Doug's Blog

July 31, 2010

On July 1, David Rath, our friend from Australia, arrived in Seattle. We picked him up and drove across the Tacoma Narrows bridge-which David had wanted to see. On Friday, David and I visited John Smith at NASA in Gig Harbor, WA. David liked several of the drills he saw there, and was especially interested in the furniture mover sliders used for strength and flexibility-he ended up taking 12 of them back with him!

On July 6, I took David with me to visit Greg Mutchler at Olympic Gymnastics in Silverdale, WA where we attached the Flex Bar to one of his Tumbl Traks. I was impressed with how well his kids, who are more familiar with using the Frame Bar, adjusted to it. Not only were they doing back-bounce to handstand, but were doing front belly-bounce to handstands, which should help them with cast handstand, back uprise to handstand, and front giants! Our next gym that day was Emerald Gymnastics in Redmond, WA, where Brian Muenz is now head team coach. Sandy Flores, the owner, showed us her new recreational gym, which may need to expand, as enrollment is growing fast. Brian's kids had a great time using the Flex Bar, too. The next day, David and I stopped again at NASA, then went on to the Lakewood Y, where Kevin Milleren runs a great gymnastics program. As we walked in, he was setting up an interesting tumbling station with our bungee mats, into a pit.

We visited Twisters Gymnastics, in Port Townsend on July 7, and David and I put a frame bar on a little Tumbl TRAK that we used to sell. It was a Mini Trak XL, which is 4 ft x 6 ft and may be a product that we should re invent, as a bar, vault and tumble trainer for limited spaces. The girls did well on it with the bar and some got their back bounce to handstand.

Finally, on July 8, we took David to visit Klahhane Gymnastics in Port Angeles, where I first saw the Flex Bar concept in use last fall, by Jan Urfer's son-in-law, Mark Kindlespire, of Palouse Gymnastics. That afternoon, David and Diana enjoyed a hike up Hurricane Hill, at the top of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. David tried to hold a handstand on the slippery snow. [Read More]

July 01, 2010

Happy Summer,

This month, we took an unusual trip for us-a return to Washington state mid-summer! So I have a month to re-adjust to the weather and terrain before the STP ride (Seattle to Portland). I'm glad I we came back early to train, since it is cooler and hillier out here.

On our travel west, we stopped at Al Fong's gym, Great American Gymnastics Express, in Blue Springs, MO to thank him for a new product idea of his. We had great conversation with Al about this latest innovative idea and hope to share more information about this product soon.

That same afternoon we headed on to Salina, KS where we had planned to stay for the night. In response to our June newsletter, we received an email from Bev Jones, who runs the gymnastics program at the Salina YMCA. She had seen our itinerary and wondered if we could visit. I was very happy that she contacted us, and we enjoyed a short visit to play in the gym. She brought a few of her kids in for a special play date. She has a nice setup there, and we will surely be back.

After visiting friends and meeting my cycling coach in Colorado, we arrived in Clearfield, UT, and met with Angie and Mike Ford. They are in the final stages of building their new facility, and gave us a tour. It will include a music recital room, a preschool, and a nice gymnastics and tumbling gym for recreation.

Now that I am back in the west for a month, I am concentrating on more miles and hours on the hills of the pacific northwest, until the STP on July 17. We will head back to Michigan the next day, so we can be there for the Black Bear ride on July 25, where we will meet our friend Leonard Isaacs.

We have not finalized our itinerary for our trip back East, but, may go back down to Utah to clinic with some of Angie's staff, then head East by I-80. Send me an email or call if you are along the way and are interested in a visit.


Best wishes for a great July!

Doug

June 01, 2010

Now that the gymnastics and cheer seasons are mostly over, we are able to concentrate on more travel and visits to a multitude of events and friends of Tumbl Trak. Team TT (the travelling team) includes James, Michelle, Pam, Shirley, Diana and me, and now Gavin Mishler, our newest member. Gavin has actually done some trips for us in the past, and was on the road with me May 14-19. We visited Marvin Sharp, of Sharp's Gymnastics, in Indianapolis, Indiana, where Gavin met Marvin, and two Olympians from 2008-- Samantha Pezek and Bridget Sloan. Marvin is all set to build a new facility for his program and plans to start construction on it very soon. Best of luck in all endeavors to the Sharp's Sharks

Our next stop was at the Terre Haute Allstar Cheer University, in Indiana. This club is owned by Tonya Kincaid, who coaches there with Kim Keyes. We had fun with their kids using the Orbiter and developing more apps for it. Tonya has a very nice, clean facility, with two floors. She plans on putting in a Tumbl TRAK soon, and currently has an Air Floor into a raised resi pit. We'll be back to visit, and expect to hear more good things about the Cheer U in Terre Haute.

I got in a good set of intervals on my early Aero ride towards St Louis, MO, and managed to avoid the rain which stayed with us for the next two days! Diana and Gavin picked me up and we then headed to Barron's Gymnastics, owned and run by Linda and Joe Barron. On Saturday, we did a very fun-filled play-date at their Open Gym, where we tested out the newest and best ideas from Tumbl Trak. Barron's Gymnastics was hosting the Motion Evolution workshop, where over 50 members were gathering to share ideas and work on developing the new curriculum for MoEv. We met Frank Sahlein, of 3rd Level Consulting, and some of the best minds and owners of the best children's activity centers in the country. I have no double that this group will take the Motion Evolution idea global in a matter of years. The big kick for MoEv is now! They will surely make a mark on efforts to help today's children get back to moving, like we all used to do. It was an exciting experience to be invited to observe the beginning of this venture. I can't wait to see where it goes in even 1-2 years, much less where it will be in 5-10.

