Thea's First Yurchenkos

She did 3 by herself for the first time.

Hollow Caterpiller Inchworm Train Walk

Last day of winter camp, end of workout, I challenged my group with a little teamwork conditioning exercise I picked up from Al Luber of Santa Monica Gymnastics Center (he also had girls doing push-ups like this). Their reward was free time the last half hour in the gym if they could make it across the floor (free time not necessarily spent on play,but they could work on whatever skills and apparatus they wanted extra time on...or play (^_^) ).

If anyone has a better name for this, I'm open to suggestions.

Having No Limitation as the Limitation

"There are two kinds of people: those who think they can, and those who think they can't, and they're both right."
- paraphrased from Henry Ford

At Broadway Gym, each level group has a prescribed series of stretches they do, as a routine, with one of them chosen to lead. Our expectation is for them to do it, synchronized, efficiently transitioning from one stretch to the next with presentation (as if they were performing this on stage or in a competition). So there is no talking, no extra movement; focus is straight ahead. Of course, inadvertently someone will "break character", and look around at what else is going on in the gym, play with her ponytail, pick at her leotard, etc. Basically, losing focus.

Yesterday, I challenged my 5-7s (a group that is jumping from level 5 to level 7) with a sticker reward for whoever was the most focused with great presentation during stretches. Immediately, one girl said "Why not just give it to GymnastA?" (GymnastA is a model gymnast when it comes to doing this and everyone knows it. She'd be great standing and marching in a military formation). I told them why not try and "beat" GymnastA? That they were all equally capable. Two other girls said in regards to this, "But that's impossible!"

After their stretches, I led them over to the side of the gym where, on the wall, I had taped the following story:

If you put fleas in a shallow container
they jump out.
But if you put a lid on the container
for just a short time,
they hit the lid trying to escape and
learn quickly not to jump so high.
They give up their quest for freedom.
After the lid is removed, the fleas remain
imprisoned by their own self-policing.
So it is with life.
Most of us let our own fears or the impositions
of others imprison us
in a world of low expectations."
-Andrew Hsu

We talked briefly about what the message is that we can take with us from that story; about the limitations we fabricate in our own heads about what we are and aren't capable of achieving.

Last week I had begun posting little inspirational quotes and maxims around the gym at key locations. Over by beam, one of my favorites:

"Fall down seven times, get back up eight"- Japanese proverb

Girls at bars are always asking me the time. There's actually a clock on the wall nearby and above it I have a sign that reads, "The time now..." and below the clock: "...is for you to work harder! And the only easy day, was yesterday."

A favorite of mine at the bar stations hangs on the wall above the chalk tray. It reads something to the effect that, "Those who squander their time hanging out at the chalk bar become experts at procrastination. Those who spend most of their time getting up on the equipment get better at gymnastics."

I like having these in the gym. The kids are noticing.

I don't know how much of this sort of stuff sinks in, but if you fling enough out there, and often, something's bound to stick.


*Special thanks to Nadine, from whom I first heard the flea story.

Hustled Out of a Dollar

Summer is often the time when we hope to intensify gymnastics training. Well, if you aren't working with elites and wannabe-elites, that's not likely to happen. So we often have kids who disappear for vacation trips, sometimes for weeks on end. You assign conditioning-on-the-go exercises they can do while away, and hope and pray they and their parents are disciplined enough to follow through with it.

One of my level 5's has been on vacation since the beginning of summer- almost 2 months. Monday was her first day working out and she could not do a kip on bars. Not even if her life depended upon it. She was very pouty and frustrated with herself.

Wednesday, she still could not make her kips. Wasn't even close to making it on the high bar. Lots of frowning and fuming. Then it struck me to inject some humor into it and I started picking on her over her orange toenail polish (anyone who really knows me, knows how much I hate nail polish, makeup, tattoos, and piercings of any kind- including earrings). I remember her toenails had this ugly orange on Monday as well. So I told her it was obvious she wasn't making her kips because she had ugly orange toenail polish on. I theorized, "I bet once you get rid of thatl polish, you'll be able to make your kip." A shocked, offended smile spread across her face. With feigned indignation, she denied the nail polish was the problem- especially her color choice. I insisted it was the polish. And the color. She boldly challenged me with a dollar bet that she could make the kip and prove me wrong. Based upon how much trouble she was having Monday and that particular succeeding Wednesday, I seriously did not think she had it in her to make the kip. So I took her bet.

