Gym Momentum Monday 2/12/2018
For the past few months I have been sending out a weekly e-mail/ newsletter to Gym Momentum Camp Attendees, Gym Momentum Camp Staff as well as friends and those who have expressed interest in the Gym Momentum Community and/ or camp. Yesterday someone asked me, “Why don’t you also post those on line?”
Thinking about it- I really should. So here is GYM MOMENTUM MONDAY for the week of February 12, 2018.
I will continue to be sending out the e-mail on Monday and will be posting here Monday Night or Tuesday. If you are interested in receiving the e-mail let me know.
Happy Monday Everyone!
Last week I took my mom on a cruise. Something you may not know about my mother is that she was also my first coach.
As I was packing for my cruise I was thinking about all coaches who I had an opportunity to learn from.
My mother, Denise Edmonds, who gave me the love of the sport.
Coach Bean, who challenged me to work harder than the next guy.
Don Tonry, who taught me the science behind the sport.
Kip Reed, who made practice fun.
With them in mind I started the Facebook Community – Thank You to My Gymnastics Coach and the #thankscoach on twitter. There was even a small article written about it in International Gymnast
Without taking anything away from the victims who were abused in our sport or ANY sport- I want to take some time to say THANKS to the great coaches out there. Whether it is a class coach, a developmental team coach, JO, USAIGC, Xcel or Elite Coach- THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO!
You are the first ones in and the last ones out of the gym on a daily basis. You plan your classes or practices. You schedule competitions. You spend weekends on the road in hotels at competitions. You are a role model for al those around you. I know you take all these duties seriously and I know very often parents will NOT thank you. So the least I can do is to recognize your efforts and Thank You.
At Gym Momentum Camp– all the staff takes their duties very seriously. We know that in the course of a long weekend we are not going to teach every gymnast a new skill. Our goal is to work with each coach so that they learn not just the technique but also the progression and plan. The hardest thing for a coach to know is, “what’s next?”. Gym Momentum staff have been their before! We want you to learn from our mistakes and our successes.
Secrets to High Level Gymnastics Training
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.
- Strength, Speed and Body Shapes come before skill
- Mastery of basic skills with fairly uniform technique.
- Mastery of more advanced basics with adaption made to individuals. FOR EXAMPLE- I teach twisting technique the same AT THE BEGINNING for every athlete. BUT, when I see it is not working with one particular gymnast I make adjustments to fit her/him. I do NOT reinvent the wheel with each gymnast or group. I do not change the entire plan based on one gymnast. **
- REMEMBER – gymnasts change physically and mentally. As a gymnast grows and gains mass you will need to adapt to their new body and mind set. Pay attention and listen to them. They need to be the drivers in these situations.
- Skills need to be mastered BEFORE they go in routines. Then routines need to mastered before they are competed.
- You, as the coach, must be as calm and analytical as possible. You do your job. They do their job.
- All the time in the gym bust be quality time and accounted for.
- Plan, Plan, Plan. Then have a back up Plan
- Each competition needs to have some significance. Sometimes it is just doing their new routines in a comfortable setting.
- Every practice needs to have some element of competition.
- Keep it FUN
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.
Getting Out Of Your Comfort Zone
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 Corrupts. Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
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.
WHY IS GYM MOMENTUM A FREE SITE?
The other day someone asked me why Gym Momentum was a “free site”. How come I didn’t do memberships or a “pay per view” type business model.
Mostly because of the coaches who influenced me when I began my coaching career. Admittedly I am old. When I first started there were BARELY computers. There certainly was no YOUTUBE and even video playback was a novelty.
If a coach had a cool video they wanted to share they would put it on a VHS and stick it in the mail. The question is, “How did we learn?”.
I spent a great deal of time, effort and energy taking my gymnasts to more experienced coaches gyms. Did the coaches ever charge me or the gymnasts? NO. Not even once. As many times as not the gymnasts stayed with families and I stayed with the coach. I learned by watching , listening, taking notes and asking questions. I learned by listening to the correction the coach gave my gymnasts. I never pretended to my gymnasts that I had all the answers. And I still don’t.
As an aside- The longer I coach, the less I feel I know.
These coaches took a great deal of time with me. Now that I own gyms and have had a reasonably successful career I feel that I am giving back. I am just inviting you into my brain.
Thanks to my first group of gymnasts. You thought me a LOT.
Thanks to the coaches who helped me along.
Why This Second Grade Handout Should Be Your New Creative Manifesto for Gymnastics Coaches
Last week, I was listening to some parents who had attended curriculum night at their daughter’s school. Then that Friday night I spoke to a group of teachers in Wisconsin and was listening to their thoughts on the open house that they had just held. While both of these conversations were playing in my brain I came across the above handout that was given to children in 2nd grade.
