to lectures. Because of this I try to find other speakers and talk to them during lunches and catch up on what they spoke about
Podcasts are my other outlet. Whether I am working out, doing yard work or cooking I tend to have a podcast on.
Current favorites:
Rachel Maddow
Myths and Legends
Star Talk Radio
Each day that I coach is a learning experience. I learn from the athletes I work with and the coaches I work with. More of my coaching today is of the mentoring coaching nature but I still do some coaching daily, you can’t learn if you don’t have skin in the game.
I love to watch coach’s coach. Because I spend a lot of time doing clinic through out the USA and other countries, I get to see a wide variety of coaching technique and drills. I try to learn from others successes and failures. Watching those sessions, interacting with the coaches and athletes are priceless learning opportunities. For that matter I learn by watching anyone who is good at his or her craft. Excellence transcends sport, watching a chef at work an artist paint or draw or a musician play is great learning. I feel you have go outside your field and specialization to broaden and deepen learning. Everything is connected. I read a quote the other day, “If you go back far enough everything is connected.”
I will build upon that quote.
“If you go back far enough, everything is connected. As coaches we just need to show the kids how to reconnect the dots.”
I love to learn, the excitement and joy of learning new things and challenging myself daily sustains me. I am constantly trying to look at the world with new eyes and discover new ideas and approaches. I hope this helps give you some ideas to guide your learning.
**
Students who used longhand remembered more and had a deeper understanding of the material
SCIENTIFIC AMERICA
5 Rules for Coaches in the Gym
Anyone who has ever worked for me at either of my gyms or at Gym Momentum Camp know that I have 5 very simple rules for coaches in the gym.
Follow these rules we are ALL happy and a better staff.
I was reading Anne Josephson’s Blog this morning and she backs up rule #2 with science!
HERE ARE MY RULES FOR COACHES IN ANY GYM.
- BE ON TIME. Not only am I counting on you being there. The gymnasts count on you being there. You need to check your stations for safety and have a plan for what you are going do. You cannot do that if you are running into the gym at the last second or late. “being on time means 15 minutes early.”
- NO SITTING DOWN IN THE GYM. Anne states it more eloquently than me. Simply- You cannot motivate from your ass. You need to be a good example. If you want the kids sitting down- then you can sit down.
- NO CELL PHONES IN THE GYM. There are too many distractions as it is. A coach constantly checking their phone for text messages is a huge distraction. Leave it on a shelf in the gym. Need to video something? Go over and get it. Otherwise- enjoy the time you are disconnected.
- DON’T COME TO ME WITH A PROBLEM WITH OUT A POTENTIAL SOLUTION. Think before you come to me with a problem. Otherwise it’s just whining. I like to think I am a good listener. If you just need to vent, I get it. Say, “Tony- I just need to vent”. You are not looking for a solution. No problem. Want a solution? Give it some thought, give me your ideas. They may (or may not) work. But it is at least a starting point.
- EVERYONE LEAVES WITH A SMILE. We are entertainers, we need to do our best that every customer, Parents, class kids, siblings, co-workers need to leave with a smile. THIS INCLUDES YOU! We have all had rough days. Sometimes you just need to fake it.
NO LYING ON THE MATS: How Horizontal Coaching Hurts Your Gym’s Morale.
Anne Josephson.
Ask any gym owners or managers pet peeve or gym parents’ concern about their child’s coach and in the top five you are likely to hear “sitting/lying on a mat during practice.”
I know it makes my list consistently.
We have a name for it: horizontal coaching. And horizontal coaching is like fingernails on a blackboard to me.
Coaching is exhausting, to be fair. But, did you know that sitting down through practice or lying prone while your athletes’ toil away is having a negative effect on their effort?
Think about this: Ever notice how when someone yawns, you do too?
It’s because of what the phenomenon of what scientists call emotional contagion, the transfer of moods among people.
Multiple studies have confirmed this: people tend to display and experience the emotions of those around them.
If a coach lying on a mat while asking their athletes to complete a difficult conditioning assignment, that coach is inadvertently making it more difficult for the athletes to respond with high effort and enthusiasm.
In fact, research from the authors of the aptly titled book Emotional Contagion point to studies that show negative emotions adversely impact the group even more than positive ones help.
To be blunt, not only does lazy coach brings the energy down at practice but does so at a greater rate than enthusiastic coach brings it up.
