Ask Al Fong - Dragon Gymnastics www.gagecenter.com

Knees Please!

2013-05-15T23:16:00.000-05:00

A common form break for the back giant is bending the knees as the gymnast creates a tap swing to the handstand. Especially in gyms like ours where coaches intentionally teach monkey swings with a bent knee tap on a low bar as a drill for the back giant.

The advantages of using a low bar for first time giants include safety issues and eliminating the fear out of circling all the way around the bar without body contact other than the hands. It's worth dealing with the form later.

With some athletes it's hard to break the habit of bending the knees to tap when swinging full body on a high bar. Not all gymnasts have this problem but it's not uncommon for gymnasts to struggle with loose knee form issues.

At GAGE our coaches have been successful making the transformation from bent knee giants to straight leg giants by using an effective body awareness drill for straight legs. I use this coaching comment all the time----"if you can't feel your knees bend, then concentrate on feeling your knees straighten out".

This drill helps a gymnast do exactly that.

Coach by speaking a language kids can understand!

2013-05-05T19:23:00.001-05:00

The best coaches I know learned their craft from the beginning by teaching preschool gymnastics and recreational gymnastics. That's where you really learn to communicate with children successfully. I'm not talking about speaking English, French, Russian, Chinese, etc...I'm saying the best teachers who work with children communicate with visual images, mental pictures, and imaginative descriptions kids can relate to...from all countries.

Fly like a birdie, jump like a frogie, wag your tail like a doggie----all great examples of things kids relate to when learning to do gymnastics.

It shouldn't stop at preschool classes. On the contrary, the same type of coaching communication needs to continue all the way up to the international level.

Skip off the floor like a rock skips over water, use your arms like driving a bus when front twisting, stand up from your back walkover like a teeter totter, cast hand stand like you're hitting a wall.

So the next time you hear a coach say he wants to coach elite gymnasts, tell him to start at the preschool level to learn how to speak "kid language". This will be a valuable communication skill throughout the gymnastics journey to the top.

Watch Brenna bounce like a pogo stick.

adidas sponsors GAGE!

2013-04-30T14:46:00.001-05:00

adidas Gymnastics commits to GAGE Center with new sponsorship

LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 29, 2013 – adidas Gymnastics, the global leader in gymnastics apparel, footwear and accessories, is pleased to announce the sponsorship of The Great American Gymnastics Express (“GAGE Center”) effective immediately.
“adidas Gymnastics is showing their support in ways I could only have dreamed about in the past.” said Al Fong, Coach and owner of GAGE Center, “adidas Gymnastics loves our gymnastics team and is willing to support what we do - to produce great gymnastics for the USA!”
Alice Chao, CEO of Elegant Sports, global licensee of adidas Gymnastics, emphasizes the dedication of adidas Gymnastics to the sport of gymnastics.
“With this partnership, adidas Gymnastics broadens our support of not just gymnasts but the coaches and gyms which are vital to gymnasts’ success.” said Chao. “GAGE Center, under the leadership of Coach Al Fong and Coach Armine Barutyan, is a world-class organization with a long-standing commitment to the sport. We are impressed with their track record thus far and their desire to innovate to bring the sport to new levels.”
GAGE Center is the latest sponsorship for adidas Gymnastics, joining 2012 Olympians Jake Dalton, Jordyn Wieber, Danell Leyva and McKayla Maroney. Other adidas athletes include 2010 NBA MVP Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers, and FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona.
About GAGE Center
GAGE Center, based in Blue Springs, MO, has had tremendous success with their gymnastics program including 2004 silver medalists Courtney McCool and Terin Humphrey, 2008 Olympic alternate Ivana Hong and most recently 2012 Olympic alternate Sarah Finnegan. The organization also runs a variety of other competitive and recreational programs such as cheerleading, martial arts and swimming to help children embrace health and fitness as fun.
Follow GAGE Center on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thegagecenter or on Twitter: @gagegymnastics
www.gagecenter.com
About Elegant Sports
Elegant Sports is the global licensee for adidas Gymnastics apparel, footwear, and accessories, responsible for the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of all adidas Gymnastics products worldwide. Elegant Sports’ adidas Gymnastic ranges consists of a wide array of products for training and competition. Elegant Sports distributes adidas Gymnastics products in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
Follow adidas Gymnastics on Facebook: www.facebook.com/adidasgymnastics or on Twitter: @adidasgym
www.theelegantsports.com
Contacts
Christina Lee
Elegant Sports
+1 (646) 783 8833
Christina.Lee@theelegantsports.com