My first thought was, what an amazing thing to give a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds. My second thought was, what an amazing thing to waste on a bunch of kids. After all, when was the last time they’ve been asked to “revisit” a lesson plan or progression after two or three weeks of horrible practices?
And so, I am sharing it with you. I feel like this is as good a guideline for any creative coach as any second grade handout or anything else I have written or spoken about.
Instead of It’s good enough, try thinking, Is this really my best work?
We’ve all heard the clichés about good enough not being enough. But really, what does that mean when it comes down to actually doing the work? It feels very vague. But by internalizing this notion and making it relevant in a personal way, it will be easier to know if you’re there yet with the work.
We’re all our own worst critics, and that can be hard at times. But just by being honest with yourself and not stopping until you are completely satisfied with your work, you will inevitably make the work better and your work life more fulfilling. What makes me CRAZY is when coaches try to just be “good” instead of GREAT. If you shoot for GREAT and miss- you will atlas be Good. If you shoot for GOOD and miss- where does that leave you?
Instead of saying, I can’t make this any better, try thinking, I can always improve.
Somewhat related to the previous thought, this mindset is really helpful when it comes to feedback. Ours is an industry well fed by feedback. When a judge evaluates an athletes routine – that is feedback. It’s a job requirement that you understand and can gracefully deal with the fact that your work is going to be evaluated and changed.
Instead of immediately fighting it and picking up inquiry forms and telling everyone that “it’s not fair!” , pause and think for a minute, “Maybe they’re right, where are the holes I didn’t see?” It’s turning a setback into a springboard.
Instead of saying, I made a mistake, try thinking, Mistakes help me learn.
Creative gyms should be safe zones for scary ideas. Mistakes will happen. The key is to learn from them, and also learn not to be afraid of them. This is a good reminder to never let a spectacular failure go to waste.
Instead of Plan A didn’t work, try thinking, There’s always Plan B.
The best coaches I know don’t get overly-attached to one idea because they know they’ll have more. This is a business where things change very fast. It’s always hard when it happens. But with ideas, as with goldfish, the best way to get over it when one dies, is to go get another one.
All the thoughts on the second grade chart are great and all are very relevant to a creative department. The main themes uniting them are perspective and framing.
Coaching and Teaching can be a frustrating at times. Keeping these guidelines in mind will help those creative coaches turn frustrating moments into growth opportunities. By putting this growth mindset to use, not only will the whole gym’s work get better, there will be less crying in your car on the way home
Inspiration: Why This Second Grade Handout Should Be Your New Creative Manifesto – Adweek
3 Steps Effective Leaders Take When Dealing With Crisis
USA Gymnastics in a year into the Larry Nassar Crisis. I have heard a lot of complaints (again) recently in their ability to fill the position of CEO/President and move on from this crisis. I am NOT a USAG defender. I have called them out when they have not met my expectations. I do believe that we are in good hands. The people that are currently in charge are doing a good job keeping things moving in the right direction. I do NOT want the organization to rush into a decision to fill the position. A crucial member of the search committee was busy training her athlete for P & G Championships and the World Championships. Her focus in where it needed to be.
I am becoming impatient with the slowness of filling this position but I understand why. Hopefully the position will be filled soon. The next CEO certainly will have their hands full. The recent allegations by McKayla Maroney and the revelation by Tatyana Gutsu have opened up wounds that may have just started to heal.
The following article was written by Karima Mariama-Arthur and first appeared on Entrepreneur.com.
Leading an organization can sometimes feel like navigating a ship through mine-infested waters. Disaster is likely to strike at some point, no matter how sure the hand at the helm. Data breaches, customer service debacles, recall fiascos — crises are everywhere, and countless institutions have been sunk by an unseen bombshell. But in many cases, it isn’t the crisis itself that causes an organization to flounder; too often it’s a leader’s response to the crisis that causes the greatest damage.
A disaster is a moment of truth for an organization. It’s a time when competent leaders prove their mettle and when pretenders reveal their impotence. A crisis is almost always an indication that something needs to change within an organization. Sometimes that change is structural. Policies might have to be revised, or mission statements might need to be tweaked. Other times that change comes in the form of new leadership. If the person at the helm is unable to make good decisions during turbulent times, the organization might have to look elsewhere for needed direction. Replacing an ineffective leader is a common — though not always ideal — response to things going awry.
It’s better for leaders to be proactive and take the necessary steps to navigate crises and make solid decisions that will help move their organizations in a new direction. Consider taking the following steps when you face turbulent times:
Step 1: Be honest with yourself.
