Thursday Advanced Class: RO BHs

Naomi first started with us at SMGC summer camp and was pretty much a raw beginner. I'm glad we let her move up into the SMGC intermediate class (which is now called "advanced" at LASG), because she has been a reliable, quiet, diligent worker. She's a kid who pays attention, because she wants to be good. I can't recall a single time where I've ever had to discipline her on talking too much, being lazy, whiny, etc.

I thought I'd experiment and try a bit of instructional in this video, to see if it helps any of these girls. I think I can draw straighter lines and better curves on an Etch-a-Sketch, but my line drawings in the video will have to do, showing a more correct body position than the ones these kids have in their round-off backhandsprings.

STRETCH THOSE SHOULDERS JENNIFER!!! EVERY DAY!!!

Mad About the Madison

Madison is a five year old who had been attending summer camp, but with whom I was largely unfamiliar with, since I work mostly with 6 and up. But on this particular day in late July, she hung around me and 2 older gymnasts I was working with.

At the expense of Zoe and Jennifer, I allowed Madison to hang out with us. She was soooo funny, I couldn't help it. She became an instantaneous favorite, and I wondered why I hadn't discovered her before. For whatever reason, she just latched onto me that day, and followed me everywhere. She was so cute and funny, it was hard to send her away. Zoe probably wanted to kill me.

Jennifer is extremely funny in her own right (don't be fooled by her height- she's only 12!). She's kind of dorky in a good way, always smiling and occasionally getting her words wrong (e.g., one time she asked if she could go get water, adding that she needed to "rehibernate"). Hope some of her humor, intentional and otherwise, comes through.



(For the record: Jennifer has been able to land aerials before- just not in this video; and despite my discreet absence in the video, I did do my share of coaching- it wasn't just all Madison-induced abuse of Zoe and Jennifer...just clever editing).

Be sure to watch the video all the way through- I know the closing credits is long...it's just so hard to edit down so much good stuff.