Regionals, Westerns, JO Nationals---finally here!

2013-04-27T10:31:00.000-05:00

Here at GAGE we have 2 competitive seasons each year.

1) The age group gymnastics competition for athletes as young as 5 years old competing compulsory Level 4 all the way to 18 year olds competing Level 10. This is the Junior Olympic program where all the fundamental gymnastics is developed systematically and progressively that can be credited for developing successful gymnasts at the college level and in some cases the international level.

2) The international level competitive season----for aspiring elites and established elite athletes headed toward making the USA National team where ultimately the World championship teams and the Olympic teams are selected.

It's a tricky dance to train both groups at the same time. Especially now since the Level 9's and Level 10's big meets of the season are only a week away. At the same time we're gearing up for the second part of the international season which starts now and ends in August. Different goals, different meet schedules, different outcomes.

Right now I'm in Houston with Brenna Dowell for the 4th national training camp of 2013. My wife Armine Barutyan is at our home gym training Sarah Finnegan, Maddie Desch, and Sabrina Vega. I get back home in time to put the finishing touches on my Level 9 athletes leaving for the Western Championships next week and the Level 10's who leave the week after for their Nationals. I'll be training my elites all the way up to the very last day before I fly out the night before the JO competition. Then immediately after that I fly back for the rest of my elite workout for Saturday.

Go Dragons!

Sarah asks me.......

2013-04-11T11:55:00.003-05:00

Hi, I'm Sarah and I'm 13 years old. I am five foot one and 144 pounds. I know I am old and not very fit, but gymnastics has always been a dream of mine. I have never had the confidence to start. Do you think I am too old and fat? If not, do you have any idea of where I can find a gym to help me in Phoenix,AZ.

My answer: The cool thing about gymnastics is that this sport has permeated our culture to the point where we see shining examples of gymnastics being displayed in all sports----traditional and nontraditional like skate boarding, snowmobiles, bikes, and generally every activity people can think of.

Your love for gymnastics matches my own.

Just because the sport of gymnastics is practiced in the gym setting it doesn't mean gymnastics has to stay in the gym. I see every day examples of people taking gymnastics to the streets, the playground, the lake, the ski slope, and everywhere you can imagine.

Perhaps you can discover your own cool way to do gymnastics in the activities you like to participate in. It should be easy to find a gym near you that will help you learn how to roll and even flip. Bingo! Incorporate the rolls and flips into something you like to do. Flip into the pool, roll down a hill, cartwheel over the couch. Use your imagination. Word of caution though, also learn how to fall properly so you'll be safe from injury.

Check this video out and enjoy!

Uneven Bars----Then and Now!

2013-03-29T15:49:00.000-05:00

On the eve of a USAcompetition with Germany and Romania, I'm sitting in my hotel room somewhere in Chemnitz, Germanyreflecting on my early days as a gymnastics coach. Although gymnastics was practiced in China over 2000 years ago, the Olympics in ancient Greece is credited with the start of it all.

It was in Germanythat modern gymnastics really began to develop in the late 18th to early 19th centuries. During this time, two physical educators named Johann Friedrich GutsMuth and Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, designed the now familiar apparatuses like the horizontal bar, parallel bars, side horse with pommels, balance beam, and vaulting horse. Boys were taught how to perform specific activities on each different apparatus and with such technique specification, the sport of gymnastics was born. For this reason, Freidrich Jahn is known as the "father of gymnastics."