In order to right the ship, an effective leader must start by confronting hard truths. A leader can’t justifiably be blamed for a force majeure or for some other unforeseeable, unavoidable stroke of bad luck, but oftentimes crises are caused from within and aggravated by the organization itself. Faulty security procedures might be to blame. Poorly trained personnel or an internal conspiracy could be the culprit.
If a crisis is triggered by a structural failure, a good leader will analyze the flaw to determine how it contributed to the crisis. If an airplane crashes because of the captain’s miscalculation, an honest leader would self-evaluate and own the mistake. To err is human; to take responsibility is divine. Being honest helps leaders get the root of problems and capably address them.
Step 2: Act carefully but quickly.
In diagnosing the problem, a capable leader must work with a dedicated team to craft a strategic plan. All options must be brought to the table and weighed, no matter how difficult or undesirable they might seem. Once a decision has been made and a plan has been developed and vetted, it must be put it into action as quickly as possible. Time is usually of the essence in such scenarios, so there can be no dillydallying or feet dragging. When crises demand same-day responses, delays can be perceived as incompetence or even indifference, both of which can exacerbate a crisis. When more time is available to consider possible solutions, take it. However, remember that careful and quick must go hand-in-hand at this juncture.
Step 3: Stay focused.
Be aware that once the action plan is set into motion, there will likely be further challenges and setbacks that surface. Even if a leader’s response to a crisis is otherwise impeccable, some critics and competitors might take this opportunity to kick the organization while it’s down. Previous mistakes might be brought to the forefront, and old controversies might have to be re-litigated. It’s natural for a leader to feel doubt and fear as the problems pile up.
If you start to lose focus on the big picture, it might be necessary to take step back from the situation and reassess it, or even seek outside advice. But it’s important not to despair. If your plan is sound and the organization’s intentions are good, then push through the discomfort and uncertainty. And, above all, remind yourself that smooth seas don’t make good sailors.
While it’s not always possible for an organization to completely recover from a crisis, or emerge wholly unscathed, even when headed by a brilliant leader, it is possible to take lessons from every disaster. Failure today could mean success tomorrow. Hold on to that truth to find peace of mind when the storm is raging.
TIME IS NOT OUR FRIEND
In GYMNASTICS, time is not our friend. There are constant reminders through out warm up and competitions. Looking at time as a whole, it works against us. In college recruitment, in skills, on a path to elite. tic, tic, tic. Time only moves in one direction.
Reality is that technology makes you impatient. It used to take months to get across North America. Now it is a pretty easy flight. Did the continent get smaller? No- we got faster. If you wrote to someone in Europe from USA it could take as much as a month for the letter to arrive. Today it takes a fraction of a second for an e-mail to make it anywhere in the world (or even up to the freaking space station!).
In the gym, we view skills as “easy” because they are performed frequently. The double back on floor does not even raise an eyebrow unless is is tremendously HIGH or frighteningly LOW. Women must have been competing it for ever! Nope. Nellie Kim of the former USSR competed it at the Montreal Olympics in 1976 (An Olympics I was at as a 10yr old spectator). It was competed at other competitions (but not internationally) back in 1972. The Layout Yurchenko, also known as the “Level 9 compulsory vault” was first competed in 1982. In the grand scheme of things, these are pretty new skills. Are these skills done more frequently now because they are easier? Maybe yes, maybe no. Technology has made advancements in that Floors have gotten more springy and the vault table replaced the old horse. The innovations of numerous training aids like the Tumbl Trak and pits have allowed more attempts. Technically the skills have the same physical demands.
Looking at practices:
In a 45 minute rotation
At vault a gymnast, if they are VERY efficient, is going to take maybe 10 turns. Maybe 6 will be vaults that they are planning on competing.
Total time of work: 35 seconds. Counting return stations I will be generous and say 2 minutes.
At bars an efficient gymnast may do 5 routines plus a couple of parts.
Total time of work: 3.5 – 4.5 minutes.
At beam, 5-10 routines plus parts.
Total time of work: 12 minutes average .
At floor, 2 or 3 routines, plus extra passes and dance.
Total time of work: 7-9 minutes.
Warm up, conditioning and flexibility: Total time of work:
MAYBE 27 minutes (assuming the warm up run is about 12 minutes and flexibility is about 10 minutes)
In a 4 hour work out total time of work: MAYBE 50 minutes.
It gets WORSE when you think about competitions.
At a competition a gymnast is doing minimal amount of work. The focus is on quality, not quantity.
Vault: Total time of work: Maybe 30 seconds. Time of work in competition: 7 seconds
Bars: Total time of work: 2 minutes. Time of work in competition: 15-30 seconds
Beam: Total time of work: 3 minutes. Time of work in competition: 1.5 minutes
Floor: Total time of work: 2 minutes. Time of work in competition: 1.5 minutes
IF you were to compete EVERY weekend (not a good idea) a gymnast is spending on average :
3 hours on vault (8-10 minutes of work) for 7 seconds of competition.
