I was going to post this on the new year, but my video thingy was just giving me a hard time! Now it’s back to working. Sorry about that.

Happy New Year everyone!

Here’s a video of me when I was 5 and my first competition ever!

I just wanted to show that you can’t judge a girls talent right from the beginning! Compulsories doesn’t mean much. What matters most is can you keep your gymnast happy and having fun so they stay in the sport.

So what do you think? Leave a comment and let me know!

Good Job! Bella, Hayley, Cameron, and Sophia!

So what do you think? Leave a comment and let me know!

I have a great book I read every once in awhile and I picked it up again. Very basic and logical, but sometimes you just have to be reminded about things. The book is called The New Toughness Training For Sports by James E. Loehr, Ed.D. Here are some paragraphs from the book that are related to whats going on the gymnastics world today.

” Here are some important stress/recovery insights related to toughening:

• Stress is anything that cause energy to be expended; it occurs physically,mentally, and emotionally.
• Recovery is anything that causes energy to be recaptured; it occurs physically,mentally,and emotionally.
• In order to fight great battles in competition,your energy deposits should be equal to your energy withdrawals. Your goal should be to enter battle fully recovered whenever possible.
• Balancing stress and recovery is fundamental to becoming a tough competitor.”

“In the physical world of sport, chronic failure to balance your stress and recovery leads to muscle failure, exhaustion, and injury.”

Here is a great example that camps are also exhausting on the body and that even going to show up at the competition arena too many days in a row can cause mental stress. Stress is not just physical. Mental and emotional stress is just as bad on your body.

” Physical stress- running,jumping,moving, exercise.

Mental stress- thinking, concentrating, focusing, visualizing, imaging, analyzing, problem-solving.

Emotional Stress- feeling fearful, pressure, feeling alone, anxiety, worrying. “

If these gymnasts do not get enough deposits of recovery- physically, mentally, and emotionally, they can only last for so long. It is too much stress on the body for these little girls to take for that long of a period. Gymnasts should be allowed to have pockets of fun, sleep in, have days off, and heal their bodies in between the days of high stress to balance themselves and their bodies. Believe me, I know first hand.

Please coaches listen to me. I know everyone is an individual, but I  could not last that many years of high stress and pressure and it all exploded the year before the Olympics, mentally and physically.  The kids will tell you anything to please you. They will say I am fine, I feel great, but some are hurting inside and want someone to force them to have fun and take a break. Thank you for listening

-Nessa

Here is an example :

The peak and good recovery balance:

emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion overload:

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Here is one of my first level 3′s at her very first level 3 competition.

Go Ava!

So what do you think? Leave a comment and let me know!

Heck Ya she did!!!

I am sorry, I do not want to come off rude, but if Komova would have won, I would have been so furious. Yeah Jordyn made some mistakes, but Jordyn is by far the better athlete!

Komova could barely make it through her double pike at the end of the routine. She looked tired and a little boring.

Jordyn wakes people up, she’s fit and happy and probably could make it through another World Championships next week. Komova wouldn’t last. Is it just me or did she look tired? Someone feed that girl!

Good job Jordyn and John. So great to see this happen to two wonderful people!

-Nessa

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

No doubt about it. Gymnasts have the best bodies in the world. Thank you Alicia for showing that.

So what do you think? Leave a comment and let me know!

I know I haven’t written in awhile. Due to changes in my gym. Great changes though. I will be back soon. But i must write about Alicia. I love this girl to death.

So strong and beautiful. Powerful and tough. She has such a cool attitude about her. This girl seemed to be soo in shape. I wish her the best.

Now I know it is so easy to blame people, but I can’t help it.

Why are these girls training soo much. Shouldn’t we be taking back the workouts getting closer to competition. It’s not like they needed it. They are the best looking team out there, no doubt about it.  It’s like there is an ego out there. Who can do routines over and over again. Was it a scare tactic for the other countries? Can we just think about the kids.

I know everyone gets hurt. But sometimes we have to look at our system and say,”Yes, we have been winning, but at what price? Is this really working or are we doing survival of the fittest?”

Each child is an individual, they are not robots. They all need to be cared for in different ways. These injuries are not happening in practice at home, they are happening in high pressure situations. So maybe we should be backing off during these high pressured situations and show these girls how much confidence we have in them by letting them do watered down routines before competition. I feel these girls are made to do routines to ease the anxiety of the coaches and that is not right.

I believe John Geddert can bring this team together and still win us a gold. He seems to be a good man and cares about these kids. I just hope he uses his instincts and not Marta’s.

Good luck USA! I believe in you!

-Nessa

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

I am so excited! Ben Corr and I are officially partners. I have hired him to work with me at Gymnastics Unlimited. This is what I have been waiting for. It has been so hard to find a great coach and I have finally lucked out. Woohoo!

Don't be shy, leave a reply!

It’s small, but I love it and so does the doggy!

Leave a comment and let me know!

Don't be shy, leave a reply!