Happy Halloween!

A gymnast's perfect nightmare:

"Candice! Candice, are you alright? You're only lying there with your neck and back broken, folded in half in a bloody heap. Someone call 911!"

Candice: "Maybe death by electrocution wouldn't have been so bad after all...."

Halloween joke for gymnasts:

What kind of bat likes to tumble?

Answer: ¡ʇɐqoɹɔɐ uɐ



Question: Why did Cinderella leave early, before her gymnastics meet was finished?

Answer: ɥɔɐoɔ ɐ ɹoɟ uıʞdɯnd ɐ pɐɥ ǝɥs ǝsnɐɔǝq

The Power of Positive Coaching

David Bornstein:

the feedback that most helps young athletes develop their potential is not praise for good performance or criticism for bad performance. What works best is helping children understand that they control three key variables: their level of Effort, whether they Learn from experiences, and how they respond to Mistakes.

Because there are so many opportunities to fail in sports, it is a gold mine of teachable moments. “If a child misses a big play, it’s a perfect opportunity to talk about resiliency,” explains Thompson. “‘I know you’re disappointed and I feel bad for you, but the question is what are you going to do now? Are you going to hang your head? Or are you going to bounce back with renewed determination?’”

“The single most important thing we do is help coaches teach kids not to be afraid to make mistakes,” he adds.