She jumps to the high bar, long hang kips effortlessly. My jaw just dropped. her expression back was a smug, "I told you so!"


I think I got hustled out of a dollar.

Okay, so it wasn't the toenail polish....but they're still an ugly orange!!!

Flyaway in a Day

I like the setup I used with the resi today, for Abby's half-hour private; call me crazy, but I think it'd be even more interesting if I stacked two resis. It would force the gymnast to have to ride the swing up and learn how to pitch it out. Like the mountain wall setup, the gymnast can then roll off backward. Would definitely try it if I had a pit under the bar; but even without one, spotted....I think it'd be ok with a spotter. It'd serve the same function as a slant wall. The gymnast's goal would be to land on her back on the top resi (unlikely without assistance- especially if the resi is setup far enough away for swinging with straight legs); or, land candlestick shape on the edge of the resi, roll off backward.

Of course, this is assuming they'd all do the drill correctly. I'm sure someone can find a way to splatter wrong; so I still have to think this through and realize possible outcomes from the one desired.

...one of the things I hate most is when the gymnast lets go early. I'd think having a "wall" there would "disincline" the gymnast of having this problem, and she'd aim to land her back on top of the two resis instead of sailing feet first into the resi wall.

Some Thoughts on Hand Spotting

Random Clips

Izzy is one talented kid who picks things up pretty fast:

Not sure how much benefit this drill has; but might be a fun station for younger kids to work on their arm strength in their pre-kipping days:

Preview of Thea's Level 8 Floor Routine

This was filmed on January 12, 2010:

So You Think She Can't Dance?!

Dance and a sense of performance and presentation have never come naturally to Thea. But Tuesday, she received her second floor routine private with Leah Homma. And....wow! Amazing transformation happening.

Thea still doesn't look like she's "dancing" the movements (of course, part of it is that she's still just learning and acquiring the routine); but what Leah is great at is her emphasis on hitting positions and poses, which sort of masks the deficiencies.




Actually, much of what I see in women's gymnastics looks rather technically wooden and robotic to me...fake smiles and bad "acting", rather than performed expressively and effused with passion and personality. But maybe that's just me....

Oksana Omeliantchik, in my opinion, remains one of the most expressive and joyous gymnasts to watch. She sets the bar on what a floor routine could and should be like, as a performance. Especially noticeable during close-ups where you can see her facial expressions, from a raised eyebrow here and an elfin grin there.




Too bad there aren't more closeups during her dance, than what we get at the beginning of this clip.

Catastrophic Success?

Julia came in to help participate in Sircey's birthday party, today. Before the party, she did a standing back flip by herself after a couple of spots from Yefim; then did a layout on bars! To my knowledge, she's done neither before, by herself.

Pretty good for a non-workout day.


*UPDATE* Julia's comment in this post made me decide to post a clip the device she brought up. Coach John is a master manipulator of this and uses it regularly. Between Yefim and I operating on different pages from the book, we come close to "decapitating" Sircey against the top bar (Yefim thought I was ready to bring her down, when what I was trying was John's method of swinging the rider under the high bar).

Saturday Successes

This is Akasha from March 14th (I think the first time she did two in a row was the previous Saturday):



Akasha and her sister Ashana will be taking a break for a session or two, and last Saturday was her last. I'm sure they will be back.

This is Lauren from last Saturday:

Julia's Epic Fail Moment

This happened on February 5th. She really gave me a scare, but was none the worse for wear. Looked hyperextensively pretty bad, though.

I first learned about the phrase "epic fail" from Julia.

Aside from this video, I'd like to publicly say that Julia is the most thoughtful and considerate human being on the face of the planet. Catastrophic success, right there!

Thanks for sending me the video message! It made my life!

Revving up for Another Academy Meet

Last Friday, Erin did a private to gear up for the Academy Meet on the 29th. She's done well on it, considering she comes only once a week and began the advanced/pre-team class this session. She also didn't start acquiring the level 4 floor routine until a few weeks ago.

