Coaches New Aspiring Level 1 Coach - Flexibility / Conditioning drills.

[Bishop]

Morning

I just thought I would ask here for some friendly tips. First, I'll do a quick intro - Currently a parent of a 4/5 year old boy who is really interested in gymnastics, always watching people on Youtube doing gymnastics or ninja tricks. So, I'm taking him to classes, well I was there, there was a call for volunteers and/or coaches. So I thought, that I've always been in awe of gymnastics skills, I've been in Capoiera (I know it's not gymnastics, but I learnt how to do modified walkovers, handstands, cartwheels, etc (those were the days) so I'm going through the process of dbs, safeguarding and level 1 WAG.

My questions is that I'm not exactly the fittest or in shape (totally far from it), so to prepare, do people have any tips/resources on conditioning exercises and/or flexibility drills that I could practice to get myself into shape and also learn at the same time.

The other question I have, is any tips on being a new coach. I'm totally new to the world of gymnastics but willing to learn and how make the gymnasts reach their potential.

 

[kecks]

Morning

I just thought I would ask here for some friendly tips. First, I'll do a quick intro - Currently a parent of a 4/5 year old boy who is really interested in gymnastics, always watching people on Youtube doing gymnastics or ninja tricks. So, I'm taking him to classes, well I was there, there was a call for volunteers and/or coaches. So I thought, that I've always been in awe of gymnastics skills, I've been in Capoiera (I know it's not gymnastics, but I learnt how to do modified walkovers, handstands, cartwheels, etc (those were the days) so I'm going through the process of dbs, safeguarding and level 1 WAG.

My questions is that I'm not exactly the fittest or in shape (totally far from it), so to prepare, do people have any tips/resources on conditioning exercises and/or flexibility drills that I could practice to get myself into shape and also learn at the same time.

The other question I have, is any tips on being a new coach. I'm totally new to the world of gymnastics but willing to learn and how make the gymnasts reach their potential.

I would shadow an experienced coach for at least some months and go from there.

 

[Bishop]

I would shadow an experienced coach for at least some months and go from there.

Thanks for the reply

No worries, that is what I'm going to do. All that is in place with goals, mentoring and shadowing. I'm just reading as much as I can. Best foot forward and all that.

 

[JPC13]

Conditioning and flexibility for you? If you're really serious, I think the USAG National Team warmup is a good place to start: Link Removed

There are all sorts of videos on Youtube if you don't know what some of the movement names mean. It would also be a good way to familiarize yourself with the lingo of gymnastics.

FWIW I'm in pretty decent shape for a 40 year old and it's pretty challenging to keep up with my daughter when we do the warmup together.

 

[Coach Kate]

I think it's so fun that you've decided to get involved! I agree that the national team warm up is a great starting point. If there's any opportunity for you try adult gymnastics, I highly recommend that as well. Hopefully your gym has a good coach training program. Ask questions, follow and watch the most experienced coaches, and learn the reason behind why certain things are done a certain way. The more you can understand, the better!

 

[Bishop]

I had a look at that warmup, 20 minutes - more like an hour for me. It's all good, I'll get on it and go through it bit by bit.

Also, I plan to learn the why as well as the how, big believer in breaking down problems into smaller bites and approaching it that way.

 

[JPC13]

I had a look at that warmup, 20 minutes - more like an hour for me. It's all good, I'll get on it and go through it bit by bit.

Also, I plan to learn the why as well as the how, big believer in breaking down problems into smaller bites and approaching it that way.

20 minutes is probably the time for someone who can do v-ups at a rate of two or three per second.

From what I've seen, a lot of lower level teams only do a subset of those exercises.

 

[TravelingCoach]

I personally wouldn’t worry about starting with much strength or flex for yourself at first. Most new coaches start with recreational and build up from there. So, while you are learning to spot and position yourself, you should recognise areas that you are weak and your strength and flex will build with only a little extra work beyond continual spotting and positioning. Way more effort should be put into actually being a coach than being able to replicate anything your gymnasts might be doing.

Coaches - Veterans: post tips for new coaches

Each generation of coaches improves by taking what prior generations have learned and building on it (as is true with most things). But there are also often nuggets of wisdom we wish we'd found earlier. So, to all the veteran coaches (ie 10 years or more): post advice you would like to give to...

chalkbucket.com

This link should take you to an old post about tips for new coaches. I think it links directly to my comment (since I had to go back through my post to find it), but it has some really good tips.

 

[Bishop]

I personally wouldn’t worry about starting with much strength or flex for yourself at first. Most new coaches start with recreational and build up from there. So, while you are learning to spot and position yourself, you should recognise areas that you are weak and your strength and flex will build with only a little extra work beyond continual spotting and positioning. Way more effort should be put into actually being a coach than being able to replicate anything your gymnasts might be doing.

Coaches - Veterans: post tips for new coaches

Each generation of coaches improves by taking what prior generations have learned and building on it (as is true with most things). But there are also often nuggets of wisdom we wish we'd found earlier. So, to all the veteran coaches (ie 10 years or more): post advice you would like to give to...

chalkbucket.com

This link should take you to an old post about tips for new coaches. I think it links directly to my comment (since I had to go back through my post to find it), but it has some really good tips.

Thank you, I had a quick read and I'll save it to refer to it, later - That was a good read and some points that I'll try and remember.

It's a journey, and one that I'm looking forward to starting, one foot and a time .

 

[Bishop]

Well I did three days of 3hrs of coaching along side the head coach and it was quite the experience, fun..It helped that I was always thinking about gym saftey, making sure that the kids were in my eye line as well as learning the prep for each skill.

It's amazing at the different levels and how you have to adapt your stations to account for the different skills as well as keep them interested at all times. Instead of having them sit down, provide stations for them to do.

Got my level one WAG next week so be interesting to see what they have to say.

 

[Bishop]

I think I've found my new catchphrase - Found myself saying..

"Let's break it down"

 

[Bishop]

Well, there was a set back. Ended up in hospital for two weeks, so couldn't attend the level 1 course, so will be recovering and looking to take the course later on in the year.

Onwards and upwards.