Day 4 at Level 4

Four days have passed and I am amazed at what I have learned at the sessions in the gym and in the classroom.

First thing- the gym was amazing. There are more mats, ropes bars and beams a coach could ask for. They have the cool Airmat by tumble trak (this would be useful not only in the gym but at demo's as well!). It reduces pounding and the transition from air mat to floor is easy (as quoted by the gymnasts themselves). Another cool training device was there sunken flat double mini they used for vault. All the kids flipped with ease into a pit using this and it was a fantastic way to do high numbers of vaults without the pounding. The new drills and conditioning ideas are too many to mention and I am excited to get back into the gym and start introducing them to our own athletes (girls, trust me you will like them!). I also saw a new fashion trend (as seen below). Many of the girls wore "athletic tops". They look like a gym suit but they are tanks! They don't ride and they look fantastic. Needless to say I have already contacted a supplier and they should hopefully arrive next week!

In the classroom we have done mental training for coaches. Most of us where a little apprehensive going into this session but it has proven to be a valuable asset and I have learned many different tools which I can apply to my coaching.

Another session we just started today was Physical Preparation with Keith Russel. Wow! This session has opened my eyes in terms of what we can do to improve our physical preparation and the different approaches we can use as well. Again girls, you are going to love this!!!

I have one day left and a exam than it's back to work! I hope all of you are working hard and look forward to see some new names on the charts ( NN and CC ) when I get back!

Becca