Skill Development Archives - Page 6 of 7 - Scott Johnson's Gym Experience

Benefits of Gymnastics

June 27, 2018June 27, 2018 scottjohnsonsgymexperience

For those of us who are familiar with the gymnastics as an activity or sport, we know that the teaching and learning curve can be very complex and complicated. It takes strength, flexibility, coordination, and confidence to progress and advance through the various skill levels. Developing biomechanical skills is a slow process and it takes years of training for an athlete to reach the higher levels of gymnastics. Over time it is truly amazing to see what these athletes are able to accomplish when they follow a designed plan. In this discussion, I will reflect on how the sport of gymnastics can create great athleticism that will benefit an athlete in any sport. This Post will benefit those parents who are contemplating what activities may be best for their children.

There are many different types of sports and each one has its own physical, technical, and mechanical demands necessary to achieve success in the sport. Some sports are very aggressive and involve physical contact such as Football, Soccer, or Martial Arts. In contrast non-contact sports like Gymnastics, Track and Field, or Swimming and Diving are individual performance related with no physical contact. Both contact and non-contact sports can be just as physically, mentally, and technically demanding all requiring speed, strength, endurance, and most importantly total body control throughout the performance. Sports such as Golf, Archery, and Bowling may be less physically demanding, but still require a sharp mental focus and body control in training and competition.

Without ever participating in a particular sport it’s difficult to fully comprehend what is required physically and mentally to compete at a high level. Good athletes make incredible feats look easy, great athletes do it without even breaking a sweat. Watching a great athlete perform on TV can be deceptive. For example, have you watched a Major League pitcher throw a 95 MPH fastball over home plate? Most people are lucky if they can just get the ball to home plate.

My own personal awakening was an eye opener for me. Sports always came easy to me, but to my disbelief when I first tried to Golf, I was not very good. As a successful athlete in gymnastics I had always thought that the sport of golf was more of an activity and should not be considered a sport. I always thought it required little physical effort and would be easy to play, until I tried it!! In 1984 the Olympic Gymnastics Trials were held in Jacksonville, FL and we were housed at The Ravines Golf and Tennis Resort. One day, the resorts golf pro invited us all to a free round of golf. This was my first attempt at this sport and I was blown away – I whiffed more times than I hit the ball. Here I was a world-class athlete in arguably the most difficult individual performance sports in the Olympic Games and I couldn’t hit a golf ball, much less make it go in the right direction. It was this experience that I gained a new appreciation for the sport of Golf – and a sport I vowed to learn to play.

The sport of gymnastics is such a complex sport that in order to be successful the athlete needs to acquire a very high level athleticism. It requires total body control where the entire body must perform in unison in order to complete each individual skill effectively and safely through a series of connected skills called a routine. It is a sport that requires speed and patience at the same time to allow continuation of energy into the next skill. It requires complete mental focus and spatial awareness to have the confidence to literally release a piece of apparatus at high-speed and know it will be there when you reach to re-grab it.

Gymnastics and acrobatic skill development provides an excellent base for almost any sport. It teaches students to run correctly (it is very common that many people run incorrectly with small strides and poor body position), learn body control and to move their bodies through many different positions. They will learn to jump correctly, and most importantly learn how to absorb shock on landings. Gymnastics teaches how to use flexibility and strength together for body control, and how to overcome fear by focusing on technique to safely complete the skill.

It is these attributes that athletes acquire in gymnastics that will benefit them in almost any sport or activity they pursue. As I discussed in my previous blog (The Coach: Creating the Successful Athlete), participation in gymnastics drops off as the skill level increases due to extreme competition requirements. Athletes who choose to pursue other sports or activities after gymnastics have a great foundation to build upon. It’s common to see these athletes rely on the strength and conditioning they learned in gymnastics to improve their performance in a new sport. I have seen former students of mine become great volleyball players, soccer players, softball or baseball players, and much more. Sports like diving are very similar to the sport of gymnastics and many former gymnasts may find success in a short period of time. One great example is 1988 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Phoebe Mills. After her gymnastics career, she participated and became successful in the sport of diving. The athleticism she learned in the sport of gymnastics was certainly a benefit in her diving career.

