Carly Patterson Biography

Carly Patterson Bio

DOB: February 4, 1988 
Country Represented: USA 
Coach: Evgeny Marchenko
Best Event: Carly is uniformly known as a great, consistent beam worker, but what always separated her from other gymnasts is the fact that she never really had a week event; she was disciplined in her form on all four events, which allowed her to win and All-Around gold at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, as well as at the US Senior Nationals.
Best Known For: Her performance at the 2004 Olympic Games! She is recognized mainly for her All-Around gold, which she won with a score of 38.387, but she also earned herself a silver on beam as well as a silver in the team competition.

Currently: After the 2004 Olympics, it was discovered that Carly had a few bulging disks in her back, and for that reason she retired from gymnastics entirely. Since then, she has pursued a music career, but she will always be remembered for her gymnastics career, as she is now a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Interesting Fact: Carly has a full-length music album called "Back to the Beginning," which has been released on iTunes along with a few single tracks. Prior to releasing her album, she was on a show called Celebrity Duets, produced by Simon Cowell, where she had the opportunity to sing with multiple famous musicians. Not the best singer in the world, but at least the fame she gained from the Athens Olympics gave her the chance to try out something new. Here is a video of a song called "Here I am," which was featured on the show Make it or Break it.

February Questions and Comments

You know what to do! :) I'll also be taking topic requests in the comments section, as usual, so let me know if there is anything specific you'd like to see coming up on the blog.

Blind Gymnast

Someone shared this on the Chalk Bucket a while back... Thought it was worth sharing on here! Pretty incredible.

Handspring Vault

A few general tips for a killer handspring vault.

• The first and probably most obvious tip is to never underestimate the importance of your sprint down the vault runway. The run is a huge factor in determining the power and turnover speed of your vault. It is important that you're comfortable with the distance at which you begin your sprint in order to avoid what coaches like to call "stutter stepping" as you near the springboard. The best way to find the take-off, stride, and distance that work best for you is simply by trial and error. Always use the tape measure to check your distance before you vault! Once you find your distance, your run should be very consistent. You should be taking the same number of steps every time, taking off with the same leg, and therefore having very few issues when it comes time for the hurdle. We've all had those days when we get stuck at the end of the vault runway hurdling with the wrong leg. To avoid this issue as best you can, befriend the tape measure and find the sprint that works for you.

• The second tip is to get a powerful hurdle. Newton's Laws tell us that the amount of force we inflict on the springboard during our hurdle is equal to the amount of force the springboard will give us in return. The more you pound the springboard, the more spring it will give you to complete your vault. So be powerful with the hurdle and don't hold back - use a full arm circle to help you get the momentum you need. Another common mistake that happens during the hurdle is that the gymnast leans too far forward with their hips towards the vault table. We don't want to jump into the table, we want to spring up and over it, so leaning into it is not going to help. Hitting the springboard with your feet in front of your hips in a hollow is going to give you the necessary height.

• This one is really important, and I'm sure you've heard it before: it's all about the heel drive when it comes to handspring vaults. A heel drive is just what it sounds like - you need to drive your heels upwards to eventually find the vertical position and get over the table. The tricky part is that you need to drive your heels while maintaining good body position. You don't want to just arch your body and flop over the vault. The heels need to be the driving force for your whole entire body, which should remain tight and, for the most part, very straight. This requires a fair amount of core strength but is essential to a good vault.

• This next tip is all about angles (by that I mean the angle your body makes with the vault table). While ideal contact angle depends on the speed and power of the gymnast, the important thing for all gymnasts to remember about angles is that you should always be off the table before your body hits the vertical position. You want the "pop" or the "shoulder block" to happen before you hit the 90 degree mark. In other words, you don't want your contact with the vault to happen so late that you are blocking off the vault after you have hit the vertical position and are angled towards the landing mat. Your shoulder block should happen as quickly and as powerfully as possible so that it is almost as if you barely touched the vault at all.

• Another note on the shoulder block is that it should require absolutely no elbow bend. In fact, the entire purpose of the block is to get power off the vault table without having to use your arms to push. Not only is an elbow bend incorrect, but it'll also slow you way down and surely cause you to flop over with an arched back onto the landing mat, rather than with all your muscles squeezed as they should be.

• Of course, during the initial moment of contact as well as the whole shoulder block phase and continuing through the second flying phase, you should have a tight, straight body position. You should be stretched out, but with no yucky loose arching. If there's one thing judges cringe at seeing on vault, I think it would be an arched body. Arching over on a vault is a little bit like cheating on a test; it allows you to complete the vault using minimal strength and effort and without really having to block at all. However, it's completely incorrect and not very pleasing to the eye.

• As your feet finally start to hit the landing mat, bend your knees and extend your arms out in front of you to absorb the shock of the landing and to help you find the balance to stick it!

He Kexin Biography

DOB: Her birthday is listed as January 1, 1992, though the age controversy that arose at the Beijing Olympics has caused a lot of people to believe that she was born in 1994. Some records arose that indicated she was not old enough to compete in 2008, but the issue was eventually claimed to have been a simple error in transferring records when she switched teams. The passport obtained by the Chinese Federation claimed that she was born in '92, and the age investigation was eventually dismissed, though a lot of people still have strong opinions on the issue.
Country Represented: China
Coach: Huang Yubin
Best Event: Bars, judging by the practically unmatched difficulty level of her UB routines and her somewhat controversial gold medal in the event at the Beijing Olympics. Bars is her event specialty.
Best Known For: Probably her Olympic gold on bars, as well as the Chinese team gold medal. As far as bars go, I think she's definitely recognized for her difficult connections and release moves (at Worlds she competed a great Li Ya release which she connects with a Jaeger - her routine in team finals earned her a 16.333, though she had an unfortunate fall during event finals).



