Why It’s Good for Gymnasts to Be a Little “Bad”

    “Wow, I am so glad you got in trouble today at gym!” said no parent or coach ever. But the truth is, it is not an entirely bad thing when your athlete breaks a rule, cheats on a conditioning assignment or pushes a boundary. Believe it or not, coaches, you don’t want blindly […]

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6 Things Not To Say to a Gymnastics Coach

It may not be intentional, but there are certain comments that will make a gymnastics coach’s blood boil.   So what do you do with all your free time until practice starts? Practice is when you kids come into workout. My workday starts much earlier than that. I might have administrative duties or training responsibilities […]

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Gymnastics: Begin Here, Go Anywhere

“Introducing your child to gymnastics at a young age isn’t about choosing a sport for your child, it’s about introducing a variety of skills that they can utilize in whatever sport or activity they might one day choose.” Shannon Miller, 7 time Olympic gymnastics medalist and mom of two children. Gymnastics is the basis of all […]

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13 Tips (plus a bonus one) for Coaching the Emotionally Volatile Athlete

Some kids are deeply emotional. It’s real. They feel the highs higher and lows lower. And some of those deeply emotional kids by nature or through practice have learned to process those big feelings internally and appropriately. But there are others for whom crying, sulking or withdrawing are the techniques of choice. At practice, these […]

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What Athletes Remember Most About Coaches

When it is all over, what will your athletes remember about you? Your terrific technique? The number of elites you trained? The incredible advice you doled out? Probably not. As Maya Angelou is quoted, “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” […]

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The Radical Tip that Might Keep Your Daughter in Sports (and Place Her in the C-Suite…)

Approximately 70% of children in the U.S. quit sports by the time they are 13 according to the Michigan State University’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports. The Center for Disease Control recommends that children and adolescents get at least 60 minutes of moderate exercise every day, but few come close. So, it is […]

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The Surprising (but Scientifically Backed) Technique to Help Your Athlete Succeed

  Want a scientifically back tip to help your athlete succeed? Teach them to be nice to themselves. Yes, you read that correctly: be nice to themselves. A Stanford scientist says that the best chance of growing from a challenge or difficult circumstance is actually being kind to ourselves. Emma Seppala, author of The Happiness […]

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Gymnasts: Keep Going!

In honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day I share with you this amazing blog post by Molly Fletcher, My Letter to Every Girl Who Plays Sports (and Her Parents) “I see you running your heart out on the field and court, your braids bobbing, your face all kinds of determined to win. You love to […]

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10 Things Competitive Gymnasts Do Not Want to Hear

Here are 10 things competitive gymnasts do not want to hear:   “You cannot believe how busy I am…” I go to school all day, then practice until 9pm and then do homework for my four AP classes. So yes, I can imagine how busy you are. “It’s so unfair you don’t have to take […]

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