World of Information out there……….

I read this in Jun 2005…..

‘…as we know there are known knowns ; the things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know, but there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.
Donald Rumsfeld

"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success." Henry Ford

He may well have known what he as talking about, unlike the vast majority of people listening to him, however we can apply this piece of political frippery to life in the gym. There are things about coaching which we know we know, or think we know, but what if those things which we know we know, we only know because someone else told us, whom we assumed as well. Then the things we think we know suddenly become things we don’t know that we don’t know. Furthermore there are also things we think we know but have never checked. So in addition to the things we thought we knew that we don’t actually know there are those things which we know we don’t know but haven’t bothered to find out and the things we don’t know that we don’t know………..,

So what is the answer ?

I don’t know, go and find out.

If you followed that little piece of nonsense, then you might ask, “How can you know which are the things you don’t know you don’t know ? “ You might as well ask “ How can I know the right questions to ask when I don’t know which answers I need ?”

Once again, go and find out. The more you read, the more questions you ask, the more chance you have of getting the answers you need and not the ones you want .

I am giving you a hand by publishing some coaching tips, but they aren’t there to hold your hand. There is a whole world of information out there, and once you start to access, you begin to realize how much you still have to learn, but you also start to find out the questions to ask.

The internet has hundreds of sites dedicated to sport science, gymnastics and other related activities. Do investigate.
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." Helen Keller

RELAX - FASTING MONTH

Just relax, but training must go on!

Watch this kid do it

NEW METHODS NEED TO BE ASSIMILATED INTO OUR SYSTEMS

Learning to be a gymnastics coach is like learning to use a computer. A computer is a complex instrument affected by many variables and interactive systems, defined by strange terminology and jargons and forever changing and updating on a daily basis. A bit like a gymnast! And us elders of society who can remember trying to learn how to master the secret rituals of computing can empathise with apprentice gymnastic coaches. You become desperate for help finding it in the usual places of books, magazines, and IT tutors but sometimes finding you can learn just as much from a child, an enthusiastic Amateur and better still teenager But we must keep our eyes open and be prepared to try things out and see if hey work, press a few buttons and see what happens.

I have often found new and unexpected ways to teach gymnastics from examining Assistant Coaches and I have certainly learned a lot from the performers I coach .New methods need to be assimilated into our systems but this sometimes leads to compatibility problems.

Traditionally ‘eastern and western’ nations have produced top class performers from systems as different and incompatible as PC’s and Apple Macs. Can the systems learn from each other and possibly merge ? of course they can. The mistake is to assume that one system is naturally superior to the other. Bring together the advantages of both and discard the disadvantages. Never assume that something is right without testing it. (Imagine The rigorous testing of new programs at Microsoft – and they still come out with problems.!)

I am constantly on the lookout for different sources to bring you a range of coaching methods and tips. But it is up to you, the Coach, to see if they are compatible with your system or do you need to update and change (or maybe you just need a faster processor ).,

All I am saying is that getting comfortable with your coaching can mean that you are missing out on far more effective ways of developing your gymnasts. You should constantly challenge what you do and think.

Unfortunately, unlike computers that have an army of extremely intelligent boffins trying to make life constantly easier for us by making them more user friendly, the opposite is true of gymnasts. As time passes, the gymnast software becomes increasingly more difficult to use and manipulate. Controls become ever more subtle and difficult to implement and the software is increasingly more susceptible to the viruses of modern ( I am sure you can fill these in by yourself! )

Malaysian coaches developing our young talented gymnasts must take heed now before we fall seriously behind.

further:

http://magayarspindle.blogspot.com

SHARING OF INFORMATION

I perceive the role of this blog to be more a sharing of information and best practice rather than telling you only one way it should be done. It will hopefully become a meeting point for individual opinion. Many of our great coaches have produced great performers in Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics, I am hoping to twist their arms to give us an insight into how they did it. I think with articles from American and Russian thought in Artistic Gymnastics will be of some help to our local coaches.

However there are many of you out there who have your own opinions and ideas and I hope at least some of you will be willing to share them. I will expand more on this later.
For those of you who wish to express a view on the content of this blog or wish to ask questions there is space for your comment at the bottom of the articles, feel free to use it, but no personal abuse please.

Happy Gymnastics !

COACH ALL SKILLS IN LEVEL 1

The direction of the new Malaysian Gymnastics Federation’s coaching scheme must emphasize on developing the right skills to learn, is at the base of this new scheme. The correct basic !

Like that old saying that if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day., if you teach him to fish you fed him for life. Teach an individual a certain skill, and like a performing seal, he or she will be capable of doing that skill. Give the same individual the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude to learn for himself and you prepare them to continue learning effectively throughout their life.

