What is Gymnastics for All?
Margaret Sikkens Ahlquist heads the international Gymnastics for All committee.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Margaret Sikkens Ahlquist heads the international Gymnastics for All committee.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Keith Russell has been the principle author of the Canadian coach education programme since 1978.
It’s considered one of the best in the world.
In fact, the FIG Foundations course was also authored by Keith.
Here’s how coach education works in Canada.
Everyone takes 4 hours of theory and the 9 hour Gymnastics Foundations course.
Next you can specialize in Artistic Gymnastics, Trampoline or Active Start (preschool).
After completing some work at your own gym, you are evaluated and — finally — fully certified.
You can be an instructor with your own group of kids.
Here’s the 2008 edition cover of the Canadian coaching manual.
Unfortunately that text is not available online. The only way to get it is to take the course.
Similarly, you can’t purchase the FIG Foundations manual online.
Too bad.
Wow Rick, that’s the simplest explanation of the GF program that I have seen! Thanks for that; I believe that the Introduction course is taken before the Theory.
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Here’s how it works.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The FIG Gymnastics for All Committee held a “Join the GfA Activities” course in Negombo, Sri Lanka, on November 23-25, 2017, with the participation of 49 enthusiastic Gymnastics coaches from seven national federations from the Asian Gymnastics Union (AGU), namely Afghanistan, Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
April 25-29, 2018 in Ottawa, Canada.
Four themes will be on the agenda:
FIG – Ottawa hosts 2018 Gymnastics for All colloquium
A rule at most Gyms is that coaches should be active.
Get up, be enthusiastic and engage—as a coach you are a leader and it is up to you to set the tone for your athletes and to positively influence the culture in your gym. …
NO LYING ON THE MATS: HOW HORIZONTAL COACHING HURTS YOUR GYM’S MORALE (BACKED BY SCIENCE)
With support from the International Gymnastics Federation, International expert coach Brooke Kneebush from Gymnastics Australia, last week visited Samoa, conducting “Come & Try” clinics for pre-school and school aged children, and presenting coach and teacher education workshops. …
After the first successful edition of the Gymnastics for Fun seminar in 2015 in Lillsved (SWE), we are organising a second seminar in London (GBR) from 20 to 22 October.
This Seminar is open to coaches and persons responsible for children and youth within Gymnastics for All and aims to improve your knowledge and give you ideas on how to create and develop attractive gymnastics, built on physical training and gymnastic elements. Practice will be combined with lectures, discussions and group studies so that everyone can share their experiences and learn from each other. …
by Rick McCharles
At Ontario Congress 2016 I broke down the Movement Patterns approach in greater detail than ever before.
All Gymnastics skills can be analyzed in terms of 6 movement patterns. LANDINGS we teach first and best.
Here’s an example.
The Movement Pattern approach — as opposed to the more traditional Skills approach — is used in Canada and by the International Gymnastics Federation. The inventor of this taxonomy and primary author is Keith Russell.
It’s biomechanical analysis. Each of the Movement Patterns obeys well defined laws of physics. SWINGS, for example, are skills where the body is rotating around an external axis. Good technique is keeping the Centre of Mass far from the axis on the DOWN swing, closer to the axis on the UP swing.
Once a coach knows the mechanical principles of each of the 6 Movement Patterns, it’s easier to coach specific skills.
For example, keep your hips (Centre of Mass) as far away from the Bar (Axis) as possible on the down SWING.
All Gymnastics finish with a LANDING. The gymnast must bring all forces to zero by attenuating energy over time and surface area.
Download all the notes from Ontario Congress 2016 – INCORPORATE THE FMP’S INTO YOUR PROGRAMS (Gymnastics Movement Patterns)
Hi Rick the link to download the notes does not work. Could you send them out to me? Thanks Heather
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The link is working for me. Try it once more time. If that fails, I’ll email you a copy.
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yes now it is working. I think I was clicking on the wrong thing. I would like to take this time to thank you for all the awesome posts you do. I share them with all our rec coaches. Much appreciated!!!
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