So you can blame him---or praise him for your daughter's obsession with the most popular sport in modern Olympics.

Watching a Utube presentation of the evolution of the uneven bars brought back fond memories of my gymnastics training as a competitor and a coach when I started at the downtown Seattle YMCA so many years ago.

I wouldn't trade this experience for the world!

Dragons on the Go!

2013-03-21T03:09:00.000-05:00

The State Championships for Levels 4 and 5 was last weekend.

The State Championships for Levels 6 - 10 are this weekend.

Just came back from Houston for the National training camp, left for Italy yesterday for a USA competition with Italy, Switzerland, and Japan, and then on to Germany next week to compete with the German national team and the Romanian national team.

Come home just in time to train the Dragons for Regionals and hopefully Westerns and JO Nationals for Levels 9 and 10.

We knew about these competitions a long time ago because the meets for the USA age group athletes were set last year.

But what we didn't know is whether our national team Dragon athletes would get an assignment to one meet or another during the 1st part of the international season. Lots of factors play into where we get to go, when , where, and who----for Brenna, Maddie, Sarah, and Sabrina.

This time it's Brenna and she is ready physically and mentally to compete ----right now in Italy!

Of course the Big Goal this year is the 2013 World Championships in Belgium!

Go Dragons! Go USA!

Now Team.....Now!

2013-03-11T01:47:00.000-05:00

Gymnastics is a brilliant sport that provides countless Life lessons as gymnasts journey through the peaks and valleys of training and competing.... all the way to their final destination. The Olympics, a college scholarship, JO Nationals, or just making it to State for the first time are destinations specific to each individual based on talent, opportunity, work ethic, and commitment.

Some athletes fully understand this. Some don't.

For the sheer love of Gymnastics, there's nothing more fun than trying new skills and learning cool tricks to show friends and family. I get that. That's what got me into this sport.

But the sport of Gymnastics is more than just playing with fun skills, like the sport of Baseball is more than just picking up a stick and hitting a ball.

A game is created and rules are formulated with the intention of making it interesting and challenging to reach a goal. It involves more than just one person playing where there is a mutual agreement that the 1st person to reach the goal becomes the winner. Think about it. That's what makes it worthwhile to play the sport.

Like all sports, Gymnastics has a season to play and an off season not to play. Break that down further and you'll see a period of time where the gymnast must get in shape, get stronger, learn more skills, work on dance, etc... Then there is the season itself----beginning, middle, and end (final gymnastics meet of the season).

For GAGE's Level 4's, 5's, and 6's the final meet of the season is almost here. For GAGE's Junior Olympic optional athletes the season is past the mid way point, going into the final qualifying meets to State, Regionals, and JO Nationals. (It's time to do complete routines starting now and fine tune each part until they become excellent.)

As GAGE coaches we provide the expertise and the planning to "peak" at the right time. That's our responsibility.

As GAGE gymnasts--- your responsibility is to execute our plan.

Now Team....Now!

Easy or Hard? Depends....

2013-03-03T21:19:00.001-06:00

It's all in the progressions....

The combo skill that's always a crowd pleaser during a gymnastics meet is the back flip - punch front flip. Especially when different body positions, multiple flips and twists are added.

- layout back to punch front

- back double full twist to punch front

- double back to punch front

- back double layout to punch front

- full in to punch front

Although it takes strength, body tightness, and air sense to do this combo safely, it's not as hard as some folks think. It's all in the progressions.

True, it's not a combo skill for the weak or faint of heart. It takes physical preparation, guts, and a smart thinker to do this kind of tumbling. Otherwise, the athlete can get hurt, either by twisting an ankle, injuring a knee, jamming her back or whip lashing her neck.