When a parent is exploring what activities their child should participate in, gymnastics should always be considered, especially for young children. And it is not only for the girls, which seems to be a common perception. Boys can benefit greatly from participating in the sport of gymnastics as it can enhance many attributes that almost every sport requires. I often have parents enroll their child in our gymnastics program specifically for this reason. Not only will the students acquire many physical skills, but the sport is fun and most that participate enjoy the experience.

To be successful as a competitive athlete requires a certain type of person with certain physical and emotional traits. Thus, genetics play an important part on whether an athlete will have the ability to achieve success. For example, when I was young, I played football. I loved this sport and I was pretty good. One problem, I was too small to pursue it for very long – if I wanted to live a little longer. My height eliminated the possibility of a career in the NBA, so that was out. Conversely the reverse is also true as it’s very rare to see a six-foot tall gymnast. Fortunately children tend to be short, so gymnastics is a great way to develop motor skills at a young age that will stay with them through their sports career, no matter the sport.

The sport of gymnastics is a great sport and anyone and everyone can participate. The skills they learn will certainly benefit them in any future activities they may pursue outside of gymnastics. And who knows… they may become an Olympic Champion!!

I would love to hear your comments. Also, if there are any subjects you would like me to cover, let me know and I will do my best to post my thoughts. Please Like and Share to all you believe will benefit from the information.

For clinics, seminars, or special events, please contact me at: scottjohnsongymnastics@gmail.com http://www.scottjohnsonstga.com

Communication, Program Development, Skill Development, Staffing, Training

Gymnastics: Training Your Staff

June 6, 2018June 26, 2018 scottjohnsonsgymexperience

I have touched on this subject at different times in previous posts and wanted to elaborate in detail due to the importance of having a quality staff to grow the business. In sports that are highly complex and carry a particular risk factor, the importance of having a well-trained staff is going to determine not only the success of the business, but also the success and safety of the student. All sports have their own specialized means of technique in training skills, which the athlete must accomplish in order to progress. Since the sport of gymnastics is one of the most complex and complicated sports, it requires that the coaching staff have the proper knowledge and experience to train the athlete at their participating level to ensure quality and safety in the training environment.

At the recreational levels of gymnastics, the experience and knowledge requirements for the instructors are much more basic than the higher levels of sport. The students are learning basic elements like forward and backward rolls, bridges, and cartwheels. Although there are specific techniques required to perform these basic skills, it is not so complex that the coaches can, in most cases, be easily trained in a short period of time. However, with this stated, the trainer still needs to have extensive knowledge when training the technique to new coaches. Even the simplest of skills like the forward and backward roll has a particular set of technical rules that should be followed.

I have found that when training our coaches, it takes them some time to recognize and actually see what actions the student needs to improve. To train the eye of what to look for takes repetition and constant reinforcement from the trainer so the new coach can learn to recognize the areas of concern. One great training method is to ask the new coach what they see when a student performs a skill and what areas need to be fixed. Many times, they will not recognize the problem which is a great opportunity for the trainer to explain in detail what to look for specifically. Just as the athlete needs to train their skills, the coach needs to train their eye’s. Since the skills can be so complex, there are usually several different issues that can be corrected. What makes this even more difficult is that many of the skills move quickly so some issues are difficult to spot. For example, when a student is performing a run- hurdle – cartwheel, the run should be correct (not baby steps for example), the hurdle can have many issues like the length, height, arm and body position, and of course the cartwheel may have another set of issues to address. Most experienced coaches can see these concerns whereas a new coach may see very little of these same concerns.

The coaches job is to teach skills to the athlete so they can master them and improve their skill level. When a student is performing wrong or incorrect technique, the coach needs to correct this technique Every Time!! If this doesn’t occur, the student is reinforcing the wrong methods that will create bad habits. We all know that bad habits are hard to break. The coach needs to create good habits through consistent communication. The student needs to hear these corrections as much as possible so they can begin to understand what to focus on while performing the skill. And how should we communicate? always in a positive and constructive manner.