A few of the team girls decided to check her out (you can tell she's distracted by that):

She does a right-leg round-off, but when it comes to preparing for the chasse, her inclination is to always step with the left leg. Just needs more drilling. (I often incorporate bits and pieces of the level routines into the floor warmups, across the floor as cyclic patterns, including elements of the beam routine).

Where's Abby?

Oh! There she is:



She's been missing her Saturday classes for her Wildwood School Theater rehearsals of Les Miserables, in which she plays the part of Cosette. "Castle on a Cloud", I think, was the first song that made me curious about the rest of the musical. I remember my dorm neighbor had the Broadway Cast album. It was interesting, but foreign to my tastes. Then I think I saw the actress who plays Cosette in the Los Angeles Company appear on the Tonight Show to sing "Castle on a Cloud". After that, I borrowed and listened to the entire album and was hooked.

After moving out of the dorms and getting an apartment with Michael Chaplin, Scott Keswick, Terry Notary, I would still play the musical. Chainey Umphrey would be over, playing Japanese Nintendo video games with Keswick and after initially knee-jerk rejecting it, they soon became hooked on Les Miz as well. We eventually bought tickets to see it at the Schubert.

Abby's mom was kind enough to supply Robyn, Thea, and I with tickets to Friday night's performance. The show was stellar; I was really impressed. And Abby really shined!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Julia started doing giants by herself a while ago. This is from today:

If you haven't read it before, check out Julia's story. She's a great kid.

Saturday Success

After about a session in Ita's pre-team, Isabel Berliner starts to discover her backhandspring capabilities. From last Saturday:

A Few Highlights from this Week's Advanced Class

A few Tuesday gals:

Helaine:

Thursday...


It's not the first time Naomi's done round-off backhandsprings on floor; but she hadn't done them on floor in a while, and this week seems more confident and more consistent; using mats, she was even starting to snap-up off her hands, rather than just curling up and letting her feet fall over.

Erin's first day doing her round-off backhandspring on the floor without mats:

Note from Mom:

Erin was sooo excited to do the backhandspring without a mat. She said it "felt good, like a roller coaster ride." I asked her again if she wanted to do the meet [Academy Meet coming up at the end of the month]. She said "I'm shy, but I want a gold medal."

Naomi's the only senior student this Thursday; the other girls observed her going through the level 4 floor, to get a sense for it:

Getting Erin to try two in a row on trampoline:



Maiya experienced doing backhandsprings for the first time by herself yesterday:



Maiya mentioned that she misses Anna.

"Cosette" Does Her Round-Off Backhandspring

Last Saturday Abby made some progress:

She's only been coming once a week, practicing for a school production of my favorite musical, Les Miserables. Abby asked me to post this up, of her singing her role:



Robyn and I are invited!

Closing Out on a High Note

I've known Anna since before she was in diapers, when her mom Kimberly was teaching SMGC team while pregnant.

I've watched this kid grow up in the gym; it used to be a morning ritual for me to come into SMGC with my breakfast and she, when she was about 2 or 3 years old, would abandon her mommy-and-me class to come have some of my eggs over-easy and hash browns and sausage. Feeding her was a good investment on winning her affections....and it kept my weight down by losing half my breakfast to her.

I think when she was about 4 or 5, she told me she was going to marry me; now that she's a couple of years older and wiser, she'd probably laugh hysterically at how silly she was.

SMGC closing was a difficult adjustment. It was a second home where she more or less had free reign. LASG was not home, but a formal place to visit. Early on, during the transition period, Kimberly told me how they drove by the old gym (just around the corner) and Anna cried, and the reality of it all then hit Kimberly as well. A number of SMGC kids still express such sentiments of loss of their old gym.

Thursday night was Anna's last day in class. Her family is moving to Riverside. LASG was kind enough to allow her family to enroll her in three weeks of this 8 week session. Anna and her family will be missed.

Back flips are one of those extracurricular skills that are fun to learn and do, but which aren't necessary for her skill level. On Anna's last day of class, on the second round of trying them, she landed two by herself.

Lauren: Round Three

Because I need to lose the weight and get more cardiovascular exercise, I try to arrive early enough before I start teaching, to pound the heavy bag in the gym.

For some inexplicable reason, Lauren has fixated it into her head that as soon as the gloves come on and I start hammering the punching bag, that's the time to start bullying me. She just will not let me exercise in peace.