3 hours on bars (16 minutes of work) for 30 seconds of competition
3 hours on beam (40 minutes of work) for 90 seconds of competition
3 hours on floor (28 minutes of work) for 90 seconds of competition.
We have a LOT of time that we spend in a practice NOT working. Are your gymnasts focused on what they did and the correction they need to make or are they thinking about what they are going to have for dinner?
In most gyms there is VERY little about what you can do to increase efficiency physically. Is there anything you can do to keep the gymnasts engaged mentally?
Time is NOT going to be your friend in the gym. You need to make sure you have a plan and a back up plan. Look not just at the big picture but also each event and side station.
I’d love to hear your ideas.
USA Gymnastics’ path to Real and Substantial Change
What determines whether a social movement will be a flash in the pan or a real catalyst for longterm change? Why did Occupy Wall Street subside in a matter of months, for instance, while the American Civil Rights Movement thrived, resulting in the passage of multiple laws?
Many people have called for REAL and SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE at USA GYMNASTICS. If we view the change necessary as a social movement we can identify common themes among social movements that don’t merely broadcast the need for a social change, but actually create long-term impact.
At this writing USA Gymnastics has yet to name a CEO/President. The new CEO/President will need a team behind them. People interested in making real change.
Every successful social movement features three distinct leadership roles:
the agitator,
the innovator,
the orchestrator.
Any successful pathway to real change in USAG will require all three.
Julie Battilana, a long-time scholar of institutional change explains, “If you look at the history of any successful social change movement, you’ll see there were moments of really effective agitation, innovation, and orchestration that led to the adoption of the change,” says Battilana, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Professor of Social Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, “Although history remembers some individual actors as highly influential, single leaders rarely change the course of society on their own.”
The Agitator stirs the pot by articulating and publicizing societal grievances, rallying an otherwise diverse group of people around a mutual desire for change.
“Effective agitators are able to draw attention to a problem and convince others that it requires both some corrective action and collective work to bring it about. To demonstrate that the status quo is not acceptable and to mobilize others, agitators thus need to communicate in a manner that ensures grievances are shared and collective and not seen as irrelevant.”
Take, for example, marine biologist Rachel Carson, who alerted the public to the dangers of pesticides in the 1950s; Donald Trump, who, throughout 2016, rallied citizens around the slogan “Make America Great Again;” or Teresa Snook, who launched the Women’s March on Washington after Trump’s presidential victory.
The Innovator develops a solution to address the grievances. That means anticipating roadblocks and coming up with alternative paths, as well as justifying those alternatives in appealing ways to engage individuals, groups, and organizations to support them.
“An innovator is likely someone who has studied, lived, or experienced something beyond the norms in a given environment and thus is able to create a vision of a different future that nonetheless makes sense to, and captivates, those living within the existing practices and conditions,”
Without leaders who can lay out a persuasive path of innovation, a movement will never make it past the agitation stage.
“If you do not innovate and have a solution to the problem you’ve identified, the movement will die,” she says. “I think that’s what happened with the Occupy Wall Street movement. There was an effective agitation; the movement came at the right time—a time when the world was screaming that we needed a different financial system. But there was a lack of innovation. And we ended up coming back to a system that is quite a bit like what we had before.”
The Orchestrator spreads the solution created by the innovator, continually strategizing how best to reach and work with people both within and outside the movement, as the movement for change grows in size and complexity.
“Orchestrators often need to tailor their message to the interests of the various constituencies they are trying to persuade to embrace the change,” Battilana writes. “However, in doing so, they need to strike a fine balance, as they also need to ensure that the overall message around change adoption remains coherent.”
Agitation without innovation means complaints without alternatives;
Innovation without orchestration means ideas without impact;
For USA Gymnastics each role requires a combination of communicating, organizing, and evaluating.
Agitators need to communicate the necessity of the change; innovators need to communicate the validity of their proposed solution; and orchestrators must be able to tailor information to different types of constituents—coaches, parents, gymnasts and the general audience- while still maintaining a cohesive message.
The next CEO must be able to leverage these various sources of power as they push for change. Effecting change does not guarantee glory. Behind any successful movement lies a great deal of thankless determination and sweat.
Change takes time, it takes a lot of work, and most of the time you’re not going to get a lot of recognition. Most movements are full of hidden heroes. No one may ever know about them. Some of them will have worked their entire career and not see the change. But lets make sure we do not ignore that they played key roles in agitation, orchestration, or innovation.