After an information-packed Sunday morning, enjoying many productive conversations with the best of the best of MoEv, we headed back east. I got in a 45+ mile ride back to Palestine, IL, on my bike Sunday afternoon. On Monday, Gavin and I headed across the river and back to Indiana. We visited Tumbling Express, in Washington, IN, where we found Crissy LaFollette to be as creative and successful as ever. She gave us some great apps for using the Orbiter, and even the foam rings that support it. Her young hotshots were getting ready for tumbling regional's, and were looking very strong. It was impressive to see such young girls barreling down the rod floor, performing round off, whip, whip, whip to immediate double pike, with ease. Best of luck at the meet, Crissy and girls. [Read More]

May 05, 2010

Spring has sprung and I officially turned 60 years young. We have traveled back to Michigan so I can train on the flats for 2 months. Before we left, we had a fun play date with some of Carrie Lennox's kids at the Jefferson County Recreation Center, and I did a 40+ mile ride on Whidbey Island (the longest island in the USA). We set up a booth at the Washington Recreation and Parks Association conference and trade show in Tacoma. I talked with several Park and Recreation directors and instructors. On Saturday April 17, we packed up our three bicycles, our gear, several new inflatable proto types and hit the road east.

On the day we left, I did a two hour porch ride, with some hard 10 minute intervals and almost 1:40 hours of weights. Then we headed south to Vancouver, WA where we stayed with relatives, Jenny and Marc. OnSunday, we hit the road early so I could ride for three hours along the northern shore of the Columbia River. It was beautiful and hilly as usual. Diana picked me up and we continued on to Boise, ID where we stayed with Frank Sahlein and his wife Shauna. We had another good discussion about their newest project Motion Evolution. I believe Mo-Ev will be a big hit in all kinds of child activity centers everywhere. We all know what a huge need there is for programs that promote youth activity, and Mo Ev will offer a great opportunities. Thanks, Frank and Shauna.

We took a day off and drove our laden Prius (it's working fine, no brake or pedal issues), to Jackson, WY. There we found a flat stretch of road for a short ride near Victor, ID. The temperature was in the low 70's, but there was snow on the fields and, of course, on the Tetons in the background. Monday morning we enjoyed the drive toward Rock Springs, then on to Cheyenne, WY. We stopped at the Cheyenne Recreation Center, where I met with Erich Bochman, who runs the gymnastics program there. They have a very nice gym set-up, and we talked about teaching stations--bridge to handstands with mats to raise the feet, vaulting across vault trainer mats to stretch out vaults and many other concepts that we shared. Erich loved the Air Base Mat that we are evaluating. We used it as a base mat for level 4 vault, a bouncy butt kip station for teaching kips on bars, and as a handstand trainer, where young handstand learners can lean their shoulders against the mat and isolate their cores.
[Read More]

April 13, 2010

My spring training has been going pretty well. On my recent recovery week, I used my trainer for some indoor cycling while traveling. Then I did a Spring Ride up Mt Constitution on Orcas Island. I have committed to the STP (Seattle to Portland) ride, July 17, and will come back to Michigan the next weekend to ride the 100-mile Black Bear Ride from Grayling to Oscoda. Hopefully my friend, Leonard Isaacs, can ride part of the tag team version with my wife, Diana, while I see how I do on the whole thing. If it works, I will ride the ODRAM (one day ride across Michigan) in August, the week after Congress. This one is about 150 miles. See my schedule (below) for possible gym visits this summer.

On St. Patrick's Day, we met with staff at Jefferson County Parks and Recreation, to present a first draft of some progressions series we have been working on, to Carrie Lennox and her co-workers. We had video and still pictures showing basic progressions for the following:
o Wall Handstand
o Feet-High Bridges
o Run and Jump
o 4-part Bar unit that included Hanging from Bar, Support and Forward Roll, Pullover, and Knee-Hangs.
The response was very positive and Carrie thinks these ideas will help for future staff training. We have a photo shoot planned early in April with a group of her children to continue and improve the draft.
On March 21, my friend, Dave and I began our trip to Utah. We stopped in Boise, ID and visited with Frank Sahlein and his wife, Shauna. They are the owners of Wings Center and 3rd Level Consulting. It was fun to play with the kids at their gym and very interesting to hear about their newer business, 3rd Level Consulting. I also learned about a very new program they are just developing, called Motion Evolution. It is a program designed to help the average American kids get moving and offers a detailed business plan for businesses that want to help. I know it will be a big success and is very much needed. I got up early to ride on my trainer for 45 minutes in Frank's garage. I was finishing up at 6:15 AM, when Frank headed out for the airport to do some consulting work.

We went down to Springville, Utah, and met my good friend Don Gordon, of Gordon's Action Products, and Krissy Greening, our local dealer in the area, at AirTime Gymnastics in Springville, UT. They have been having a great time trying out some of our new and old products and were very gracious to let us come in and test out more new ideas. I've told them before that I was impressed that their kids all knew proper head/shoulder alignment (shoulder flexion in bridges), but now I know that they also do a great job working with their young pre-team kids to get strong on bars. When we did some of the hanging skills shown in our bar progression series the kids looked like they could do a bent arm, tucked hang forever, until they dropped off like ripe fruit. Nice job Airtime staff, and special thanks to Heidi, the manager. [Read More]

March 25, 2010

Where did February go? Time flies by while developing so many new and exciting things. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of this process and for sharing great ideas. Keep them coming!

Early in February, I made several visits to Klahane Gymnastics in Port Angeles, WA, and rode to and from the Port Townsend gym using either my Bachetta Aero or Trek Pilot. Always in training and working toward that 200 mile ride.

On February 22, I enjoyed a good discussion with Chere Hoffman in Vancouver, WA. She has been a coach and gym owner for many years. We talked about my video project and many other subjects. It was great to hear that she has been a coach at Lake Owen Camp, for years, and will be there this summer. We continued along the Columbia Gorge to Hood River, where we brought some prototype products into Steve Roney's gym. We stayed the night with him and his wife, T.D. There was snow up near Mt. Hood, and the orchards were cloaked in white!