Another task that the coach needs to learn properly is how to physically spot the students on their skills. I discussed this in my post (The Art of Spotting) in detail as this is an important requirement for all level of coaches. We need to not only keep the students safe from injury, but spotting correctly also teaches body positioning on the skills which reinforces teaching the proper technique. Spotting is also a skill that takes new coaches time to learn. It is important that the coach is not put in a position to spot a student that they cannot physically manipulate or a skill that is more advanced than they are trained to spot. Both of these factors can cause injury to the athlete and/or the coach.

It is always best to have the new coach train and shadow other coaches initially so they can become comfortable with the environment and class structure. I have heard many stories of coaches being forced to run classes on their own their first day of work without any training. This can be stressful for the new coach and the students of the class. Remember, usually the parent is observing and if a class is not run efficiently, this willy look unfavorably for the gym program. When one parent is unhappy with a situation, they will certainly tell others and this can potentially spread rapidly within a community.

The success of every business is determined by the quality of the staff running that business. We are providing a service to the community and we have many competitors that are providing programs for children. Not just other gymnastics related businesses, but dance, martial arts, baseball, etc. The higher the quality of training and service the more opportunity the business has to achieve a greater market share. Remember, a business is only as successful at its staff. Let’s train them the correct way!!

For clinics, seminars, or special events, please contact me at: scottjohnsongymnastics@gmail.com

http://www.scottjohnsonstga.com

Skill Development

Training the Beginner Student

May 9, 2018August 8, 2018 scottjohnsonsgymexperience

All athletes begin their journey as a novice, the great ones usually with an abundance of drive to achieve and raw talent. With that said, we all go through different levels of motor skill ability at different points in our life influenced by our mental and physical maturity. For example, a teenager joining a track team for the first time can probably already run. But to become an efficient runner, they will need coaching to improve their technique. Whereas, an 8 month old child will need help developing even basic motor skills an adult would consider simple, like walking. To the beginner, tumbling skills that involve somersaults and cartwheels that will turn them upside down is fun, but presents a whole new level motor movement. We often see this ability gap in young children when they enter a gymnastics program. In this discussion, I will focus on the approach and training methods we use for the beginner gymnast and tumbler.

For each level of participation in our gymnastics and tumbling classes, we strictly follow a training schedule and format. For the beginning classes, the skills are very basic and much attention is spent on developing body shapes and awareness. The format we use for this level is entirely different from our preschool class program. It is at this level the instructors introduce the concept of gymnastics and tumbling that will hopefully get the student excited about moving forward in learning their basic skills. The environment should be extremely interactive, positive, and fun for the student, but not a playground atmosphere. The first class a student participates in will be, in many cases, the determining factor of whether the student will stay with the program. Classes should always be a positive and motivational experience leaving the student excited to come back.

We start our beginner classes with students at least 5 years old. We base this on maturity, not skill level. The curriculum and structure at this level is more advanced physically and emotionally than a typical preschooler would have. However, there are always exceptions where a 4-year-old is mature enough to handle this type of structure, especially if they have had been involved in a preschool gymnastics program previously.

The term “beginner” refers to those students who have very little or no experience with gymnastics or tumbling. When we question parents for placement in our program, we usually ask, “can your child do a cartwheel?”. This is a very fundamental skill and one that most children want to explore, so a good question for exploration. If the answer is “no”, the child will certainly start at a beginner level. However, there is always the parent who states one thing and the truth is something very different. We, like most gyms, always offer a free trial class. This is not only for us to evaluate the child, but also for the child to determine if the experience meets their expectations. Most importantly for the parent, will the activity be a positive learning environment for their child to succeed.

It is never a good idea for the coach or owner to allow a parent to determine where their child needs to be placed in a program. This is a common occurrence and needs to be addressed in a sensitive manner. One challenge, common in almost all programs, is having a beginner student that is much older than the other children in the class. The difference in the age generation often is uncomfortable for the younger ones in the class, as well as the older student. In some cases, this situation is not a concern and the class flow is normal, but in other cases I have seen, it is awkward and the older student phases out of the program quickly.