Using various rebounding systems like a tramp, a long tramp, or a rod floor help speed up the learning process safely. One of the best ways to teach this is by slowing down the whole skill using mats and a little help from your team mates. Even if the gymnast doesn't succeed right away, she can still try it with very little worry for her well being.

Happy tumbling!

Look Mom ----- No Spot!

2013-02-19T12:35:00.002-06:00

One of the coolest fantasy tricks ordinary people fantasize about being able to do is "the back flip".

Of course it seems like a no brainer to extraordinary people like gymnasts, cheer leaders, dancers, ice skaters, snow boarders, etc...because we see them "flipping" all the time on TV, cheer competitions, gymnastic meets, extreme sports, dance recitals, and other various entertainment venues.

Without a doubt gymnastics gyms and camps play a critical role in teaching a back flip safely to non gymnasts in a progressive fashion under the guidance of expert supervision in a "warm and fuzzy" environment using teaching tools like trampolines, foam pits, and mats.

Years ago my coaching peers and I learned how to spot back flips, back twists, whips, multiple skill tumbling passes----forward and backward, from the 1st pass to the last pass, and more.... No doubt there is a great educational value to knowing how to do this, and I fully endorse this kind of learning experience.

That being said, my recommendation to young, aspiring coaches will always be-----"Work smarter ----not harder". This keeps you from getting old really fast---broken nose, broken shoulder, torn bicep, bad back, etc...

Something I learned from Wally Meierarend, GAGE's Dragon boys team coach and cheer tumbling expert was how to use a mat set up as a spotter for the back flip so he doesn't have to spot hundreds of cheerleaders all by himself.

Pure genius! I'm passing this on to you. Go Dragons!

What’s wrong with that?

2013-02-12T23:28:00.001-06:00

Judges will tell you that Sydney is turning too late in her blind change and will receive a deduction because she didn’t finish in or near a handstand position. She might still be able to do a front giant successfully but Mom and Dad won’t understand the low score when it comes up----even when she had good form----good toe point, straight knees, legs together, body straight, etc…

Even though it’s not perfect, it’s a skill in transition. All it takes is time and repetition to make it better. It helps if the coach gives the right correction and the gymnast understands. Then----no more talk, just do more reps.

FYI…look at Sydney’s right arm. It needs to push and extend more as she approaches the handstand position to pirouette.

Walk This Way!

2013-02-06T23:00:00.001-06:00

No doubt about it. Gymnastics takes strength to play. If you're a serious coach, you already use exercises and conditioning to make your gymnasts stronger and better prepared to do the sport. Remember this: the stronger the gymnasts...the safer and more successful they become.

Sometimes it's important to be creative in selecting certain exercises for the various body parts. For instance, leg exercises can vary from leg squats, to plyometric jumping to roll jumps, to running stadium stairs. Mixing it up provides a variety of activities that accomplishes the same end result but doesn't get old and boring.

Same goes for arm and shoulder strength exercises. Aside from the necessary rope climbs, handstand pushups, and shoulder shrugs, walking on your hands as an exercise breaks up the monotony of the same old - same old exercise rut.

Clutter Gets in the Way of Progress!

2013-02-01T00:20:00.001-06:00

Good coaching starts with a well organized work space.

In the gym setting there's a place for everything. Vault, bars , beam, floor, tumbling strips, tramps, etc...requires a certain amount of space for at least one piece of equipment, mats, spotting stations, and group processing--- where athletes can move about freely to workout and coaches can spot.

Too often I've visited gyms where there's clutter everywhere because undisciplined athletes throw discarded tape and trash on the floor. What seems to be typical in most gyms are gym bags, t shirts, warm ups, tape rolls, and personal belongings littering the floor during workout. It's unsafe and irritating to coaches when they trip over gym bags, grips, etc...as they try to move around to spot or coach an event.