Studies confirm that we do not live on emotional islands. Quite to the contrary our mood ripple out to those with whom we work, influencing not only other coaches’ and athletes’ emotions but the dynamic of the entire gym as well as individual thoughts, feelings and actions.
Lazy coaching influences a lazy gym atmosphere, which influences lazy beliefs, attitudes and efforts from our co-workers and athletes.
(Note: Of course there are exceptions to the rule. If a coach is disabled or injured and cannot physically stand, athletes and co-workers can adjust their attitudes and the coach can make up for the inability to be physically engaged in other ways. But those coaches are few and far between and they do not pertain to the able bodied folk who might have had a couple few too many the night before or who simply want to relax and check messages while their athletes condition…)
Get up, be enthusiastic and engage—as a coach you are a leader and it is up to you to set the tone for your athletes and to positively influence the culture in your gym.
USECA AWARDS 2016
The US Elite Coaches Association is now accepting nominations for 2016 Awards.
The award categories are:
International Coach of the Year.
International Choreographer of the Year.
Hopes/Tops Coach of the Year.
Hopes Choreographer of the Year.
JO Coach of the year.
JO Choreographer of the year.
Please email nominees with a paragraph or more of why you feel they deserve the award to our Awards Chairman Todd Gardiner toddigi@aol.com
The United States Elite Coaches Association-Women (USECA) provides elite gymnastics coaches and other members of the Association a vehicle for communication through monthly journals, video recordings, and a website. USECA membership is open to volunteers, coaches, educators, scientists, medical professionals, judges, and others devoted to elite women’s gymnastics. The views expressed by the individuals who submit various articles, videos, or research for publication by USECA are the opinions of those individuals only. USECA does not recognize or confer any type of expert status to those who make contributions to any of the USECA publications or endorse or offer any opinion on the accuracy or validity of those opinions. It is therefore the official position of USECA that the use of the USECA name and logo is only permitted with the prior written consent of the USECA Board of Directors.
U.S.E.C.A. has been serving elite women’s gymnastics since 1976. The annual meeting is held each year in conjunction with the USA Gymnastics National Congress.
U.S.E.C.A. is a Non-Profit Organization
HELP!!! These Parents are Driving Me Crazy!
I have received a few e-mails from coaches looking for advice on how to deal with “problem parents” in their program. In all my years of coaching I have have some great parents and some nightmare parents. I would love to tell you that I can give you some magic to deal with them.
I can’t.
The best I can do is give you some advice. The e-mail below is a compilation from a few e-mails and conversations I have had.
Dear Tony-
HELP! ! I was wondering if you had anything on moving gymnasts from level to level and trusting the coach and the process. I have been coaching for 16 years and this is the first time I had a parent threaten to take their kid to another gym if I didn’t move her up. I Have not handled that situation yet but what do I do. To give you some back ground our State Championship just ended and this has been a week from hell parent wise. I have never had such jealous and competitive parents in my career
They are always comparing their children.
There is a parent whose child NEVER made a full week of practice this entire season and she wants to know why her child didn’t progress as fast and far as others.
They are more involved with the score than their kids.Thanks for the Advice
A. Coach
None of us got into coaching for the paycheck. We all share a love of the sport and because of that we often put up with some very difficult parents because we love the kids. I laugh at anyone who thinks we have an easy business. In order to get ONE check you have to keep at least THREE people happy. The gymnast has to feel they are improving and having fun. A parent may want to see the gym and bathrooms spotless and the other wants to see that their child in the Olympics. It is a tricky situation at best.
Dear A. Coach
I do my best to have all my rules in WRITING and very BLACK and WHITE. I have a pretty extensive Team Handbook that covers a lot of the situations and our philosophy. I cover the handbook EVERY year in our preseason team meeting. I give them REAL examples of situations. It seems that everyone is happy to read the handbook and rules but sometimes fail to see how the rules may effect them .
From the Handbook:
Meet Eligibility
In the two weeks before each meet we require that gymnasts attend all of their workouts (in some cases one week may be sufficient). We want to ensure gymnasts are safe, well-prepared, and given the best chance for competitive success. If a scheduling conflict arises in the two weeks before a meet, please be sure to contact the coaching staff in order to be given clearance to compete.Everyone reads this and thinks- sure that makes sense they want my kid to be safe.
