Hi All, Long time no post – but today I wanted to share a few videos (both new and old) that focus on tumbling and some key aspects on tumbling that I feel either get overlooked or are hard for younger athletes to grasp. Plyos Plyometrics play a crucial part in our sport especially when it comes to developing speed. That being said, it’s easy to overdo plyos and I’ve seen many a rolled ankle during lines of plyos etc. This is not to say we shouldn’t do them, just that moderation is necessary and remembering that plyos aren’t the same as leg conditioning and should be used for a different purp ..read more

Hi All! Since it’s summer and lot of us are going back to basics (YAYYYYY!) – I thought it would be the perfect time to post some compulsory beam drills. These run the gambit from form, to stability, to turns to handstands. There are some great ideas in here, and if your littles are getting bored, try switching it up with some of these. I really like this first one – I often do kicks with gymnasts backs against a wall but arm positioning is hard. The thing I like about this drill is the high v of the arms while she kicks. You can see her hip pushing back and not quite over her leg – but it’s ..read more

Today I wanted to go through the step by step process of building a stalder. There are so many ways of building this skill, but I wanted to provide some really solid building blocks. First the picture below: it isn’t perfect, but it’s a drill I start with my littles for so many reasons – presses, stalders, cast handstands etc. For a stalder I would like her legs in just a little closer, but for as young as she is – I love that she’s getting the shape and it will only get better with time. It’s also an easy side station to add in to bars – especially if you need some variations in your handstan ..read more

I talked a lot about this at my clinics this summer, and at various congresses – so I wanted to do a little recap of a motto that I think holds true in the gym “what you do every day is more important than what you do every once in a while.” And I think it’s actually more true than we can even realize. So one of the ways that I MAKE SURE that the things I think need to get done, get done, is to do them in warm-ups. Because let’s face it, we all run up against the clock during rotations, we’ve all got the kid who wants to take one more turn, sometimes setting up or doing conditioning just take ..read more

I gave a compulsory vaulting lecture at the Gymnastics Ontario Congress where I talked a little bit about how if I had my way I would spend 90% of my compulsory vault rotations not actually touching the vault. And for that matter, in that whole hour long session, I didn’t do one drill with an actual table. So today I wanted to share some of that with you. Also, if you missed any of the congresses I was at this year – you can still get my Bars Shaping – from Pre-Team Up lecture: HERE. It’s 45 minutes packed of videos, powerpoints, info and live demonstrations. There are three main tenants that ..read more

Hi All, I wanted to share with you today a few of the idea I shared at national congress last week. The video below is a quick glance at how I start developing a hollow or rounded chest. I few things to watch for. The demos in this video are by no means perfect. One of the things I talked a lot about during my presentation is head position. You’ll see at some points in this video the gymnasts head is ducked, because our head is heavy it pulls the shoulder blades apart and often gives a what I call a “falsely round” look. So one thing to make sure is that when gymnasts are doing these drills t ..read more

Today I thought I would share a couple great drills that Jason Vonk put on Youtube, that line up greatly with my philosophy on teaching flipping. The first thing (and anyone who has coached with me long enough will tell you this) – I also always have gymnasts tumbling UP. Occasionally we will have days where do we things just on the floor. But the majority of the time I feel like tumbling up is more beneficial. At different levels this may look like different things. Beginning back tucks may look like a rebound onto a resi mat. Then the back tuck comes, then the layout and so on. But instead ..read more

Today I wanted to share a few quick ideas for leg development. 3 of the 4 events are leg intensive so focusing on leg development is extremely important. That being said as coaches we have to be careful not to overpound our athletes. Overuse injuries are common so in order to make sure we are doing enough leg conditioning, but that kids aren’t gettting too beat up, I always try to have a “non-pounding” legs list. That means not running or jumping. There are a million things you can do here – but this video has a few ideas. This second one is a really easy way to do legs and cardio and get a ..read more

Today I thought I would share a small portion of the Optional Conditioning lecture I did at Region 3 congress. My conditioning goals: Based on a 5 day workout week: Legs 4 days (3 events are based on leg strength – it’s KEY) 2-3 days impact, 1-2 days non-impact Arms 3 days a week in conditioning and skill specific arms + every day on bars Core 5 days (ie. every day) – core is not just stomach – it involves the entire trunk and often parts are neglected So today, I thought I would share a few ideas for arms. Based on the goals you see above I would normally do 3 days a week of an arm circuit ..read more

Hi All, I’ve been posting a bit about my trip to Thailand on social media so I thought it was time to do a blog post about it. Currently I’m working with the Thai Gymnastics Federation coaching for them full time until I leave on April 7th. They’ve been incredibly welcoming, and I’m having a great time! So, the question: what have I mostly been doing? Besides the everyday coaching of the gymnasts I’ve been doing a lot of planning in terms of workouts and future skill development. The good that I’ve seen: – Leg development is great (although glute strength could be improved) – Flexibility ..read more