I'm fortunate to have mats, mats, and more mats of various sizes and shapes. All the better to set up spotting stations and drill stations for athletes to use. We teach our athletes to set stations up themselves. Even more important ----we teach them to take down the stations and put mats in their proper place, especially at the end of workout.

In a typical workout at GAGE, there are 3 or more groups of gymnasts rotating in and out of an event.

Rule Of Thumb: What you set up---you take down immediately after your session on that event is over. Unless of course the next group coming in wants to use the same station. In that case the responsibility for breakdown and replacement goes to the last user.

Teach good responsible behavior to your athletes, especially the young ones and you'll start to see great gymnastics results within your team.

The Only Way I Know How....

2013-01-29T23:34:00.001-06:00

If you're like Armine and me, you're always searching for ways to make your team better. Studying videos, creating new drills, connecting with judges, buying the best equipment, making new training stations, and developing a game plan to get from here to there----gymnastically speaking.
Periodization is a process where coaches chart a training course during a year's time to concentrate on strength and flexibility, teach new skills, and prepare for the competitive season ---at certain given times.

Our GAGE periodization plan includes a competition schedule of meets in house and select invitationals around the country. Intentionally our first meet of the New Year is the last week of January because we take our Christmas and New Year holidays seriously for family and festivities.
While most gyms have already had at least one and maybe two competitions under their belt, we start relatively late. Which means our rivals have time to get into the swing of things and make changes for better gymnastics while we're just getting started. So we may not look so great now---but wait until State, Regionals, Westerns, and JO Nationals. We bring it!

Our first competition of this year (2013) was the Parkette Invitational and it was outstanding! Great gymnastics at every level. Our team did ----okay. What is so important for me as a coach is to expose my team to better gymnasts than they normally meet. Losing to better gymnasts is a good thing because it puts things into perspective for them. Always makes them work harder because they hate to lose!

Music to my ears!

Hit That Handstand!

2013-01-16T23:30:00.000-06:00

A requirement for bars is to hit the handstand position when casting and pirouetting. Anything short of that becomes a deduction.

As a general rule every GAGE bar workout starts with cast handstands on low bar and high bar. To be honest, some of our gymnasts try every time to hit handstands and some don’t---which is disappointing.

To make it fresh, interesting, and challenging in a fun way, we sometimes approached the cast hand exercise a little differently.

The assignment: cast to a handstand in such a controlled manner that the gymnast is able to pike down to stand on the same bar. Low and high. This discourages the athlete from over casting past the handstand or casting only ¾ of the way up to the handstand so she won’t fall over.

Flipping and Twisting GAGE Style

2013-01-06T18:12:00.001-06:00

As they say….there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

This saying must have had the skill “double back with a full twist” in mind.

While most people understand what a double back is, adding a full twist is clearly a mystery.

Here are the variations to consider.

- double back with the full twist during the first flip

- double back with the full twist during the second flip

- double back with a half twist during the first flip and half twist during the second

At GAGE we use mats to help athletes feel where they are during a flip. Same for twisting. Think of it as our version performing a skill in slow motion without the use of a physical spot or a spotting belt. By doing so, it’s easier on the gymnast----and the coach!

For novice coaches, judges, and parents----the mat station drill seen below is the way GAGE rolls!

Flyspring into the New Year!

2012-12-29T22:06:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! After a nice holiday break I'm ready to ramp it up again and do gymnastics!

GAGE hosted our 10th annual Christmas Clinic December 28th for visiting out of town coaches and gymnasts so we could share our ideas and training tips. By all accounts it was fun to spend the day setting up drills and stations to make it easier and safer for young gymnasts to learn new skills.

Gymnastics skills like double backs, triple fulls, yurchenkos, front and back giants,etc...take time to develop. For lots of coaches, trying to teach these skills can be overwhelming because they lack the knowledge and the tools to do so. What helps immensely is taking the opportunity to have my coaching staff give them insightful teaching guidelines and being able to watch some of our gymnasts demonstrate.