Currently: She is still competing and definitely plans on returning for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Interesting Fact: He Kexin scored a 16.800 at the Cottbus Cup. It was only her second international meet, and her score was good enough to be deemed the highest uneven bars score earned at an international competition under the current Code of Points.

January Questions and Comments

Please post here :) I would love topic requests if you have them, and if you want any posts written about specific skills that seem to be common among readers then I'll be happy to get something up for ya, but I need your input first. Thanks!

Happy New Year, everybody!

USAG World Championship Highlights

Great video! Here are some of the highlights of the 2010 Worlds for the US men's and women's teams.

Home Gym Equipment for Gymnasts

It's a common debate in the "gymnastics world" whether or not parents should establish a home gym and allow their kids to practice their sport at home. One the one hand, having a floor beam and a single bar in the basement or rec room allows gymnasts extra practice time and serves as a fun activity to do at home. On the other hand, there are some safety issues involved when practicing without a coach and without proper landing mats. These are a few factors to take into consideration when deciding whether a home gym is a good idea for you or your kids. Another thing to think about is how often the gym equipment will actually be used, and whether the use will be worth the cost. This stuff can get pretty pricey, so for most people, the decision to buy home gym equipment is not one they make on a whim.

Other considerations:

• Amount of available floor space, and type of flooring. Mats and roll-up beams can slide on wooden floors. If you don't have a lot of space but still want a beam at home, you can consider buying a 4", 6", or 8" beam rather than a 10" or 12" beam, but your gymnast might not be able to perform a full routine on a shorter balance beam.
• Ceiling height. Often a gymnast on a floor beam will hit the ceiling just doing a simple jump. If you have an open area with higher ceilings that is carpeted, that will be the best place for your home gym. Medium height and high beams are available online, though I don't generally recommend those anyway because of safety, but floor beams will fit best in the average house.
• Size of equipment and available storage. Most floor mats will fold up nicely to be stored in a closet, and you can do the same with roll-up beams. Solid beams, bars, or pommel trainers will be more difficult to find storage space for. You can do like I used to and hide the beam behind the couch when company comes, but sometimes there is no real great solution to this dilemma.
• Can you make do without? A mat is a mat, but a line of tape on the floor can serve as a floor beam and do what it's meant to do with absolutely no cost. No harm in getting a little creative!
• Is it too much of a good thing? Some parents think the gymnastics should stay in the gym; time at home is family time and it reminds the gymnast that their sport is not their whole life. I tend to agree with this to an extent. One piece of gym equipment is fun to play on at home, but gym life, school life, and home life sometimes need to be separated. I don't advise parents to try to coach their kids at home - although they love gymnastics, they are under a lot of pressure and stress at the gym, and home needs to be a sanctuary.
• Supervision. Any gymnastics at home should be supervised at all times, and the gymnast shouldn't be doing anything they aren't absolutely confident in doing without a spot.

If you do decide to purchase some equipment for home, I would recommend both a mat and a floor beam. I am hesitant to recommend anything further for safety reasons. A lot of parents want to get their kids a single kip bar, but with a lack of safety equipment and with the bar not being bolted to the ground, anything above level 4 skills becomes pretty dangerous. The bar is not sturdy enough to hold very much weight, nor much swinging movement.

Here are some of the most reputable sites to get quality gym equipment for home.

American Gymnast
http://www.american-gymnast.com/shop/Home-Use-Equipment-C12.aspx

This site has your basic 1.5"-2" floor mats, kip bars, floor and low beams, pommel trainers, etc. They also have "hand, hand, foot, foot" cartwheel mats for the littles. This is a very reputable company. I haven't used any of their home products personally but I would assume this is as close as you could get to a beam that has the same width, texture, and squishiness as a regulation beam.

The Beam Store
http://www.thebeamstore.com/

The Beam Store has bars, floor beams, raised beams with metal legs, and mats. For the boys they do have some mini parallel bars or parallets. The thing I really love about this site is that it is SO safety-conscious. It has a lot of beam/mat combos, which is great. Their beams also have a wide and long foundation under them, making them a whole lot safer (granted, more expensive) than a stand-alone kip bar. I have an 8-inch beam from this site. It feels a little wider than a regulation beam just because the foam and the suede they cover it with is a little thicker, but it serves its purpose. Most of the beams come in assorted colors, as well, which can be cute.

Gym Supply
http://www.gymsupply.com/

This site has more than just home gym equipment. They've got some institutional equipment, grips, gifts, apparel, etc., but they also have the basic beams, mats, and bars. They have some strength training equipment that could be used for anybody wanting to work out at home, not just gymnasts. They also carry all of the Nastia Liukin products! In her line, there is a pirouette bar which is great for home use as well as a 9" beginner beam (and it's pink!).

Hollie Vise Biography

The gymnast of the month for December is Hollie Vise! Today, the 6th, is Hollie's birthday, so I thought it appropriate to choose her for the monthly bio. (And also I'd like to give a special December birthday shout-out to gymnasticsluver!)

DOB: December 6, 1987
Country Represented: USA
Coach: Evgeny Marchenko, a Russian acrobat
Best Event: Based on her gold medal at the 2003 World Championships, she was best on uneven bars, but she was also considered to be a great beam worker.
Best Known For: She competed in the 2003 World Championships, bringing home a gold on bars as well as the gold for the team competition. She competed at the 2004 Olympic Trials but was not chosen to be a part of the final Olympic team, as they needed vault specialists and she was best on beam/bars. She is also well-known for her signature mount pose on beam (pictured).
Currently: Hollie studies at the University of Oklahoma and competes with their gymnastics team.
Interesting Fact: Her grandfather is Burton Gilliam, a fairly well-known actor who has appeared in 17 films and many different television programs.

December Questions and Comments

Please post here!