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I’m not sure if most people know… but USA Gymnastics has some great webinars that are available to the general public. The above is the recording of a webinar that went over early sports specialization and overuse injuries by Dr Emily Sweeney. WEBINAR RECORDING PDF DOCUMENT Dr. Sweeney also provided a great PDF document to accompany the slide show which you can see below… Link Removed DISCUSSION I’d love to start a discussion on this and see what everyone’s thought are. This is a huge...
All About The UK Gymnastics System (UK vs. US Systems)
Below is a post that I copied off of a different thread in order to start a discussion about the UK gymnastics system and how it works as I would like to learn more about it. @Jenny @Faith @Learning Parent GB @Gymbletot Feel free to tag others in this thread.
New trend in gym ownership? (The Business Side Of Gymnastics / Powers Gymnastics)
Has anyone had experience with Powers Gymnastics? I am curious to hear about it and if it was positive or negative. It sounds like Jill Powers owns this company and is buying up quite a few gyms in Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina. She appears to be shutting down quite a few of the compulsory and optional programs after purchasing the gyms because those programs are not profitable. The gymnasts are then left having to find another gym, sometimes increasing their commute by an hour, or...
Let’s discuss technique!
Thanks to @Flippinmom for starting this thread... great discussion. Below is the original post from @Flippinmom... I feel like this thread could go on almost forever... so I'm going to hijack it and feature it! What does good technique mean to you? How do you look for it in a club?
Motivational Gymnastics Quotes / Videos / Etc.
Need some inspiration? Check out our post with all sorts of great quotes from gymnasts and coaches... https://chalkbucket.com/articles/gymnastics-quotes.5/
My dd is 10 training Hopes and Lvl 9. Her coach just moved gyms and the new location does not have a foam pit. The question is, are airbags and/or resi pits a safe alternative to the traditional foam pit when learning new lvl 9 and 10 skills?
Compulsories wearing graduation year leos
Image added by ChalkBucket There seems to be a new trend with some of the level 3s and 4s at our gym wearing leos with their graduation year on the back (2032! 2033!) I don't think the coaches like this much. I think those parents are crazy and putting way too much pressure on young kids. Thoughts?
Too many hours (gymnastics) / switch sports
My 11 year dd complaints about the too many hours gym practice, and even she consider switch sports with less hours. Right now 25 hours / week level 6. Is it too much? And Her school has lots of homework.
Hardest Skill To Acquire
I thought it would be a fun discussion so here goes… What has been the hardest skill for your gymnast to acquire or “get” so far? I don’t mean the most difficult skill necessarily, but the one that took your gymnast the longest to get. Include your gymnast’s level in the comment. Curious to see all the different responses! My Xcel Silver struggled for months to consistently do her ROBHS, and she’s still working hard at her kip
More Options:  Acro & Tumbling And College Club Gymnastics
Link Removed With all of the talk about college gymnastics lately... we thought it would be a great time to share some more options for gymnasts moving into college! Here is our latest article from our writer Jen Kula... Link Removed
Why switch to Yurchenko?
DD is competing a tsuk pike this season for l8 and is a strong vaulter. Comp season starts soon, and her coach is talking about having her switch to a yurchenko, which she's not as good at. She feels her tsuk will score really well and isn't excited about making a switch for this season. Is there a reason why yurchenkos are better long-term for vaulting? She's a power kid and very comfortable with her vault right now.
Is It Time To Move On? (Tell Us Your Story)
Link Removed It's time for another great article by Jen Kula! Link Removed
Child Development Education for Coaches? (Thoughts & Resources)
Does anyone know of any child development training that a gymnastics club could put coaches through? It could be anything from Youtube videos to an online paid certification. The only thing it can't really be is a college course. What are your thoughts on the subject of coach eduction in child development... and do you know of any good resources for clubs?
Fast tracking gymnasts
Thanks to @Mom02 for starting this thread! This seems to be a hot topic at gyms everywhere so let's hear what think. After you answer @Mom02's question... TELL US ABOUT THE FAST TRACK PROGRAM AT YOUR GYM. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? DOES YOUR GYM DO TOPS OR YOUR NATIONAL FAST TRACK PROGRAM? https://usagym.org/pages/women/pages/tops.html
Small gym woes
DD is an optional gymnast at a small gym. We love the gym and the coaches, but the groups are very small. This year will be the first year that she is the only gymnast competing at her level. Up until now she has had typically at least two or three other girls competing with her in the same level. Regionals is the only meet where she has been alone in the past. We have no desire to switch gyms as DD is happy there and there really aren't any other close options for us. I am just a...
Has your gym switched from asking for volunteers at your host meets to cover the coaching assessment fee to actually charging the assessment fee? OR vs versa for going from assessment fees to volunteering your time? Do you find the assessment fee less hassle than volunteering? Would you be more than willing to volunteer than pay the assessment fee? Has anything worked our for you to gain more volunteers when it appears to be a struggle? Did you gym charge the families that did not...
Gymnastics Club Red Flags (What Have You Seen?)