On our way back to Port Townsend, we visited the Frances Anderson Center, part of the Edmonds Parks and Recreation program. We enjoyed a tour of the facility with Patty Steele-Smith and again had a stimulating discussion about gymnastics instruction and learning environments. [Read More]

February 02, 2010

The New Year is progressing, as I hope we all are. I've been to Klahane Gymnastics in Port Angeles, WA 3 or 4 times. On Thursday January 21, I rode my bike three hours south towards NASA Gymnastics in Gig Harbor. We have been collecting video for our new video frame project that should be a great new way to teach kids and new coaches/teachers, some basic skills. The concept of having video of skills, divided into small steps and learning station drills to show students what we want them to do, could be a big aid to learning. The same video can show new coaches or teachers the skill progressions. Jan and her staff at Klahane Gymnastics, and John and Linda Smith at NASA have been great to work with as usual. I owe them a big thank you and best wishes for the season. I'm closing out January with a trip over to Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island, to visit Pam Lovett's tumbling program. I hope to get some good video there also.
I am very excited to announce that, starting in January 2010, SA Sport will be the exclusive Tumbl Trak distributor for Canada. We want to assure our Canadian customers that the service they have come to associate with Tumbl Trak will continue, and likely improve, under this new agreement with SA Sport. Now, our customers from up north will receive more localized service with their regional SA Sport representative. They will have access to demonstration equipment available at meets and events. And, they may have the opportunity to save money in freight by combining their SA Sport equipment purchases with their Tumbl Trak equipment purchases. [Read More]

January 07, 2010

It is customary at the beginning of a new year to reflect on the previous year. I have been doing just that and thought I would share a few of the many things I learned in 2009.

Eat real food: Processed, fast, sugared, artificial food is killing us all, and it was so easy to switch to lean body weight without it. It takes some time and planning, which leads to the next point, but it's a good investment for life. Throw some steel cut oatmeal and water in a rice cooker and push a button. It's done in about 15-20 minutes and it's automatic. I have a great recipe for carrot-date-nut bars. If you would like a copy, email me at doug@tumbltrak.com. Put carrot-date-nut bars in the subject line of your email.

Fat, fit, body for sport activity: I continue to be amazed in the changes I've been making to my body, to develop a fitter, leaner, body in preparation for my goal of "Turning 60 & Being in Better Shape than Ever". I realize that most people are in the best shape between the ages of 10-20, but I experienced my best shape in my 30's. For me, I am still amazed at how much of my body was excess fat, and muscle. Since I have decided to get in the best shape of my life (to turn 60 in April), I have improved my eating, to eat more good food, and very little bad food, workout more and smarter, and get better rest more often. The extra fat is leaving me, as I am maintaining the muscle to keep strong for the activity that I enjoy most, which is cycling. I have dropped some extra muscle on top since I am not doing gymnastics, hard labor, or activities that need the extra bulk going up a hill on a bike. I'm down to 147.2 pounds and getting leaner, and stronger, and feeling better, daily. Life is GOOD!

Taking time is mostly a choice: I no longer say "I don't have time to do something." I have to say "I didn't take the time." What I eat, or what I do with my time, is usually a choice.
[Read More]

December 01, 2009

This month I would like to discuss the idea of routines (other than those performed in competitions).

I am really getting into my old and new routine for my health/fitness goals and for my other business/life goals. Routines, patterns and daily habits help me achieve the goals that I set for myself. For me, deciding to stay in one place (this time in Washington state), has allowed me to settle into a very positive routine in my work, athletic goals and nutritional changes. Being able to have a plan as to what my work and workout plans are every day and week allows me to stay focused on my goals. For me, that includes a sports plan of 10 hours per week of cycling workouts (supplied by coach Michael) that at present, include (3) Tempos rides/week that include 3 x 20 minutes at 178-190 Watts and 154-157 Heart Rate and two endurance rides that can be in a wide range of effort for recovery and to add more hours for the week. I do two weight/stretching workouts that are up to about 1:15 hours per week, and still have time for recovery and work, such as visiting John Smith at NASA Gymnastics in Gig Harbor, WA and Jan Urfer Klahane Gymnastics in Port Angeles. I also got to get feedback on more new ideas, locally at the Twisters gym in Port Townsend, with Coach Bob, and at the Jefferson County Rec Center with Carrie Lennox.

It's been much easier than it would be for most people to adapt to a very healthy eating life style of good carbs (vegetables, fruits, and rice, oatmeal, and no flour or sugar), good protein (mostly plant or dairy based, some chicken, fish and turkey, and very little red meat), and good fat, which we all need, in some fish, olives, walnuts and almonds, some seeds, including ground flax seeds ( I use Diana's coffee grinder). This would be a challenge on the road or at a far away office.

Between the changes in my workouts, rest, eating, and strength/stretching, I am getting stronger, have more energy (when I'm not maxing out my efforts on the porch bike rides), and I'm back down to 151.6 pounds, and working on dropping the next 6-10 pounds of fat in the next two months.

So much for me and my routines; we all need structure in our work, play and recreation. Whether you are an athlete with a goal to compete, or someone just trying to get healthier and possibly lose some unwanted pounds. That's what workout schedules are for, but also should be what routines for life are for. Look at your goals and see if your routines are helping you achieve them. As my associate Salty the Seagull would say, "Life is good". Enjoy the holidays and all of the other days, and have some fun. Doug

November 02, 2009

October is going fast, whether it's in preparation for a new competitive season, a new business season, or my prep for a ride up Mt Constitution. There is always preparation, and the potential for success that follows. I added a new daily reminder in my semi smart Blackberry that pops up every day. It says: new opportunities, everyday for getting rested, losing fat, getting fitter, better business and new ideas. What are your daily, weekly and annual goals? It's good to have them, even if they don't all work out. How bored I would be without them.
After about a month of interval training, supervised by my coach Michael, from Carmichael Training Systems, I made it up Mt Constitution on Orcas Island, one of the San Juan Islands northwest of Seattle, on my Trek Pilot road bike. A memorable day, October 12, it took 56 minutes at 163 Watts, and 156 average heart rate. I went slow and cautious, as my last try in April, ended in a blow-up, and I didn't make it to the top. I found that I could have gone harder, but, at least I didn't stop. Now I plan to come back in the spring (it was 43 degrees), and do it hard, after I train all winter and spring, lose more fat, and get fitter. Then I will start really training hard to ride the STP (Seattle to Portland ride) in July, 200 miles in under 11 riding hours is my goal.
In between setting and achieving the summit of Mt. Constitution, I enjoyed a day or two at the Region 2 Mini-Congress in Auburn, WA, hosted by Auburn Gymnastics. It was good to work with Brian Muenz, and Jim Tighe, two of our dealers in the region, and to visit with coaches in the area. I got the good news that Klahhane Gymnastics, in Port Angeles, WA, had gotten the ok to move into their new home and were ready to set up their 40 ft Tumbl Trak and landing mat. I went to their gym Wednesday, Oct 14, and helped set up the Tumbl Trak, the first piece of equipment in the gym. They have a nice, new gym area, with much more room than in their previous facility, and are busy setting it up as I write this. Best luck, and enjoyment to all concerned. I plan to come back and offer a clinic when I get back from my Idaho-Utah-Oregon trip coming up.
When I am at home I try and spend some time with my friend Carrie who had a Kit Fit program. We always have a lot of fun, she is creative and it is a great testing ground for some of my ideas both the ones that work out and the ones that don't. I leave there renewed, refreshed and with more ideas that when I got there.
I talked with Chere Hoffman, of Vancouver, WA, after doing my morning porch ride, and headed down her way. Chere recently sold her gym, Gold Star Gymnastics, and celebrated by travelling to New Zealand, to visit a friend with a gym there. As extra luggage she took an Air Floor and a Sweet Spot, which they fell in love with, and kept.

