Ask American Gymnast Archives - American Gymnast and Ninja

Help answer this – YMCA or USAG programs?

amgym — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:07:16 +0000

I was just asked this question through our Ask American Gymnast section. I think this would be a good question to solicit feedback from others in the gymnastics community.

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Question:

i have a 6 year old daughter that appears to have a lot of potential and love for gymnastics. We have her in a local ymca program and are generally happy with it. We have been considering moving her to a USAG gym with a very good reputation. I have 2 questions 1) is it really worth it to be able to compete in USAG gyms? and 2) Do you think that her opportunities within gymnastics will be much greater in a good usag club as opposed to local YMCA?

Again, we are generally happy with the YMCA just looking out for the best for our daughter…

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I am a bit biased on this since I grew up solely through USAG club programs. I do not know of many elite level gymnasts that came up through the Y programs, but I would say the decision should be based primarily upon the coaching and training situations at that particular YMCA versus the local club. I would ask the following questions:

What kind of success has each program had (State, Regionals, Nationals)?
Does the facility have pits for training?
What are the sizes of each of the competitive teams?
How many elite-level girls does each program have?

The answers to those questions should give you a pretty clear indication on which of the 2 programs offers more potential.

What is everyone else’s thought on this?

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When to Replace a Floor Exercise

amgym — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 03:58:44 +0000

This question comes from Kimberly. She asks American Gymnast:

“How often does a gymnastics floor exercise need to be replaced if both team kids and recreation kids are using the same floor? If you don’t replace a floor often enough, can team kids end up with more foot, knee and back injuries because of it?”

The longevity of a Floor Exercise depends on a lot of factors. The number of kids that are tumbling on the floor, as well as their skill level will affect how long the floor lasts. A floor that has only recreation kids tumbling on it is going to last longer than a floor that has recreation and team kids tumbling on it. You might know the best place to buy sarms and are using it every day to get the best workout results, but even gyms with competitive cheerleading squads will also wear out a floor faster than those without them.

The type of floor and foam you have will also have a big impact on how long your floor exercise lasts. Spring floors will last longer than foam block floors. Fiberglass coated wood panels will last longer than standard plywood.

The foam you use on your floor will make the biggest difference on how long your floor feels springy. You have the choice of one of the following types of foam to put on top of your floor deck:

1-3/8” Cross-Link Foam
1-1/2” TriLam Foam
2” Cross-Link Foam
2” QuadLam Foam

The thicker foam is going to last longer, and either the TriLam or the QuadLam is going to last longer than the Cross-Link Foam. The Cross-Link foam is less expensive, but over time will break down faster and leave you with those dreaded “dead-spots” in the floor.

You should regularly walk across every part of your floor, particularly the diagonals and the corners, to feel for any dead or separated spots in the foam and/or broken boards. Be sure to replace or repair these as soon as you find them.

Though, I am not aware of any objective data substantiating it, I can say from personal experience as a competitive gymnast that “yes,” a floor that is older with worn-out or old foam is definitely harder on a gymnast’s body. I definitely had more pain in my lower back and, in particular, my ankles when tumbling on a worn-out floor. I took the advice of the website which helps people with injuries to ease the pain. So, personally, I think that making sure your floor exercise is in tip-top shape could help to reduce the number of injuries your gymnasts experience on this event.

Thanks for the question to Ask American Gymnast Kimberly! Be on the lookout for a $20 off coupon to use on your next order with American Gymnast.

SPECIAL OFFER –>> Buy any Complete Floor Exercise System, and Save $1000!
At Checkout, use Coupon Code: AGFX0612 (Coupon Expires June, 30, 2010)

Train Smart. Compete Hard!

Jay Thornton
American Gymnast

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Gymnastics Judging 101 for Parents

amgym — Thu, 06 May 2010 18:21:48 +0000

This topic comes as answer to an Ask American Gymnast question from one of our readers, Eric. Here is Eric’s question:

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“I’m a parent to a young level 5 boy gymnast and want to be more informed about what the judges are looking for during competitions. The Gymnastics On Demand looks like a great tool to help his specific skills – do you also have a tool to help understand what the judges are looking for?”