Here is a video of our Level 5 and 6 athletes using a long tramp station to work flysprings.

Happy Holidays!

2012-12-16T00:33:00.000-06:00

Hard to imagine but Christmas is almost here and the new year is just around the corner.

For the next two weeks our Dragon team goal is to continue training hard to capture as many skills as possible before we intentionally wind down. Christmas is a special time for friends and family and we want everyone to enjoy this time of year without gymnastics on their minds. Skeleton workouts are scheduled for those staying in town, and nothing in particular for those going out of town.

After the New Year our competitive schedule is designed so we won't have to pop right back into intense training to get ready for a meet. We'll spend careful time getting back in shape and revisiting our basics so we can approach the competitive season in smart fashion. By then we will know what level every gymnast should be in and what skills to continue working on for the rest of the season.

From the Fong family to all of you.....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mats are a Coach's Best Friend!

2012-10-25T12:03:00.000-05:00

Aside from the obvious benefits of soft and forgiving mats to help minimize injuries due to a fall or overuse abuse, mats are excellent surrogate coaches.
Since it saves time and effort, we always use mats to inform gymnasts of their spatial awareness when jumping, leaping, splitting, rebounding, etc...

No need for repetitive verbal banter like "you're not high enough"...... "you need to jump bigger"---- " you didn't do a 180 degree split" and so on.
In our gym, mats do the talking and the gymnasts automatically listen.

Watch Sophia use a mat to jump straddle and jump split. It helps her understand what a "180 degree split" means, what "parallel to the floor" feels like, and if she was high enough---or not!

Brenna Dowell Wins the 2012 Mexico Open!

2012-10-15T23:13:00.002-05:00

Brenna had the time of her life down in Acapulco as she brought home the
gold!

More GAGE Girls on the Horizon!

2012-10-15T14:08:00.001-05:00

Come on----did you really expect anything less from us? How else can we put athletes in the Olympics every 4 years unless we keep attracting talented young gymnasts and help them strategically set goals?
Go Dragons!

My Fate

2012-10-12T22:25:00.003-05:00

Another hard day at the office...

Work, work, work. Seems like all we do is work. Teach this skill. Set up that drill. Exercise--need more strength. Stretch--not flexible enough. Barre complex--need to dance better, jump higher, leap bigger, body wave prettier.

Learn a new trick. Celebrate for one minute---then it's not enough---needs to be in a pike position and a layout and with a twist, and on and on and on...

And what do you get for all your hard work?

An international assignment in Acapulco where we have to stay for a week.

Oh how we suffer....

Acapulco----Ole'

2012-10-12T17:34:00.001-05:00

Brenna just finished the morning training on meet day. Trying to decide the best time to eat lunch so she isn't too full to compete. Feeling bloated is not good. And of course if she eats too early there is a risk of running out of fuel during competition.

The wait begins.

Because we're in Acapulco at theFairmont Acapulco Princess Resort, you're thinking we've been lounging around by the pool all day or dodging waves as they come rolling into shore.

Kick back time? Hardly.

We're representing the USA in the 1st international meet of the new season for the US team. Brenna has a big responsibility to carry on the success we had in London at the Olympics.

Me too.

Take Care Of Your Wrists!

2012-10-06T00:28:00.000-05:00

It's hard to get kids to swing bars when they have ugly, painful rips on their wrists. Skin abrasions are common with young gymnasts mainly because they don't wash their cotton wrist bands on a regular basis. Also they haven't swung bars enough to callous up. Here's something we teach our Dragon GAGE gymnasts to do to reduce grip friction so they can continue training bars every day.

GAGE Girls 2012!

2012-10-05T23:26:00.001-05:00

Say hello to the new generation of GAGE girls.

We always set goals in 4 year increments. 2012 is almost over and we're making plans for the new generation to reset the stage for future excellent gymnastics!