October 01, 2009

Since it's back to a new season, I wanted to take a little time to discuss a subject dear to my heart. It's called inertia, and Newton mentioned it a long time ago. My inspiration for this reference is my friend, Leonard Isaacs. He would refer to Newton's law about how objects that are still, tend to remain still. In business, work, and fun, I am referring to the temptation to keep teaching and learning in the same way. A wise coach and clinician, Jeremy Waldridge, who owns Topnotch Gymnastics in Hillsboro, OR, was presenting a tumbling coaches' certification course that I took a year or two ago, and he expressed the idea that 'if you are coaching the way you were coached, you are probably liable.' His point was that things change, and we need to change with them. Just because we were taught a certain way, does not mean that it is the best way to teach now.

Think about why we teach they way we do, and ask yourself if there are any changes or improvements that could be made. My job is to look at the equipment we use to teach gymnastics, tumbling and cheer students (whether they are beginner, recreation or elite), and to ask "Is there a better design or idea that might help student-athletes learn safer and faster?" I am always looking for suggestions and ideas to help me achieve that goal-then I love to share them with other coaches and teachers through videos, pictures, or other descriptions.

I challenge every coach to be progressive in their approach to teaching. Of course, feel free to peruse Tumbl Trak's training tips webpage for ideas on new equipment, drills and stations as you start fresh into your new season. Good luck!

Doug

September 03, 2009

I had a nice visit with Ed and Nancy Gibson, Gym Plus, in Merrillville, IN. They enjoyed using the Jr. Bungee Block as a bar wall station, as well as the Air Barrel and the Open Shoulder Trainer. Ed and his staff were creative in using the products. We went on to Patti Komara and met with her as well as Sharon Fitzgerald, and got positive feedback on our Jr. Kip Bar, with the Cast Trainer. We are now working on a collapsible Jr. Kip Bar for Sharon's mobile program. I would like to congratulate Patti on 40 years in the gymnastics business. Way to go, Patti!
On our way back home, we visited with Al and Cindy Scharns at Branch Gymnastics in Battle Creek, MI and Kids Sport USA in Kalamazoo, MI. Kids Sport USA is a beautiful new facility with gymnastics, Martial Arts, dance, a daycare with a kitchen; and they're working on a pool, plus plans for continued expansion.

I started out for Dallas on my Aero, cycling nearly 60 miles south toward Lansing, MI. After an overnight in IL, we stopped at Barron's Gymnastics in St. Louis. Joe and Diana had invited us to stop after their week-long camp. They have a refreshing philosophy of lighter-than-average team hours, and their daughter, Julie has started an innovative program, B-Fit, which even includes information on nutrition!

We met with Gymnastics Joe Garrett, a past Tumbl Trak employee, and now a well known and successful gym owner near Fayetteville, AR. He is remodeling two theatre spaces in a mall, one for gymnastics with an in-ground Tumbl Trak and loose foam pit, the other with a dance floor for high school prom dances and other events. We made one more gym visit, with Craig Callaway, to Snow's Gymnastics in Keller, TX. They were reviewing equipment for their big cheer program.

USAG Congress in Dallas-as usual it was exciting to see old friends and to show off our new products, both with snazzy video showing lots of uses, and the products themselves. The Open Shoulder Trainers were the hit of the convention! Because I had such great help from my staff, I was able to arrive after the booths were set up, and to leave Friday evening.

We left Dallas on Friday night, heading west. We stayed in Flagstaff with my brother Ward and his wife. They were hosting a pot-luck, and an energetic 6-year-old local gymnast tried out my Air Barrel, floor bar, and Jr. Bungee Block which was leaning against a sofa in the living room.

The next day we drove south to visit Flip City Gymnastics, Diane Brot-Upham's gym in Cottonwood, AZ. She is expanding her gym space for more recreational classes, and was interested in the Air Barrel, the Jr. Bungee Block and the Cast Trainer.

After a wonderful, but short visit to the Grand Canyon-cycled along the South Rim at 5:30AM-we headed for Santa Clara, CA and Region 1 Mini-Congress. I had not been to Region 1 for a long time. It was as nice a site and visit as I remembered.

We headed out of Santa Clara on Saturday evening and stayed in Rohnert Park, so we could visit Point Reyes National Seashore on Sunday morning. What a rugged coastline with a lovely little Lighthouse!

On to Ashland, OR where we set up ....for Tammy Johnson and her YMCA program in Ashland, OR. After trying out the Jr. Kip Bar with Cast Trainer in the morning with a few of her team kids, she had them call their teammates to come in and try it in the afternoon. She was so impressed that she ordered the pieces the next day.

Finally, on August 26, we made it back to our house in Port Townsend-more than ready for a break from travel! The Tumbl Trak office is gearing up for Region 5 Mini Congress in IL, which Michelle and James will attend, and the Region 2 Mini Congress in WA. For the next several months, I will not be doing much traveling, but Michelle will be doing an extended trip after Region 5.

August 05, 2009

I would like to invite everyone who is attending this year's National Congress on August 13-15 in Dallas, TX to visit our booth and check out all our new equipment. We're looking forward to our time in the Lone Star State! I would also like to mention that from now on "Doug's Blog" will become "Tumbl Trak's Blog". The new blog will still let you know what I am doing, but will now include information from other members of my staff who are traveling and visiting gyms.