At the meeting I give the example: Your daughter gets sick and misses a few days of practice. Then she has to stay after school to make up the work she missed because she was sick. Normally she trains 4 times each week but due to illness she she missed 2 days and was late 1 day (missing an event) making up school work. She is scheduled to travel to a meet next week, their flight is on THURSDAY and they Don’t compete until SUNDAY. They were planning on visiting Disney prior to competition.
Then I ask the parents: WHAT SHOULD I DO? There really is NO WAY that this is going to be a good/ safe competition for her. Competition is part of our sport and I have seen many, many gymnasts stress out for competitions based on their history of performance at competitions. I have seen others who have “gotten lucky” at a competition having missed a lot of practices. That is OK at level 3 when the biggest thing is their back handspring. But does that sound safe when their opening pass on floor is now a full twisting double back?
The answer that we come up with is that the coach will TRY to do some private lessons (at an additional fee) and that the gymnast is PROBABLY not competing all events at the competition. The parent should have asked about visiting Disney prior to booking their flight for competition.
By giving parents a concrete example they begin to understand the process.
Parent behavior at competitions is also something I cover. I tell them, we are guests at these competitions and if it is a home meet, we hare hosts. We want to be good guests and gracious hosts. They should cheer for any gymnast they see that does a good job or makes a great recovery.
Although score are an important part of our sport, our focus is on the performance. As coaches we have given the gymnasts individual and specific things to focus on. If a gymnast makes the corrections based on coaches instruction then we are HAPPY. Regardless of the score. Gymnastics is an individual sport and the corrections and instructions given one gymnast and most likely NOT given to the next. Children grow at different rates at different times and their gymnastics will grow with them.I have coaches all over the world and everywhere I have heard coaches say the same thing about moving kids up. What I would suggest is having 2 scores. I know this goes against previous statements but it keeps things Black and White. The first score is your preseason score that the gymnast must achieve in an “in house” meet before they are allowed to compete in a real competition. The second score is the move up score that they must reach TWICE during the season. Following the season if a gymnast has reached their move up scores we still have a one on one talk about whether moving up is going to give them the success that they seek.
At the preseason (or new parent) parent meeting my opening statement when we are talking about moving up is, “Nothing would make me happier than have a Team of ALL LEVEL 10’s. That would make my life so easy. One set of rules to know. Going to competitions and getting everyone done in one session”. But reality is that kids learn and progress at different rates. It does not change my goal. Reality is that not every gymnast will get to Level 10 or elite. But I will never stand in the way of someone’s progress.
The best way to have a parent believe in and trust the process is to show them that you have a plan and a guide. Have your rules and policies written out for them to see. Keep your rules Black and White and stick to them.
It is NEVER a fun conversation when you have to ask a parent and child to leave your gym but it is necessary at times. I encourage parents to come and talk to me and to voice their opinions and concerns. I actually appreciate it when a parent complains because it gives me a chance to grow and improve my organization. Sometimes some of my rules have become outdated and need to be changed. Sometimes I have said or done the wrong thing. A parent taking the time to sit down with me only helps me get better.
In the top drawer of my desk I have 2 things- A stack of $5 gift cards for a local coffee shop that I give out as a Thank You to a parent who sits down and has a mature conversation with me about ways to improve.
The other thing is a stack of business cards from other gyms in the area where they can go if I do not feel we can find common ground.A former President of USA Gymnastics once told me, “When I retire I am going to write a book called- “My daughter is talented that is why she did great, The coach sucks- that is why daughter didn’t do well”
That is our reality.Hope it Helps
Tony
There are no magic cures for problem parents. I have just found that by having clear lines of communication and rules that have been explained to everyone helps. Once you set the rules and that first generation of kids and parents follow the rules and hopefully have success they will help guide the others.
You may want to read BOOKS EVERY COACH SHOULD GET
Mental Preparation as you head to Regional Championships in USA
Peak Performance Sports, LLC
Mental Training for a Competitive Edge
888-742-7225 | 407-909-1700
6 Steps for Pregame Mental Preparation:
1. Transition from life to sports and enter the role of the athlete. Focus only on the role of athlete and park any worries from life.