In gymnastics, as in all youth sports, the entry-level should be a priority initiative in order to retain students and grow the program. The beginner level of sports is the most important and delicate level to manage. This is the introduction to the sport establishing a foundation that may very well influence the child’s passion to make it a life time pursuit. We want to provide a great experience so the students will stay and progress within the gym. This is why the coaching staff at this level needs to be experience with not only skill development, but have a love, understanding, and patience of students in this age group. This is where trust is established between the student and coach and will set a precedence in the mind of the student moving forward. For this reason, the instructors need to be more interactive and hands-on at this level than any other. The students are not mature enough to train alone without constant supervision and physical interaction like the older more advanced recreational or team students.

As someone who has coached team level gymnastics at all levels, I have found that the dynamics of coaching at the lower non-competitive levels has entirely different rules and objectives. It did not take me long to learn how important it was to create a structure and environment that will have a lasting effect on these students. I get a great deal of satisfaction working with these young students and seeing the gleam in their eyes when learning something for the first time and watching a few grow to be champions later in their development. The influence we have on these students can determine the success or failure in future growth. Let’s make it successful!!

If you have questions, do not hesitate to comment or send me a message. Also, if there are any subjects you would like me to cover, let me know and I will do my best to post my thoughts. As always, I would love to hear your comments. Please Like and Share to all you believe will benefit from the information.

For clinics, seminars, or special events, please contact me at: scottjohnsongymnastics@gmail.com

Cheerleading and Tumbling, Skill Development

The Art of Spotting

April 10, 2018June 10, 2021 scottjohnsonsgymexperience

To become a great athlete, it take many years of training, focus and motivation. Many hours are spent in the gym working on complicated skills – some with high risk factors. Many gyms have all kinds of creative equipment to assist the athletes as they train and perform numerous drills to learn all the correct techniques. One of the essential aspects in developing skills is the role the coach plays and their ability to properly aid the athlete in the execution of the skill. In this discussion, I will focus on the art of spotting and how this one factor can make or break the confidence and potential success of the athlete.

The art of spotting can be considered a sport in itself. It is definitely a skill set that must be learned and practiced consistently to ensure success. Coaches need to learn how to spot skills properly so as not to interfere with the athlete’s execution of the skill. In all sports or activities that involve acrobatic skills, spotting is requisite to skill development. From the most basic skills to the most advanced, spotting is used and important in the development and safety of the athlete. Spotting entails complicated body movements, hand placements, coordination, and focus. In addition, spotting takes strength!! I have seen amazing spotting skills in gymnastics and it is apparent that these coaches are well-trained and experienced. Spotting even the most basic skills need training. When training my new coaches how to spot, they are always very sore the first few weeks of working classes. It is definitely the most physical part of the coaching experience.

Learning to spot skills is a very important element in the development of athletes, whether it is for gymnastics, cheerleading, dance, or other sports where the athletes are learning to manipulate their bodies in motion. What are the objectives of spotting? First and foremost, Safety!! But it’s also to assist the athlete in maintaining proper body position throughout the skill, and is the first stepping stone in building their confidence toward ultimately doing the skill unassisted. At every level of sport, the athletes are learning skills that could potentially cause some type of bodily injury. Even skills as simple as a forward and backward roll where the students are rolling over their heads, the instructor needs to know how to physically assist the students to prevent undue pressure on the body. As the skills become more difficult and complex, so must the spotting technique.

To provide this safety net in the athletes’ development, coaches need to have the skills necessary to spot correctly. I have seen many cases where coaches are not spotting correctly or spotting someone they shouldn’t be spotting. Many times resulting in a fall or accident. The coach not only needs to know their limitations, but also to closely evaluate the student and their abilities before attempting a skill with a spot. This is why it is so important the coach has the knowledge to train their specific level (as discussed in my post The Technique Controversy). For example, a student should not be trained on a back handspring if they have not mastered the basic elements leading up to that skill: ie, back limber or back walkover, handstand, etc. In addition, the coach should not try to spot a student if they are not physically strong enough to support that student. I have seen this often and it usually always results in a fall. Students and parents need to be educated on the risks involved with attempting skills with an inexperienced spotter assisting them. I have had students become injured because of their attempt at a skill at home and have a friend or teammate trying to spot them. This is dangerous!!