July was a training and prep summer month for most of us, including me. I was mostly able to stay home (office), or near by, to finish the video and design work that is all looking great. Michelle, our Sales Representative and Marketing Coordinator, did a great trip over the week of the 4th and James, our Equipment Coordinator and Executive Assistant, went to Flipfest Camp in TN for a week. Make sure to check out their portion of the Tumbl Trak Blog below. On July 8-15, I did take a trip down to South Eastern Illinois and Indiana, and had some nice visits with gyms there.
In Spencer, IN we had a good visit at Cathleen's Extreme Team, owned by Cathleen McPhee. She has a great program for her community that includes Artistic Gymnastics and a full day care center. They had great fun with the Open Shoulder Trainer, the Cast Trainer (which they used with an AAI handstand trainer, our proto type air vault run (it's a narrow air floor for sprint technique), a Jr. Bungee Block, and Launch Pad.

I stopped at the Illinois Gymnastics Club of Olney, in Olney, IL, owned by Donna and Kelly Henby, and did a short clinic with some of their tumbling classes. They really liked our new Open Shoulder Trainer, and called later to order five. I used the Air Barrel to demonstrate how easy it is to train beginners to stretch out a bridge. They have a beautiful gym, with an in ground Tumbl TRAK into a pit, in ground Tramps and a nice set up for Tumbling and Tramp.

On Tuesday afternoon, 7/15, after seeing Donna and Kelly in the morning I went to St. Elmo, IL to deliver a 20 ft Air TRAK and a Mini Mountain to Tara Quandt, who is moving her program into a new facility.

I'm excited about another new Tumbl Trak product, the 488 Mat. It is inspired by a 4' x 8' x 8" folding mat that I saw at Shelly's program on Orcas Island, WA. For our mat, we added a large Velcro flap and loop on the top, and non-skid strips to the bottom to make it very useful, safe and versatile. It's nice to see programs serving the small, as well as the large communities, to offer fun tumbling and gymnastics instruction. Keep it up, all of you.

I did get in a little training and did the Black Bear Bike ride, which I shared with my good friend and mentor, Leonard Isaacs. I did the first 55 miles and Leonard did the last 45 miles. It was a nice fast tail wind aided ride, and although I didn't push quite the watts that I had hoped, I averaged 21.2 mph, at 172 watts and a 151 heart rate average, with the help of my recumbent with front and back fairings and a body sock that covered me. I was warm and mostly dry, compared to Leonard and most of the riders. Leonard set a new record of 16.2 mph, which is much harder on a regular road bike. Way to go Leonard! He is up to 111 miles in one day on his Sunday rides. I'm glad he could come over. We did discuss some gymnastics ideas, and he gave me a new idea for a Back Handspring trainer that we will be working on.

July 08, 2009

It's been another busy month, but this one was done more from Michigan, near the office, to prepare for the photo shoot of new and improved products for our next catalog. We have nearly finalized some of the best new ideas that we have ever worked on. The video, soon to be posted on our web page, will show how coaches and athletes can Train Smarter. Collecting the video has taken me most of the last year, doing over 50 video shoots, in dozens of gyms, across 10-15 states. Some of the new products, I believe should revolutionize training, while remaining very simple, small and low-cost.

These new products include the Cast Trainer, that attaches to our already popular Jr. Kip Bar, the Open Shoulder Trainer, the Jr. Bungee Block, the Bungee Incline, the Air Barrel, a new size Pit Pillow mat, an improved Floor Bar, and a new and improve Launch Pad.

For bar skills, the Cast Trainer offers the biggest change in learning stations in many years. The general idea of bending over a bar and flipping up to a handstand is not new. But to have an adjustable bar that can allow beginners to experience an aided cast to handstand then gradually raise that bar so that the movement approaches a cast handstand is something new. The Cast Trainer will help almost any gymnast develop some form of a cast handstand, without the fear and risk of using a competition bar. Since the Cast Trainer uses the Jr. Kip Bar for the base, it takes up only a 4 ft x 6 ft area. Safe matting and some experience of being in a handstand on the floor are all that is needed.
As I often say, my equipment is never a substitute for proper supervision, coaching, technique, or conditioning, but with all of these included, life has just gotten a little easier for bar coaches and bar swingers. The kids love it, and we have already seen many other applications beyond casting for the combination of the Jr. Kip Bar and the Cast Trainer. Check out more of the video clips on Tumbl Trak's webpage, in our Training Tips, under Bars/Casting.

The Open Shoulder Trainer is another idea that has been out in the world for some time, but has not been widely shared with the entire Gymnastics and Cheer communities, until now. I have heard that Tammy Biggs has been using one in her clinics for some time, and individuals have created hand-made units for years. The Open Shoulder Trainer is a padded, shaped bar that fits around the neck and under the arms of athletes. It is designed to keep the head in and shoulders open for skills that include and move through a handstand. With the Open Shoulder Trainer in place, the athletes' arms must remain up, with the shoulders open. For some it's just a good reminder of what they hear their coaches repeating all the time, "Keep your head in. Keep your arms up!" The Open Shoulder Trainer is useful for basic skills like a kick handstand, cartwheel, round off, limber over and walk over. It is also a great learning device for back handsprings and front handsprings. The Open Shoulder Trainer also reminds bar workers to keep those shoulders open for flyaways. For such a small, and simple device, the Open Shoulder Trainer should make a big difference in learning better technique for most skills that move through a handstand.

June 02, 2009

5/2-Saturday: I stopped at Jill Hill's Southern Oregon Gymnastics Academy in Medford, OR on my trip to California and Utah. They had read in my earlier blog that I'd visited the Ashland-Medford area and emailed me to stop by the next time I was in their vicinity. They had just put in their first in-ground, loose-foam pit, so we played in it and on the floor with my Bungee products.