2. Discard outcome expectations or strict demands. Let go of the expectations you feel to be perfect or win.
3. Be proactive with confidence prior to competition. Take full control of your confidence level before the start.
4. Focus on execution or the process and not results. Stay into the moment and don’t think too far ahead.
5. Rehearse your performance and game plan. Visualize how you want to perform and execute you game or race plan.
6. Prepare your mind and body to trust in your skills. Get ready to become a performer and stop practicing so you can get into the zone.
Today Was a Good Day
Last year while I was in Australia I had the opportunity to work with this young lady. A young, talented and driven gymnast. Every gymnast needs to know how to fail in order to succeed. No one is going to be
perfect in each competition. There will always be corrections to make.
I received this email from her mom last night and she has allowed me to share it.
Sage had her first qualifier two weeks ago and it ended badly. 2 falls on bars. She was broken hearted knowing she could have/ should have done better. She came back stronger for her next two qualifiers and placed 3rd overall. She still talks about you and I have made her a promise that she will go to see you in the states one day. I wanted to share something with you I wrote.
Have a wonderful day.
LisaToday was a bad day. You fell on beam. You missed your connections on floor. You didn’t reach handstand on bars. Your execution was low. Today was a day you wanted to quit. All that hard work for what? All those long hours of training, missing out on friends, missing out on parties. Getting up early, struggling with being tired. What was it all for? It was for nothing. A big fat zilch.
Today you wanted to quit. Today you wanted to hang your grips up, you wanted to wipe the mag off your rough and bleeding hands for good. You wanted to throw away all your leotards and be a “normal” kid one again. You wanted to turn your back on something that was so engrained in you, such a part of you that cutting a limb off would be the closest thing to it.
Today was a sad day. The disappointment etched in your face, the hot tears burning your skin as they tumbled down your cheeks. The hurt clearly displayed on your little face for all the world to see.
Today broke two hearts. Yours and mine.
Today was hard. Hard for you. Much harder for me to watch you fall apart. I wanted to swoop in and save you from this heartache. I watched helplessly as you fought those demons that tortured you from inside. I was powerless to stop them. I felt like a failure as a mother as I hadn’t protected you from this hurt.
Today was a struggle. The little voices in your head told you that you were no good. They told you to quit. They tormented you and filled you full of doubt. And with doubt comes failure. I watched you in a tug of war with your mind. I saw the inner turmoil that threatened to consume you.
Today was a battle. Somewhere deep inside of you a war was raging. Would you let disappointment and hurt win? Would you let those mental demons tear you apart? Would you fall and never get up again? No. You gathered your strength, you stood up to those voices. Every fibre of your being held steadfast in your resolve. I saw my little girl fight from the core.
Today was a day of hope. The flame that burns inside you, that had all but been extinguished today, flickered again. You held your head high as you watched other gymnasts, not better than you but who had cleaner routines, stand up and receive ribbons and medals. I watched you hug your team mates, congratulating them, sharing in their victory. The joy that had been robbed from you was soon replaced with the love you felt for your sport. I saw that tiny glimmer of hope light the dark place that was your heart. I saw you banish the voices in your head saying you should quit, you were a failure, that you were no good.
Today was a good day. Today you learnt things that I could never teach you. You learnt how to lose. You learnt how to fight back. You learnt the importance of not always winning. You learnt how to take disappointment and turn it in to a positive. You learnt that love prevails. You made me proud, much prouder than if you had a gold medal hung around your neck.
Today you won.
Today was a great day
Miss you Sage! Hope to see you soon!
Tony
Crash of The Week. Dismount
OUCH. But she did remember to salute at the end.
April Fools: Here Are 11 Fantastic Sports Pranks
The complete elite athlete | Day by Day – How I survive LIFE!
I spent 15 years of my life as a high performance athlete and the last decade as a high performance coach. In that time I’ve come to know and observe many of my sports finest athletes as well…
Source: The complete elite athlete | Day by Day – How I survive LIFE!
I spent 15 years of my life as a high performance athlete and the last decade as a high performance coach. In that time I’ve come to know and observe many of my sports finest athletes as well as the rest. Out of all the high performance competitors I’ve come to know, I’d say only 10% are complete elite athletes, willing to do what it takes to achieve at the sports highest levels (dream kids) About 20% are lesser talented however insanely hard working (coaches love them) and the remaining 60% are talented athletes who think showing up and having certain skills qualifies them as top athletes (my least favorite).