In this sport, if we follow others, we will always be behind them.

BE SERIOUS

Our sport is developing more and more quickly. Its growth is not complete. We are not imitators, but we are striving for originality. We develop as we like in our schools and training centres.

The essential thing is to be serious ( about it )

Gymnastics provides the real satisfaction of achivement and the complementary outcome of good physical condition.

"Even more than physical...sports develop an attitude....God Bless the coaches and Teachers if this nation."

GREAT COACH

I often spend time pondering on the obscure conundrum – What makes a good coach into a great coach ? Sad I know, but I waste hours in the gym while I should be coaching, gazing into space, or sitting on the toilet while the rest of the family are banging on the door in desperation, searching for the X factor that separate the good from the mundane, the excellent from the good and the great from the excellent.
I have looked at all the factors; great knowledge, excellent communication, skills, the ability to motivate, charisma, rapport, determination, attention to details, organizational ability, insight and so on ad nauseam.

The other day I happened to see an excerpt from the film ‘ Close Encounters of the third kind’, I don’t know if you remember the film, in it, Richard Dreyfuss sees an alien spacecraft and proceeds to turn from a good father and upstanding member of society into a driveling idiot obsessed with turning everything he sees into a large mound, etc., the obsession becomes so great that his kids end up scared of him and his wife leaves him.

That’s the way it is for many great coaches.

Formally sane individuals consumed by their desire to scale the mountain, to find the holy Grail ! Galahads, Puteri Gunung Ledang,and Lancelots galloping through the fields of sporting endeavour only to be frustrated by another false lead, another cracked vertebrae in the spinal column of achievement…….

I am reminded of the Greek legend of Sisyphus who was punished by the Gods and doomed in the Underworld to roll a large rock to the top of a mountain, only to see it roll back down again and so have to start his labors afresh into eternity.

To achieve in coaching ( indeed sport ) at the highest level, especially in our under-funded sport, is to give up everything to roll that stone to the top of the mountain, more often than not to see it roll back down again.

The obsession is not for everybody, but we must set our own objectives and feel good about achieving them, even in the presence of the towering ego and tormented and driven soul that is the great coach.

When Professor Smolevsky from Russia prepared a development program for Malaysian Gymnastics, the team in 1998 was a huge success, ending up our team with some medals at the Commonwealth games and leaving some good gymnasts thoroughly modernized Malaysian’s preparation and approach.

It isn’t easy to live in the shadow of these characters, or be given the job of following them. Just ask Mr. Secretary…..

“Genius is one percent inspiration, and ninety percent perspiration” – Thomas Edison.

TIPS FOR YOUR NEXT COMPETITION

Many gymnasts made mistakes; most of them were technical and accordingly deductions in scores were inevitable. But there were dozens of occasions when they could have done better had they prepared correctly, hence missing the ultimate goal ‘to win ‘

There is no substitute for hard, well organized , regular training, which will return confident, well executed exercises, therefore the list below should be viewed as complementary and certainly important to your approach to the next competition. Whatever the level, it should be your best effort.

1. Be absolutely clear of the exercises you are expecting to perform including your vault number.
2. Practice, rehearse and get through them under differing conditions and state of mind.
3. Feel confident that that all exercises have been adequately trained and effectively observed by your coach.
4. Do not include doubtful or risky elements ( moves which you are uncertain )
5. Make sure that your clothing and footwear is clean and sound, including any elastic which would be well sewn to your clothing.
6. Do not wear new socks, straps or anything which might affect your performance – new socks tend to slip about in your shoes, new straps are tight and affect grip etc. But you should have a good pair of gym shoes
7. Get plenty of sleep and regular – not heavy meals of varying types, but nothing new, unusually seasoned or strange to your normal taste prior to your competitions. ( if it is possible abroad ) Most gymnasts don’t eat for several hour before a competition.
8. Be absolutely clear about , bus, train or flight times, also the competition times, the whereabouts of the sports hall/gym – allowing plenty of time to amble about before getting changed.
9. Get familiar with all the apparatus , making a note of bright lights, audience seating, amount of approach run, space around the apparatus etc.
10. Warm up thoroughly and slowly. Try out the moves or routines in the direction you hope to compete in. Don’t be persuade to go through your routines several times because others are doing it – unless this method has proved to be right for you.
11. Take into the competition with you : a) spare straps ( have these always available 30 sec. Will not allow you to dash into the changing room for your spares ) b) spare footwear, if shoes shows signs of weakness, c) Pullover or extra tracksuit if in a cold gym, d) a small quantity of juice or water.
12. Do not forget some warm-up clothing =- always keep competition gear clean and make sure wrists bandages are well tucked in ( if you wear them )

Always present yourself confidently before and after each performance. Then go out there to win.