5/4-Monday: I had a nice visit at Woodward West in Tehachapi, CA; talked with Andy Timm and showed him some of the Tumbl Trak products that will be at the Summer Gymnastics Camp there. I also stopped at Dean & Julie Archer's Perfect 10 Gymnastics, which has two gyms near each other in Tehachapi. I worked with their boys' team. Their oldest son is graduating from high school and he was coaching the boy's team and other classes for the summer. They were very interested in the Bungee products. [Read More]

May 06, 2009

On April 7, 8, 9, we helped Carrie Lennox, and her staff at the Jefferson County Parks and Recreation (JCPR) department do their first mobile tumbling day camp in Brinnon, WA. We brought in a Prius full of inflatable equipment (see pic), and Carrie brought a truck load of mats and other items. We set up a basic tumbling program for three age-groups: K-2nd, 3rd -5th, and 6-8th grade girls and boys at Brinnon Elementary school. The camp ran three days, and the kids had fun, and kept learning more every day. Carrie and her assistant, Ronda did a great job, and this will lead to a permanent mobile program for JCPR, using a nice package of our Bungee mats, and other equipment. Great job Carrie and Ronda!

On Wednesday, April 29, to follow up on the camp, we did a day visit with Carrie's Wednesday early-release after-school program, with the kids here in Port Townsend, using much of the same equipment.

On May 20-22 we mixed business with pleasure, and took two ferries out to the San Juan Islands. We stayed on Orcas Island where there is a small mobile program. We visited Shelly Russell, who has been running classes two times per week, setting up a truck-full of equipment in the Odd Fellows Hall. Shelly has extensive experience coaching and teaching (read her article below) and the Orcas Islanders are very lucky to have her there. She is very positive, and her stations and progressions remind me of the ones I used to use, when I taught similar programs. We brought in a Bungee Incline, Ramp and Jr Block, and the kids had a great time and did a wonderful job. Way to go Shelly!

I hope everyone is surviving and succeeding in the season, and can start enjoying some spring and summer weather.

Doug

April 02, 2009

On March 6th, I delivered a Tumbl Trak to Lisa at the gymnastics gym at the YMCA in Elkhart, IN. Then we went on to Marvin Sharp at Sharp's Gymnastics in Indianapolis, IN where Olympians Bridgett Sloan and Samantha Peszak were busy training. It's been very enjoyable to visit Marvin's gym, especially when he and his staff appreciate the new and proto type equipment that I have put in, on trial for them to evaluate.

On March 10, the 60-foot Tumbl Trak and other products ordered by USA Gymnastics arrived at the Women's National Team Training Center in Waverly, TX, on March 10. The following week, the gym was used for the developmental training camp by the National Team. It's great news to have such a training gym down at the Center where coaches and athletes can learn from the best of the national staff.

March 13, I set up some inflatable pieces for Steve Roney's boy's class in Hood River, OR. He has a class for boys who are not preparing for competition, where boys were having fun learning "run-up-the-wall" back tucks and back tucks off the side of an Air Trak, along with wild prep for snow boarding and other general fun. We always enjoy visiting Steve. I can always count on him thinking up new ways to use our products.

On March 16, we observed Bainbridge Island Parks and Recreation (WA) department's Parkour/street gymnastics class, which reminded me of the boys class at Hood River. There were 20+ kids and 3 coaches, finding new and exciting ways to use the usual gymnastics equipment-"walking the wall".

Thursday, March 19th, found us at John Smith's NASA Gymnastics in Gig Harbor, WA. We took a collection of bungee mats so the group could prepare for a demonstration at a local high school. We also observed a well-run and creative "Tumbling for Cheer" class there, with several good stations for pre-back handspring, and early back handspring drills. We were impressed with the learner-teacher kids who were helping each other.

Also on March 19, Tumbl Trak set up equipment for a cheerleading photo shoot for some of our newer equipment at George Young's Mid Michigan Gymnastics in Freeland, MI. George's facility is certainly state of the art, and as I've told him, I can't wait to play in the new gym, when the season is over. Kayleen Bishop and Tara Wieland from Gems Allstars train in the same beautiful facility. They helped us with some cheerleaders to appear in the shots. Thank you, George, Kayleen and Tara.
On Saturday, March 21, Top Gun Allstar Cheer did a performance on an Air Floor strip, for the Americheer National Championships in Orlando, FL. We hope we can put up some new video of the Top Gun group, and wish them the best of luck to win their third World Championship, in a row, at the USASF. Thanks, to John Bencomo.

Everyone must be very much into the season, with big meets on the way. Best Luck to everyone, and make sure to have some fun. D

March 05, 2009

February 1 found us in Adelaide, Australia (South Australia). We had a good chat with Mark Moncur, who has a club in Tasmania. He'd been presenting at the South Australia Coaches Congress. The next morning, we "hired" bicycles and pedaled about an hour along the left side of ANZAC highway to Glenelg. There was a wonderful empty beach there-we applied more sun screen and enjoyed a walk along the water. It was a hot ride back to our hotel. After we cooled off, David Rath, who coaches gymnastics at the Barossa Valley Youth Club, picked us up and drove us to Tea Tree Gully Youth Club to see the gymnastics program there. They had a nice facility, which included a 6M Air Floor, in a cover, and our vault table top and base blocks. And an air conditioned gym!
On Tuesday morning, David took us to a regional High Performance Center in Marion, just outside of Adelaide. A high performance center is a state funded training center for gymnasts developing for the national team. We watched both girls and boys working out, one doing full-in, full-outs off an Air Floor into a loose foam pit. I shot some video as they were doing some nice drills with the Air Floor. In Adelaide, we began to get used to "looking left" before we crossed a street.
Wednesday, February 4, we flew to Melbourne (Victoria). On Thursday morning, we visited two of Ross Bouskill's Jets Gymnastics gyms in Eltham. One was a high performance training center, where he had an Air Floor, and one was for recreation classes. Both were nicely outfitted. He now has a Bungee Ramp and one of my prototype Air Barrels, too. Ross runs his gyms as private businesses, and coaches a lot of hours, too.