The instructor’s job is to protect the athlete and minimize the possibility of an injury. In doing so, however, there are risks to the instructor as well. In some cases, the instructor must sacrifice their own physical well-being in order to save an athlete from physical harm. Some common injuries include: ruptured or torn bicep tendons, shoulder and back injuries, and broken noses. I’ve actually had my nose broken so badly it required surgery. These are risks the instructors are taking when developing athletes. If the instructor is timid or afraid of getting hurt themselves, then they should not be spotting the student.

Spotting skills do become necessary especially as the athlete is transitioning from drill training to performing the skill without the assistance of equipment training. The coach needs to make sure the athlete is physically and emotionally ready for this transition. In developing skills, the emotional factor can many times outweigh the physical factor. Fear factors are a concern that must be dealt with in every athlete. Some students have a very low fear factor and some students have extreme fear factors. This should always be considered when training athletes. In my programs, the coaches are not permitted to force a child to attempt a skill they are not emotionally ready to perform even if the student performs the skill perfectly with a “pretend spot” (the hand is there but not doing a thing). We encourage, but do not force. Trust is a major element in the relationship between athlete and spotter. For the athlete to give 100% effort, they must completely trust that the spotter will protect them in the event of mental or execution mistake. If the spotter fails in their attempt resulting in an injury, all trust may be lost.

I have worked with many students who have developed a “mental block” with their skills. This is a common and serious issue that if not overcome, may result in the end of a students athletic career. There are many causes of mental blocks but one common reason is due to an accident the student suffered. Many of these accidents may have been prevented if proper training and spotting was in effect. An experienced instructor should know the limitations of their students which will highly reduce the risks of an accident. In many programs, especially in the sport of gymnastics and cheerleading, there are difficulty requirements at each level. Coaches should not place a student in a position to perform or attempt skills they have no t been trained to successfully perform. When a student develops a serious mental block and the coach is not successful in repairing the issue, there are professional sports psychologists that are trained to evaluate and help these athletes overcome this problem.

There are many clinics, camps, and seminars held throughout the country that is designed to assist coaches and athletes in development. Many of the discussions are based on skill technique, training methods, and class structure. However, I have seen little attention to the training of how to actually spot skills. This is an issue that should be addressed at every level, especially at the beginning and intermediate levels of sport as this supports the majority of sport participation. I train all my staff on the correct way to spot skills. As mentioned earlier, there is a technique to spotting every skill and the coach should be effective in this technique to protect the student from potential accidents.

Injury prevention should be at the for-front of every sports program. In the development of skills, there are many different types of training equipment that is designed to assist the athlete in training. For tumbling skills, there are matting shapes that are used for skill development. Some are wedges, octagons, panel mats used in different manners, back handspring trainers like the Resilite Smarter Spotter. Coaches need to utilize these tools as they train their athletes for the safety of the athletes and themselves. Why physically spot back handsprings for a developing athlete when there are tools the athlete can use without the physical strain on the coach? These tools should be used in a consistent manner.

Please let me know your thoughts on this subject and I would be glad to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Please like and share with your groups and contacts as this post can be beneficial to many in sports, including coaches, athletes, and parents of athletes.

Skill Development, Uncategorized

The Technique Controversy

April 4, 2018April 8, 2018 scottjohnsonsgymexperience

Any activity performed in life has a special technique or mechanical issue that it entails. Whether it be as simple as learning to walk and run or as complex as learning to flip through the air. The question is: “What is the proper technique?”. This is an issue that has been at the forefront of sport forever. There are experts in this field who have studied bio-mechanics, physics, and other related subjects to identify and pinpoint how the body needs to react in certain positions to achieve positive results. However, what is often overlooked, skill technique may vary depending on the differences in athletes abilities, size, emotion, and other factors. In addition, teaching skill technique will vary depending on the level of sport and the future goals and objectives of the athlete. In this discussion, I will focus on the differences in technique objectives that is often discussed in different sports activities.

