Comments for Beth Gardner

Comment on Gymnastics Minutes by Tom & Reiko Beach

Tom & Reiko Beach — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:26:27 +0000

We are really enjoying making them, and especially the intro music from Tony Retrosi’s band. If people have ideas for what they want to see, let us know!!

Comment on What Do I Do If?: Open Gyms by Blair Lowe

Blair Lowe — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:37:02 +0000

I always preferred to warmup all the kids together, rec or team and then split them off to event or areas in the gym I would stick around or assign coaches to.

I will admit that I would tend to let team kids be more open to moving around the gym but typically they would stick to an event for 20 or 30 minutes and I would rotate them off checking on them every 5-7 minutes, perhaps spotting a few things or offering corrections/drills.

If there are too many kids per area, I would assign different groups to different areas but hopefully we’d have more coaches. There would be the groups of the younger ages or levels, older ages or levels, etc.

Typically I would allow them in the last half hour to have open time (pit/tramp) and team kids would stretch out in the last 10-15 minutes. They might do some conditioning before that open time.

Comment on National Congress by ~ beth

~ beth — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:09:00 +0000

Thank you Kristy. I am trying to post my handout..but I seem to be a noob at this blog stuff and I can’t get it to format correctly.

The problem with handouts is that they don’t really have the meat and potatoes of the session included. They really only serve to jog the memory of those who were in the session.

..but I am posting the handouts in case anyone didn’t receive one.

They just seem to look retarded because I am not a computer whiz kid.

~ beth

Comment on National Congress by Kristy Holden

Kristy Holden — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:50:27 +0000

Hi Beth,
I recently attended your session @ National Congress and would like information that you discussed during that hour on coaching to learning styles. Is there a place online that I could print the information that you shared with us on that day? I have been asked to redesign our Tumblebug Program and would like to include your work and perspective and I also thought it would be in our best interest to have our coaches be able to identify the diferent learning styles and hints that lead us to identifying those styles. I am from Gym Magic Sports Center and Preschool located in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I coach compulsory and optionals. I am also a new judge and director of HomeSchooler’s Haven and I incorporate a lot of S’cool Moves into our programs, but I would love to incorportate a little bit of Deb Willson, Patti Comola, and YOU as I redesign our Tumblebug program which is from the age of 3 until the age of 5. I would love to have in print the topics you covered @ congress. Your insight would be well recieved and highly appreciated.
Warm Regards,
Kristy Holden

Comment on Bridging in Preschoolers by Tracy McCoy

Tracy McCoy — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:52:29 +0000

It seems to be mainstream. It says that it promotes natural healing in the body by allowing the injured area to be inflamed again which is what the body naturally does to heal itself. Supposedly taking ibuprofen and other antiinflammatories prevent your body from completely healing because it tricks it into thinking it has finished when it hasn’t. My orthopedic doctor growing up always told me to take 3 ibuprofen 3 times a day when I was in a lot of pain! Here are some websites I’ve found that talk about it:

www.prolotherapy.org/prolotherapy/what-is-prolotherapy.asp (I just ordered the book from this site)

www.getprolo.com/how_safe_is_prolotherapy.htm

www.jointrehab.com/dr_darrow_videojug_prolotherapy.htm (This one is a video of a doctor talking about it)

I’m going to continue researching this extensively because I finally have some hope that there is some kind of cure out there for my back!

Comment on Bridging in Preschoolers by ~ beth

~ beth — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:57:25 +0000

No, I haven’t ever heard of that. Is it some sort of alternative medicine? or is it mainstream?

Comment on Bridging in Preschoolers by Tracy McCoy

Tracy McCoy — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:46:51 +0000

Have you heard of Prolotherapy? I had never heard of it until the other day when I was looking online and was researching methods to help my back pain. It sounds really interesting but kinda scary. They actually inject a sugar-water substance into your back and it supposedly helps to complete the healing process that never completely finished from when the injury initially occurred. I am going to have to do a lot more research on the topic before I consider having such a thing done to myself, but it sure would be nice if it worked!!

Comment on Bridging in Preschoolers by ~ beth

~ beth — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:26:47 +0000

Yep..Alot of us who did gymnastics back in the dark ages are in the same boat. ..and without telling on myself TOO much, you are way younger than I am. So, I can feel your pain..trust me on that.

Fortunately for our current students, we have alot more information at our disposal now. Sports science has made huge strides since you and I were learning the sport. Gymnastics and sport science, in general, is dynamic and always changing. It’s sometimes daunting to keep up with the current information out there regarding so many aspects of our sport.

I am so thankful for the continuing educational opportunities I have had through USAG as well as other organizations and individuals. Hopefully, our sport will continue to grow and develop through dissemination of information. As each of us becomes more knowledgeable, we all become stronger.

Comment on Bridging in Preschoolers by Tracy McCoy

Tracy McCoy — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:12:35 +0000

I actually STILL have lower back pain from improperly stretching my bridges in gymnastics when I was younger and I’m 30 years old. So I take the back issues seriously with my kiddos. I remember when my pain started at age 8- it felt like a pinch in my spine every time I did a front or back walkover and no treatment has ever taken care of it. I’ve tried physical therapy and a chiropractor, and it still feels the same now as when I was younger.
Thanks again for all your info!

Comment on Bridging in Preschoolers by ~ beth

~ beth — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:41:00 +0000

Thank you for your comment, Tracy. I’m glad you got the information you were looking for. Bridging preschoolers has been a hot-button topic for as long as I can remember.

I think the most common argument I hear from coaches regarding bridging in preschoolers comes from coaches who use the compulsory routines as a foundation of their curriculum. Their question is generally this: “How can we be expected to prepare kids for walkovers by age 6 in Level 4, if we are not allowed to bridge them until age 5?”

Just after the standards had changed a few years back, I had alot of coaches asking me that question in the courses I was teaching for USAG. It seemed like a very valid question. So, I asked for clarification to that question at one of the National Instructor meetings. USAG’s response made alot of sense. It was this..”The compulsories should not be viewed nor were they ever intended to be viewed as the foundation for curriculum.” USAG’s stance is that preschool children should be trained under the safety guidelines and standards set forward in the KAT. Otherwise, they would not have created the program.

~ beth