All of the gyms I visited in Australia use carpet bonded foam for their floors, and often for other areas as well. They all had foam blocks, about 3 ft x 4 ft x 2 ft in size, that are used for drills and spotting. Most gyms had mens's high bars, too, if only to do strap bar skills (they call it "loops").
Thursday afternoon, Diana and I got out of Melbourne on a tour to Phillip Island. On the way we stopped at a small ranch with a few kangaroos and wombats, and also at a koala reserve. The highlight of the trip occurred at dusk when the Little Penguins come out of the surf and waddle past the human spectators on their way to burrows in the hills-the Penguin Parade.
Friday, February 6, David, son of Steve and Rosie James, picked us up from our hotel and drove us to Wantirna, where they have Cheer Victoria, a cheer and dance gym, with a Tumbl Trak. I showed video clips of some tumbling drills to their tumbling coach, Deb, her staff and some of other visiting coaches.
David dropped us at Prahran, where we caught a trolley to the Victoria Women's High Performance Center and set up a 4.5 M Air Floor in a cover, a Bungee Ramp, a Sweet Spot in in a cover, which I strapped onto one of their vault tables, a Jr Sweet Spot and an Air Barrel. On Saturday, Tracey Petaluna had set up an Open House for local coaches, so they could see what we had to offer. A few coaches came and it was good to talk about what products and stations were not common in Australia. They were especially interested in Air Floors and Sweet Spots. The heat was rising, and we now know that 44 degrees C is hot (over 110 F!!)
Sunday, February 8, we flew to Sydney (New South Wales), where it was much cooler, and rainy. On Monday, Geoff Carley picked us up from our hotel and drove us to the Epping YMCA, which has the only elite program in New South Wales, that is in a YMCA program. Enrollment is 1300 kids, and this Y does mobile programs at several other centers, using a mobile trailer to carry mats, wedges, carpet-bonded foam, even a set of bars-which can be set up in about 20 minutes. I set up the Air Floor and showed video clips its many uses, as theirs would be arriving soon. Instructional staff from several YMCAs who would be using their Air Floor were a good, interactive audience. One of the coaches, Max Holmes, gave us the phone number for his daughter-in-law, Nicole, who was planning a new space for her cheer gym. We enjoyed the 30-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay (Sydney) to Manly, north of the city, with a 4.5M Air Floor in a roller bag. Nicole and her husband, Ben, gave us a tour of Northern Beaches Gymnastics, not far from Manly, where the cheer group has been renting space. They should have their own gym up and going now. Best luck to them. Cheer is growing in Australia.
On Tuesday, we packed up the Air Floor and sent it to Blue Lakes Gym Club in South Australia. The Air Barrel and a Bungee Ramp were sent back to Ross at Jets Gymnastics.
Wednesday afternoon, February 11, we caught the train to Croyden, a suburb west of the city, and met Rebekah Stevens, Director of Gymnastics and Diving at Presbyterian Ladies College. This is a private girls' school, with children age 5 through high school. Their gymnastics team had recently been to the Aloha Classic in Hawaii, where John Smith from Gig Harbor, WA had met them and gave us their name. We contacted her, and she invited us to visit. I enjoyed spending a few minutes with some of Rebekah's 6-year-old students and showed some drills to get better use out of their nice blocks-those 3 ft x 4 ft x 2 ft blocks mentioned earlier. We did handstands and bridges off them, and the kids had a great time.
February 12 was a high mileage day-from Sydney, Australia, to Michigan...how many miles is that?? On Friday, February 13, I handed off my international cell phone to Stacy, who took off for China.
[Read More]

February 03, 2009

Happy 2009. I've tried to keep productive by visiting gyms in the northwest, where I am for the next few days, before leaving for fun and business in Australia.

On January 12, we traveled down to Vancouver, WA to enjoy a playdate with Cheri, at Gold Star Gymnastics. She gave me some great ideas, and drills that I collected on video to share. We did a lot with my new Air Barrel, a product that we are evaluating, and hope to bring out in the next 6 months. It's nice to have some products like these that will be simple and low cost, but that can offer so many applications.

January 13, we went on south and played at the YMCA, in Ashland, OR, where Tammy Johnson has been doing a great job with her classes and team for several years. Tammy is another creative coach, and I really enjoyed her demonstration of vaulting across her Air TRAK, to get her kids comfortable with stretching into their handspring vaults. Enjoy the video link below.

January 14, in Medford, OR, I loaned some equipment to Chris, at America's Best Kids. They have quite a program in a facility that offers a daycare center, martial arts, gymnastics, swimming and more. It's a beautiful setup. Chris is another futuristic thinker-we enjoyed discussing where the future of gymnastics equipment should go. For example, Chris suggested that using take-off devices for vaulting, that are more friendly than the present vault board, would be a big improvement for the kids. I'm couldn't agree more. Competitive equipment is great for some kids, but may not always the best choice for many.

January 21, the next week I had a fun afternoon with my friend Carrie Lennox, at the Port Townsend Recreation Center, where she has an early release, after-school group. She used the Air Barrel and the high end of the Bungee Incline for back rolls to handstand, and found that even kids who had never done them before, could be amazingly successful! These kids are pictured below in the Handstand Control article. They had fun and did a great job

The next day I visited John Smith's gym, NASA Gymnastics, in Gig Harbor, WA, and we must have used the Air Barrel and Bungee mats for a dozen different applications (see video clip link below). I love to visit gyms with such creative coaches, who are always looking for more ways to teach skills to their student athletes. John and his team had just gotten back from the Aloha Cup in Hawaii, where his kids did very well. They sure didn't look jet lagged to me. I hope I can do as well in a week.

I also did a short visit with Brian Muenz, at the Lakewood YMCA, where they have a big gymnastics program, with pits, an in-ground tumble tramp, and a gym full of kids anytime I go there. Brian and I discussed some ideas for more handstand work using the Air Barrel and small training bars to help with cast handstands. Brian always has more good ideas, too.

January 24, I went with coach Bob, of Twisters Gymnastics to workout at Greg Mutchler's, Olympic Training Center, in Silverdale, WA. Greg is very generous in allowing small programs like the Twisters, to come into his gym and share the great setup he has. While we were there, I also met Troy, who had some of his kids in from Mile High Gymnastics in Port Orchard, WA. There was room for Greg's classes, team, and both of the other visiting groups, and everyone was having a great time. Thanks, Greg.

January 27, we had a good visit with Bryan Garouette, coordinator of the gymnastics program of the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District. Bryan has run the program since 1988, and it currently has 300 students of all ages and abilities, as well as competitive teams. He has one gym for team and some preschool classes, and a separate gym for recreational classes up to age 6 years. Both gyms have Tumbl Traks. We watched Alison with a small group of home-school preschoolers, and learned about the history and growth of the program. Look for a newsletter article later. Thanks, Bryan and Alison.

