Wednesday, October 17, 2007

GYMNASTICS

So I found this sweet writing internship that requires you to come up with new articles about a specific topic that you get to choose off of a list of many that are offered. I was surprised to see "Gymnastics" nestled inoccuously amongst a heap of brodder subjects like politics, computers, podcasting, newlyweds, and...cheese. Seriously, chees was in there haha. Which doesn't prove my point that gymnastics seemed a bit out of place, but is nonetheless very funny! How many articles can possibly be written about cheese? Cows make milk, humans make cheese from it, it molds, sometimes it has holes, mice like it....well, maybe there are a lot of topics that can be written about it, but still.

Anyway, the internship requires you to submit a sample of writing about your chosen topic and clearly gymnastics is what I am best suited to write about and since I have no samples except a few arbitrary opinion columbs scattered here and there I need to come up with some. SOOOOO..... here is a stream of consciousness about gymnastics topics that I can potential blog about...


mind over matter, being centered, breathing, endurance, 90% mental 10% physical aspect of gymnastics, conditioning and flexibility- having a good amount of both, eating healthy, eating smart,- are there things that we shouldn't be allowed to eat? what does this do to us in the future? what to eat before workout, after working, before competition, during competition, curing workout, what to drink, how to teach young gymnastics about eating healthy. eating health = eating balanced, , BALANCE in all areas (conditioning, flexibility, eating, training, mental, physical, competition) research into coaching styles- the yeller, the patient coach, the spotter, that lazy coach, the coach that enphasisesz strength, different perspective abotu competing - how much of it, how to USE competitions, the political nature of gymnastics, children and gymnastics - bein careful about how you touch them, waht you say to them, how you teach them, what you are ingraing into their young and vulnerable minds, - concentration development, dance, leaps and jumps, progression, preschoolers, cognition, different techniques for preschoolers, punishment: what to use and whatt it teaches children (ie. should pushups be used as a punishment and candy as a reward? what does this teach kids? - to hate pushups and love candy), response of children, best techniques - humor? balancing fun with work, winning vs losing, progression -the value of patience . you want to ideally keep moving forward not backward so you need to look to the future - self-preservation - if you get injured a lot now you won;t have a future.

vault - explosiveness - running techniques, different running drills, shoulder blocks, board, reach, landing, different vaults work better with different gymnastics
ie. smaller gymnastics with more stomache strength tend to be able to rotate faster so a Front-front would probably be the best choice and a gymnast with a long line would look better doing a yurchenko. oftentimes judging is subjective though it tries to be objective based on how a gymnast looks so choosing the skill or choreogrphing a routine based on the gymnast is essential

bars- arm strength, development, stomach strength, progressions - teach kids skills that will rpogress to bigger skills - ie. a front hip circle is not one of my favorite skills because it really doesnt progress into a lot. whyt is bars typically the hardest event to coach/learn? Spotting on bars -challenging - fearlessness on the bar - release moves, dismounts, mounts, giants.... floor bar, bounce drills, handstands.... content...combinations.... SMART choreography. strength. PRESS HANDSTAND content = giants, release moves, bar changes, pirouettes, kips, dismounts, mounts.

repetition of drills - knowing how to used your body - how to pull yourself over the bar - arch vs hollow - knowing your body positions

beam -balance, cell chatter, negotiation, using all parts of your body in tandem, being aware, being patient, knowing where you are in space, staying centered, fluidity, breath- let your breath guide you through the routine - maintaining a balance between grace and power, the clock, progression -from floor to high beam, mounts, dismounts, content of routine, choreography, flair, what sets your routine a aprt from the next? developments historically -beam used to be lot less chalennging than it is today - now gymnasts do standing fulls in level 10, before a backhandspring was considered elite.

floor - power, undurance, dance - your chance to show your individuality, each routine should be made to fit the gymnast - choosing floor music, tumbling passes -content, roundoff, line drills, tumbling into the pit, transition from pit to floor, mats, spotting, twisting, twisting vs flippinf, combinations, landings - girls ahve the advantage of the lunge, but they have the disadvantage of having to stay with the music (among other jarring differences), progressive drills, working up your endurance, routines in a row, routines without tumbling, staying in the lines, dance, jumps leaps (becominging increasingly less important?), gym-acro combos.

compulsaries vs optionals vs elites vs college gymnasts vs high school gymnasts

beam as a metaphor for life because life is all about balance.
coaching beam -beam drills
from drills to skills

skeletal muscular system and deciding which to use and when - constant neogitiation - listen to your body - balance of pushing through the pain and knowing when to stop


teamwork
allegiance
communication

callouses on hands -development

grips -

the impotance of the handstand for every single event

floor - explosiveness - techniques roundoff quickness .... endurance work smart, not hard!

"she works hard, but she doesn't work smart"

parents in the gym - when to step in when not to - parents vs coach dialogue.

competition training

percentage that nerves factor in.

bars - constant negotioation - arm strength

boys gymnastics vs girls gymnastics - elegance vs power.

flooor music personality

pit training, spotting, belts, trampoline training, tramp bar helpfulness

skill progression
conditioning drills should mirror and work to progressively lead you towards learning the actual skills

conditioning is different for every girl every gymnastics is different

developmental differences nature nurture

family life, religion, work ethic..all factors

the judge, the college scout, other coaches, other parents, your parents, influences

remembering that gymnastics is just one part of your life and different sources (coach, parent, gymnast, teamate, judge) have different perspectives.

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