Why is proper technique so important? In many sports, athletes need to learn proper technique to ensure safety and positive progress in their development. If skills are learned incorrectly, the athlete may not progress as quickly as if the skill was learned correctly. Most skills build upon one another as the athlete progresses in skill level. If basic skills are not learned properly, advancement will be difficult and could ultimately result in the student losing interest in continuing the activity. Safety should always be the highest priority and why learning proper technique is so important. Some sports and skills are riskier than others, so the instructors need to make sure the athletes are learning the skills properly to reduce associated risk factors. Many rules and regulations in sport are designed for this specific reason. No matter the sport or activity, poor technique all too often can lead to chronic life time injury.

As mentioned earlier, a major factor in determining the proper techniques in skill development is directly related to the activity and the results being sought. For example, in the gymnastics industry, techniques may vary depending on if the athlete is training to become a competitive athlete or training for another purpose. In gymnastics, the compulsory routines are specific to every skill and must be performed according to the determined text. The same scenario applies to figure skating and other sports where skills and technique are pre-determined. However, if the gymnast is not training to be a competitor, skill development and drills may be different. Athletes in a competitive training environment may have drills that teach a technique that relates to the compulsory routines, whereas, athletes in non-competitive environments may have drills that are not specific to the compulsories – (for example, an athlete training to be a cheerleader or learning tumbling for dance or martial arts, do not need to learn a back roll with straight arms.)

I have seen coaches request, on social media, help with technical issues that will help in the training of their athletes. Although the responses are many, most have different ideas as to how to fix the problem, thus, making the issue more confusing for the coach. Many of these technical issues or bad habits can be fixed fairly easily, especially for basic elements. It is important to note that not all programs have the tools suggested to train specific drills, so consider making suggestions that may pertain to any environment if possible.

Although skills have a general way they need to be learned and performed, there are many different ways to achieve the same and final result. There are numerous drills for developing almost every skill, and experienced coaches are effective in using these drills to insure their athletes succeed. Communication is critical and the instructor must relate in a way that the student can understand. It is easy to become too detailed and complex in explaining certain technique, especially to young students. The more complex the skills are being introduced or trained, the more confused the student may become and the longer it may take to learn the skill. Don’t make it complicated!!

I work with many students in the cheer, dance, and martial arts industry and their objectives are very different from the objectives of training a competitive gymnast. We often hear from coaches in the cheer industry that a back handspring in cheer is different than a back handspring in gymnastics. Some cheer coaches do not want their athletes to train in a gymnastics program for this specific reason. A back handspring is a back handspring regardless of the sport. Although the back handspring has different objectives and priorities in gymnastics vs. cheer, the skill dynamics remain the same. If it is learned correctly, the student will be able to progress to higher skill levels, which is the objective in all sports.

In order to communicate clearly how a skill is to be executed, the coach/instructor must have the technical understanding and instructional experience necessary for the level they are teaching. This is critical, if the coach does not have the experience, the student may very well develop bad habits. Bad habits become acquired behavior patterns that are difficult to break and may create slow development. Worse, bad habits may ultimately cause an injury. Coaches can learn from other more experienced coaches in the gym. Many programs have monthly or periodic in-house training sessions for staff and encourage attending the Regional and National conferences as well as any other clinics that may be held in your area. The more experience and knowledge the coaches have, the better the athletes will become which brings success to the entire program.

My objective in this discussion is to bring to light the fact that proper technique is important for the growth and success of skill development and there are many ways and varieties of drills and techniques that can be used to achieve the same successful results. I have done many clinics, seminars, and camps where I have had the opportunity to share the knowledge I have gained through my experiences in gymnastics. I have always kept an open mind to hear other experienced coaches express their own opinions when it comes to teaching specific skills. I believe this is important, as I mentioned earlier, there are many different ways technique may be taught that can achieve great results. All coaches should keep an open mind when hearing of different techniques. I wouldn’t have achieved my goals without the many coaches I have worked with over the years – all having different ideas and different techniques that worked specifically for my development.

I would love to hear your comments and feedback. Be sure to follow me on FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. If you have a specific issue you would like to discuss, please send me a message or email to: scottjohnsongymnastics@gmail.com

Category: Skill Development

Benefits of Gymnastics

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Gymnastics: Training Your Staff

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Training the Beginner Student

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The Art of Spotting

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The Technique Controversy

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