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Judging in gymnastics can be difficult to understand even for the most experienced parents and fans of the sport (and even for the most experienced gymnasts and coaches at times too!). The routines your level 5 gymnast is performing are judged according to the compulsory routines and rules established by the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Program.

To explain in very general terms, your level 5 (male) gymnast is given a score calculated from 3 factors:

Requirements – for each routine he performs on all 6 events, he starts at a base score and is then judged on whether he performs all of the skills in the routine as it is written by the JO Program. If he leaves out a skill, adds a skill, or otherwise deviates from how the routine is listed, he is deducted from his base score.
Execution – the gymnast is also judged on how well he performs each of the skills in the routine. For example, are his legs straight, feet together, and toes pointed. This is known as his execution of the routine. Execution deductions are assessed based on whether they are small, medium or large deviations from what is expected.
Bonus – the gymnast can also be awarded bonus tenths to his score in the following 3 ways:
1. Performing one or more of the bonus skills specified in the routine
2. Performing a skill (or skills) virtuously (i.e. bigger and/or better than the average performance)
3. Sticking the dismount

You should be able to talk to your son and his coach about each individual routine if you are interested in finding out where your son is receiving his largest deductions at competitions. If you are really interested in reading and studying the rules for the JO Program, ask your son’s coach if you can look at his copy of them. Alternatively, you can purchase them in the Men’s Program section of the USA Gymnastics Online Store at:

http://usagym.sportgraphics.biz/c-22-jo-recreational-materials.aspx#

The rules you are looking for are found in the first listing on this page – item#: 1202, which is the 2009-2012 Men’s Junior Olympic Age Group Competitive Program

You are correct that our Gymnastics on Demand Video Training System is intended more for learning technique for specific gymnastics skills, not necessarily for learning the rules. As your son advances in the sport and begins learning Optional level skills and routines, a great tool that many judges (as well as coaches and gymnasts) use is the Men’s Gymnastics Gold Software, developed by FIG brevet judge Doug Hills. I personally used it to study for many judging courses and it was a total life-saver!

Thanks for your question Eric! Be on the lookout for your $20 off coupon!

Do you have a question about Gymnastics Products, Gymnastics Training, Gymnastics Competitions or anything else about the sport of Gymnastics? Just “Ask American Gymnast!” If we answer your question in our blogs or video blogs, we’ll send you a $20 coupon, good for your next purchase in the AG Online Store.

Jay Thornton

American Gymnast

Train Smart. Compete Hard!

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Ask American Gymnast

amgym — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:00:10 +0000

Click through to Ask American Gymnast! I’m Jay Thornton, owner of American Gymnast, and I created this brand new service to give American Gymnast visitors a more direct way to ask the questions they really want to know about the sport of gymnastics.

I’ve been extremely blessed to be involved in numerous aspects of this great sport …. From an Elite Level Gymnast and member of 2 World Championship Teams, to a Coach, a Judge, a Business Owner, Athlete Representative, and even a committee member for the Selection of our Men’s Olympic Teams. And though I certainly don’t pretend that I have all the answers to all of your questions, I probably know where I can find the answer or who to contact to provide it for us.

Your questions can be about gymnastics products, training and competing as an elite gymnast, gymnastics judging, gymnastics camps … anything you’ve ever wanted to know about the sport of gymnastics. Obviously, I won’t be able to answer every question, but I will choose several each week to answer in our American Gymnast Training Center Blogs and Video Blogs. If I choose your question, I’ll email you a $20 Off Coupon to use in your next purchase in the American Gymnast online store.

So, Ask American Gymnast – it’s more than a Name, it’s who we are!

http://wwww.american-gymnast.com/askAG/

Train Smart. Compete Hard!

Jay Thornton

American Gymnast

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