The complete elite athletes are elite minded 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. From meal selection, to minimal social calendars, to training on holidays and of course committed rest/recovery cycles, these people arrange their life around their athletic goals.
There is a large sense of entitlement these days in our society. Many people think that just because they show up, they deserve equal compensation to others regardless of their performance, commitment and professionalism. I see this in too many elite athletes. Just because we commit to spending 10-20 hours in a gym doesn’t mean you are training like those Olympians and World finalists.
Being a top elite athlete requires many sacrifices, life choices and an accountable mentality. If you can’t do that or as a coach can’t get your athletes to, chances are as a team, you will always fall short of the top.
_________________________
1- Your fitness needs to match your level of talent. Sport is about maximizing the body and minds potential. In order to do so, you need to have the right fitness for your sport. In gymnastics sports, being flexible, having power and speed and also being light are huge factors to success. The more fit you are the more training you can handle and the more control you have over your muscles. Talented unfit athletes can do skills, but they can’t do them as high or as clean as a more fit equal, they are at a disadvantage. When athletes are failing, I don’t think enough of them ask themselves “am I strong enough for this skill?”. I think if they did a lot of them would realize the answer is no.
As an athlete, I knew that I was only capable of certain skills at peak fitness so if my skills were inconsistent or lacking technical precision I increased the time spent on fitness not just my time spent attempting drills and skills.
2- Food and Weight matter. The most controversial topic in judged sport that I believe too many coaches ignore.
Who doesn’t love pizza right? Well your ankles don’t like it when you land on your face and you’re carrying the extra weight from that poor food choice. Gymnastics is a high impact sport. Your joints take a pounding even when you don’t feel a jar or a jolt. Controlling your weight and your diet helps you keep your body healthy and your training more consistent. If you have a fluctuating diet and weight, you spend each day trying to sort out which body you’re working with. You spend more time trying to adapt than actually growing in sport.
I knew my ideal weight for off season and competition season. Since you can’t maintain peak shape year round and avoid burnout, I spent the training months at about 157lbs and around 6-8 weeks from competition season I’d lean myself out to 153lbs. I was the quickest, sharpest and cleanest version of myself at that weight. Did I make technical errors at that weight? Of course, I’m not perfect but I certainly looked the part of the top level athlete and had the energy/stamina for week long competitions and physically intense training.
I’m not saying you can’t treat yourself from time to time, however if you think your daily Starbucks fraps and lattes are enhancing your performance you are dead wrong. You want that drink and success? Add 20 minutes of running to burn that off.
3- Being in the gym doesn’t mean you’re training. “I train blah blah hours a day” yeah but are you sitting on your butt taking turns every 5 minutes because you’re too busy socializing? SHUT UP! Hours spent in the gym mean absolutely nothing if you have a poor training rhythm and super low intensity.
I trained less gymnastics hours than most of the people I fought against to make the national team but my training was anything but slow. A turn every 90 seconds with no sitting allowed between them and only quality turns that counted towards daily plan completion. Do 3 of each pass didn’t mean face plant or ass drop 3, it meant do 3 properly. Poor quality isn’t an acceptable standard to the athletes who are leading in any sport.
I also spent 50-75% of my training time doing fitness. The percentage got higher as I got older and my body could handle limited impact. Again, a strong body is capable of more and is an asset. Whether I was sick, sore, tired or just off, Goodlife Fitness was still part of my daily routine, even on days where gym wasn’t part of my schedule.
4- The selection procedure isn’t the reason you didn’t make it. You failed. It’s not because someone is biased or because the procedure was against you. Sometimes we just aren’t good enough and there is nothing wrong with that. Stop blaming every other factor and person involved in the process. Look at yourself and figure out what you need to change.
Also related to this is your attitude. No one wants to cheer for the kid throwing the pity party so change your face and your attitude if you want support from your sport community.
_________________________
We all have different goals and reasons for participating in competitive sport and that’s important because not every athlete wants to be or is meant to be an elite level athlete. All I ask from my gymnast (and used to from myself) is that their goals and commitment level match.
You want to be elite? Then don’t half ass it. Give yourself reasons to be successful rather than trying to place blame as to why you aren’t. Get your butt in the gym and work harder that you did the day prior and raise your expectations of yourself for your day to day life choices.
Earning national and international medals isn’t easy. That’s why only three people get to and if you aren’t 100% into your training, chances are you aren’t one of them.
Den XO