Link Removed Are you at the wrong club? Here are 5 simple red flag signs in a great new article by our author Jen Kula... Link Removed
Hi, my daughter really struggles with anxiety and just started a low dose of Zoloft daily. She is currently competing DP level 5. I know you hear of doping rules and restrictions on medications in the high levels but I wondered if there were any restrictions in these lower levels and also if anxiety medication is a restricted medication in any level?
Perfect 10 Thread & College Gymnastics Scoring Discussion
Videos of perfect 10's & discussion about college scoring! The three main purposes of this thread... List and provide videos of all the perfect 10's in college. What do you think? Was it a 10 or not? What's your overall take / opinion on college gymnastics scoring? Here is one of the more recent viral perfect 10's... Katelyn Ohashi's perfect 10 on floor for UCLA...
The Future of Elite
Has elite gymnastics lost some of its lure? Read on and give us you opinion.
7 Tips For A Meet-Ready Mindset
Here is our next article by Jen Kula... https://blog.chalkbucket.com/develop-a-meet-ready-mindset/
Hi, So my child (8) often has a 5-10 minute turn around from getting home from school to leaving for gymnastics (say home from school at 3:25 and gym starts at 4, so barley time to get changed and shovel some food in on the way (which i imagine hasnt settle properly before warm ups) and then trains until 8pm (with a snack break) this is 3-4 nights a week. We are doing our best to make sure she is fed well but we need some advice and tips to help make sure she is getting adequte meals and...
Just curious where opinion stands on this, there is no right or wrong. And, there are different reasons why people may choose a preference. Personally, I'm adopting a policy to not worry about taking videos at meets. I used to, every event. Now I prefer to just watch and enjoy. Plus, I am terrible at taking pictures and videos with the phone. ;)
2022 TOPs testing
The last TOPs testing is this weekend, and the score cut-offs won’t be released until after then. Anyone have any idea what scoring distributions have looked like?
The cost of high level gymnastics (brace yourself)
Feel free to close your eyes if you prefer, because you can’t unsee this. I saw it on Instagram and it seems accurate to me. I never would have believed these numbers when my daughter was starting out, and never would have thought we would do this (or be able to), but once you’re on the path it’s really difficult to get off, and most don’t realize what is even happening financially until you’re in very very deep. So here you go. Consider yourselves warned.
What is the deal with the star ratings? I just notice some gymnast have rating and some don't. Some gymnast that are rated that have scored better than others are rated lower? Some gymnast went from 3 stars to 4 stars yet they had a better season last year than this year? Do college coaches really look at this? If so this can be bad for some girls? What are your thoughts?
How many hours do girls practice each week for Xcel Silver and Gold? And what are the benefits of practicing more or less?
Coming to Netflix July 17th... Who's looking forward to this?
I attended a not so local meet this weekend and was shocked by the ages of the lower level gymnasts... they had level 4's that I'm pretty sure were 16.... made me curious what the average ages are at different gyms, for us its: Level Two- All are 5 Level Three- Most are 6 and two are 7 Level Four- All are 7 Level Five- All are 8 besides one, who is 11 (third year on L5) Level Seven- Youngest is 7 and oldest is 11 Level Eight- Youngest 8, most are 9/10 and...
This had to be stickied, so many members have no idea how much is too much, so here is a helpful test. :D Thanks MD and Marisposa There is definitely a fine line between being a "steering/pushy parent" and an "overbearing/over-involved parent". Of course all parents want to be involved with their kids activities so that they can be guided in a safe and nurturing direction. And of course us parents will be the ones getting them up early in the morning, driving them to practice and paying...
We have had this on the forum before somewhere... but I figured now was a good time to bring it back up as we have had some threads talking about pricing. Here are a couple posts from USA Gymnastics back in the day... Jeff Metzger's Business Tips Pricing Your Team-Part I This month we will inspect the unique dynamics of team pricing. Allow me to weave the logic behind Queen City's team pricing strategy. As this is a fairly vertical argument, please take time to assimilate each point before...
This is a split from another conversation to help people (parents primarily... I guess) understand the difficulties of running a high level (Level 10+ / Hopes / Elite) gymnastics team. This team would be one that can consistently put athletes at Level 10 Nationals and understand the Hopes / Elite system and be able to compete athletes there if it's the right fit. The conversation started in the following thread as seen below...
Over the last few years we have never really deviated from our team structure...everyone that was on team was running through the same basic program. Now we are to the point of running two tracks within our JO women's program...an "A" team and a "B" team. I have a few questions for parents/coaches that currently have this structure in their gym. What are the differences in the two tracks? (Age, hours, body type, commitment level, tops, etc.) Does having two tracks cause issues in the gym...
What do a GOAT + a generation + a movement + a virus = CULTURE SHIFT
Is the culture of gymnastics changing?... you better believe it is. As a coach... I can definitely feel it shifting... and definitely in a good way. I could probably go on about this forever... but I'm not much of a typer (typist). I'd love to hear what everyone else is thinking about this... but first... here are the 4 major things that I see pushing the shift... in no particular order... The emergence of a G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) - Obviously I'm talking about Simone Biles...
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