The World of Gymnastics

Posts Tagged ‘gymnastics academy’

Time after time I have seen my gymnasts come into our gymnastics academy wearing a brand new leotard.  There is just one problem, it doesn’t look like a new gymnastics leotard. I see many new leotards that are super faded, have rhinestones missing and colors that bled together. This is very disappointing when a parent spends their hard earned money on a new gymnastics leotard and it gets ruined after one wash. To ensure sure this doesn’t happen to you and your new gymnastics leotard you need to follow the washing instructions on the tag. One problem is many gymnast say the tag is itchy so their parents cut it out. This means mom and dad no longer have the washing instructions and this usually leads to a disaster leotard. If this happens you should follow theses washing guidelines….

• Make sure you wash it with a very mild liquid detergent. Usually Woolite or baby detergent (baby magic, dreft, baby all) work the best.
• Always was the gymnastics leotard in cold water. Using hot water will make the colors bleed more
• It is always best to wash gymnastics leos by hand. If you decided not to wash them by hand you need to wash them in a gentle cycle with like items. This will eliminate pulls, snags, and bleeding from other clothes.
• Turn your gymnastics leotard inside out when you wash it. This will help the special finish on your leo to last much longer.
• When it comes to drying a gymnastics leotard it always best to hang dry it. If needed you can throw the gymnastics leo in the dryer for a bit on super low heat.

Follow these instructions and you will have a gymnastics leotard that will not lose its color or shine and will look brand new all the time.

Gymnastics foam pits should be a must for every gymnastics academy. They are extremely beneficial for every gymnast and serve so many different purposes.

Foam pits are very useful because it eliminates a huge amount of spotting from a gymnastics coach. No matter how great a gymnastics coach may be it is not a guarantee that they will always catch you or help you land safely. In all honesty, there are certain gymnastics skills that are very hard to spot and on occasions a coach spotting can get in the way. Spotting is also a lot of wear and tear on the body of any gymnastics coach.

Optional and elite gymnast are much safer when they use a pit to try new skills. A pit it so soft and fluffy that no matter how a gymnast may land they will be much better off than if they landed that way on floor. A foam pit reduces the chance of serious injuries by a ton. On rare occasions a gymnast may land weird and roll her ankle, this is minuet to what could have happened if they did the skill on the gymnastics floor instead.

Not only are foam pits essential for the safety of an upper level gymnast, but they can be the highlight for a younger gymnast’s gymnastics class. I have seen countless children beg to play in the pit, and when they get out it is all smiles. Younger and less skilled gymnasts love to do tuck, straddle, straight and pike jumps into the pit from the floor or mini tramp. Their absolute favorite is climbing or swinging on a rope that is above the foam pit and then dropping in.

The foam pit can also be used as a conditioning tool. A loose foam pit is awesome to have races in. another way it can be used as conditioning is to have a gymnast jump in and climb out over and over. You can have your athletes climb the rope; if this is easy have them do it without legs. If they fall they will have a safe landing into the pit. The blocks from the pit can also be used to help a child keep her legs together. This is done by getting a block out and making them squeeze it between their legs without dropping it!

A foam pit is a great tool that can be used in any type of gymnastics academy! Whether it is for fun or for learning new skills a pit is a great investment for every gymnastics club.

Gymnastics safety pits are a very important training tool. Every gymnastics academy should have at least one foam pit. Foam pits are extremely necessary for optional gymnastics skills and levels.  There are two types of gymnastics foam pits, loose foam pits and resi pits.

A loose foam pit is built into the ground. It is usually 6-8 feet deep.  The walls are covered by polyethylene foam that is usually glued to the concrete. The foam that covers the covers the concrete must be over an inch thick to decrease the chance of injuries. The bottom of a pit is lined with thick crash mats or a trampoline bed. Pits with a trampoline bed in it is known as a bungee pit. A bungee pit is usually placed a few feet above the pit floor. This allows it room to give without hitting the concrete. If you have a bungee pit it is still a good idea to have a gymnastics mat in the very bottom in case any bungees snap or someone bottoms out. Once the loose foam pit is correctly constructed it is filled with foam pit blocks. Foam pit blocks are made out of polyurethane and are nonflammable. They come in two different sizes, 6 and 8 inch.

The second type of gymnastics safety pit is known as a resi-pit. A resi-pit is a foam pit that is made out of thick polyurethane mats that are covered by polyester vinyl that is extremely heavy duty. The resi-pit is about 32 inches in thickness. The bottom of the resi-pit is made out of denser foam and gets softer as it goes up; this eliminates gymnast from bottoming out. A resi-pit can be used for in-ground or above-ground gymnastics training.

Most gymnastics academies use both types of foam pits. A loose foam pit is usually used first when introducing a new skill. After the gymnast masters the new skill in the loose foam she will move on to the resi-pit.

Both types of gymnastics safety pits are a very important part of any gymnastics academy. Make sure you know which pit is best to use in each situation.

TUMBLING ON TO AN IN-GROUND RESI-PIT

TUMBLING INTO A LOOSE FOAM PIT

Coaches are very important when it comes to finding a new gymnastics academy. Make sure you know as much about the coach as possible; their background, accomplishments, and knowledge. It is very important you also agree with their coaching styles.

Gymnastics coaches are going to be a big part of your gymnast’s life. Depending on how much your gymnast works out, they may be around their coaches anywhere from an hour a week to forty hours a week. For this reason you want to make sure they are a good role model and moral influence for you child. You don’t want you child to be around someone that has a bad background or history. Make sure the gymnastics academy you are checking out requires background checks for all their employees.

If you are paying good money for you child to do gymnastics you should expect the gymnastics center to provide good coaches. Think about it, the coaches are the main component when it comes to the success of your gymnast. The coaches are the ones who teach your gymnasts routines and skills. There are two ways they can teach them, the right way or the wrong way. Make sure they are a successful coach by looking at their experience, history, credentials and accomplishments.

Make sure you like the style of coaching your new coaches’ use. Some are more laid back and let things slide and let the gymnasts slack off. Other coaches are very rigid and harsh and get all over the gymnasts case for every mistake. Then there is the happy medium, these coaches are tough but not too tough were the gymnast can’t have any fun at practice. You need to decided which type of coach you gymnast will work better with. A parent also needs to decide if they think it is okay if a coach yells and curses if he/she is not satisfied with the gymnasts’ performance. If you get a coach that is too laid back your gymnast may walk all over them and not succeed.  Let me tell you, if a gymnast has a coach that has a lazy coaching style the gymnast will take full advantage of it; this is not a pretty sight when a gymnast runs the class.

Each gymnast is different; some like to be spotted while others hate it. This is how coaches can be too. Some coaches will never touch a gymnast while others will spot them on every skill. I think that a coach should spot some but not all the time where the gymnast becomes reliant on the coach for everything. Make sure you pick a gymnastics academy where your gymnast will feel comfortable when it comes to the spotting style. If you gymnast needs spot to get over their fears, don’t send them to a gymnastics center where they will never be spotted and vise versa. Again this is one of those things where the best is a happy medium. A coach should spot if the gymnast feels unsafe but once the gymnast can attempt the skill themselves the coach needs to make them do it without spot. You do not want the gymnast to become reliant on the coach for everything. They need to get confidence and attempt things by themselves time to time.

I have seen many gymnastics coaches in my life and a coach who possesses a little bit of each of these coaching styles seam to get trough to the gymnast much better. A gymnastics coach has to remember how easily children get burnt out, so mix it up from time to time.

What are some things you look for when finding a new gymnastics academy? Finding a great gymnastics center can be a very hard and rigorous task. Just think, your child’s gymnastics success is based on the gymnastic center you choose. This can puts a great amount of pressure and responsibility on the parents. Here are some tips and guidelines that are very important to look for when selecting a new gymnastics academy. Using these tips will help you pick the best gymnastics academy that suites you and your gymnast.

First, what does the gymnastics academy have to offer inside its facility? What I mean by this is, do they have all the equipment and extra training equipment for the gymnasts to use?  Do they training tools things other than the balance beam, uneven bars, vault table, and floor exercise? Does the gymnastics center have a pit, tumble track, trampoline, strap bar, harness, etc.? Is this gymnastics facility set up where you can use these training tools to the fullest? These are all important things to look for when selecting a gymnastics academy.

Training tools are very important for gymnasts. Not only do training tools allow the gymnasts to get the correct feel for the skill they are working on but training tools also make it much safer for the gymnast; they allow gymnasts to take fewer falls without getting hurt. Once they get the hang of a new skill with training equipment, they will be ready to perfect it without these tools.

Make sure all the equipment in the gymnastics center is USAG regulation. This will allow gymnasts to practice on what one day they will compete on. Plus, regulation equipment is much safer, durable and the right size.

Look around and observe the setup of the gymnastics academy; make sure it is set up safely. Meaning the vault doesn’t have a concrete wall in front of it. Or the floor exercise doesn’t have glass mirrors against it. The beam must also have gymnastics mats not only under it but also all around it. If there are more then one set of uneven bars they must be spaced away from each other so the gymnast doesn’t dismount and hit the other set. Leaving gymnastics mats lying around can also be very unsafe. There are countless ways a gymnastics facility can keep their gym safer. When it comes to safety make sure the gym you choose goes the extra mile because the safety and well being of your gymnast should be their top priority.

Gymnastics can be a very safe sport as long as the gymnastics academy practices safety by offering the proper apparatuses, set up, and training equipment. The gymnastics center is responsible for providing a safe environment for your little gymnastics no matter what age or skill level he or she may be. Safety is the most important quality a gym should possess, so make sure they strive for the safety of your child twenty four seven.