January 15, 2009

We left Michigan on Monday, December 8, just ahead of a snow storm that dropped about 12 inches on Tumbl Trak's office. On our way to Palestine, IL, we stopped at Kids Are Tops near Dayton, OH, to talk with Doug Sears about a cast handstand training device. John Rothlisberger happened to be there-it was good to see him, and remind him that his dad, Fred, was my first coach, and is part of the reason that Tumbl Trak exists. Wednesday, a few of the Illini Rumblers came in to help me with some video. Thursday we left for Dallas, Texas to join Craig Callaway for a couple of gym visits. We met with Isis, coach at ASI Gymnastics in Mesquite, then visited PC, Perseus Carter, at World of Gymnastics, in Saginaw, TX. He's an old friend, a tumbler from the Detroit area-Motor City Jaguars coached by Noel Perrin. At the Kurt Thomas School of Gymnastics in Frisco, TX, Kurt showed us his intense plyometrics workout, with some Tumbl Trak products-it looked like a real challenge! The purpose of plyometrics is to develop leg power for quick punching. On December 14, we set up a booth at a big cheer meet in Garland-it was pretty special, with cheer competitors and attendees donating several semi-truck loads of toys for charity.

From Texas, we worked our way toward Denver, passing through Amarillo, Pueblo, and Colorado Springs, where there was record cold. On our trip across the Rockies on I-70 snow delayed us a bit, but the roads improved in Utah, and we arrived at Springville, where Don and I went to Air Time Gymnastics, and I recorded some of the gymnasts there using our prototype Air Barrel for twisting drills.

Our plans to get to Ashland, OR, changed when we got a phone call from my sister warning us not to risk traveling there, as snow was closing roads in southern OR. So we drove north toward Boise where the weather was much better! After a few nasty spots on I-84 across the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon, and more wind and ice along the Columbia River, we made it to Steve Roney's gym in Hood River. A few kids braved the weather to get into the gym there, and we played with the Air Barrel and the Bungee Incline. December 20 found us in Vancouver, WA for the night, and after reports of another snow storm heading down toward Seattle, we left Saturday for Port Townsend. Just like in most of the rest of the country, snow greeted us here, too!

December 01, 2008

Happy Holidays to everyone. I've had a great start to the holiday season with lots of travel, as usual! My trip back to Michigan from Port Townsend began on Monday, November 3, at 7 AM as the ferry arrived in Seattle. At Selah, near Yakima, I had a good discussion with Tammy Bonsen of Gym Kids, about education--developing possible theme sheets for our products. Her staff goal for the month was to have each staff member meet 4 parents of students and learn 4 things about them. From there I went to Gym Plus in Yakima, where I enjoyed exploring uses of Bungee mats with Michelle, a coach there. We used the Bungee Block for the bar wall station and the wall of death/flyaway station, with a foam block under it to raise it up. On Tuesday, I recorded some video at Progressive Power Tumbling, of kids using the Bungee pieces as a preparatory station for double mini tramp. On Wednesday afternoon, I stopped at Colorado West Gymnastics in Grand Junction, CO, to let some cheerleaders use an Air Floor, to demonstrate their stability, as their coach had some concern about rolling ankles. I also recorded some drills using the Bungee mats, then drove through some nasty snow to Dillon, CO for the night. The next morning I drove on to Colorado Springs to see Tom Forster, Aerials, and to discuss progress on the Forster bar system. This was another chance to record more video for bar drills using the Bungee Block, Ramp and Incline. I made a quick stop at Alpine Allstar Cheer, and set up some learning stations with the Bungee Block and a 3 M Air floor with a cover. By Friday afternoon, I was working with the Tumbleweeds tumblers in Colby, KS. The clinic went well, and the coaches were impressed with the Bungee Block, Incline and Ramp. I stayed in York, NE, that night, then got to Chow's Gymnastics and Dance in West Des Moines, IA, Saturday. I recorded some video of his top kids using the Air Floor, Sweet Spot on the vault table, and other Bungee pieces, then drove to Peru, IL, for the night.

Sunday morning, November 9, found me at the Region 5 Super Camp at Todd Gardner's gym, Illinois Institute of Gymnastics in Chicago, IL. We tried the Bungee Ramp on one of the vault tables and the kids seemed to like the added lift. I finally arrive home about 7:30 pm.

I spent the next two weeks working on video of our mats and shapes, so that parents, kids, and coaches may have more uses for them. Visit the Training Tips section on our web page that feature many of the video clips I've recorded over the last several months..

On Thursday, November 20, I visited Carla Colbeck's new gym, Capital Cheer Allstars, in Lansing, MI, driving on snowy roads. Carla opened her gym in September and already has five cheer teams working out there. Best of luck, and way to go, Carla.

Saturday we watched and recorded some video at the Santa's Day parade in Midland, MI. Midland Gymnastics Training Center (MGTC) had a special cart made to carry a large Bungee Mat for showing off tumbling skills. It was pulled along behind their trailer so that gymnasts could do back handsprings, back tucks, and even back handspring-back tucks on the mat, along with the usual street tumbling. They were a big hit. It was a cool 32 degrees, so cheers to the hearty kids of MGTC! [Read More]

November 03, 2008

We started west on September 30, 2008, stopping in Lansing, MI, where I talked with Dr. Larry Nassar, who reminded me that Neil Resnick is known for trying to teach with less spotting. Because Dr. Nassar is concerned with sports injuries (even to coaches!), he appreciates what less spotting can do to reduce a coach's chance of shoulder injuries. This is right in line with our philosophy, so I plan to talk with Neil on my way back to Michigan in November, to learn more. We stayed with Bob and Gretchen Bradley in Mequon, WI-Bob is my "business mentor."

At the M&M Gymastics in New Berlin, WI, I video recorded the clinic that Leonard Isaacs had with a group of top-level team girls on October 1. Leonard's presentation of 2.5 hours was well-received, and a brief summary of the girls' responses appears as a separate article in this month's newsletter.

At Chow's Gymnastics & Dance in Des Moines, Chow and his team of girls greeted us as we parked our car, welcoming us to Iowa. Chow offered several ideas for equipment. One is having a soft obstacle to vault over which would attach to the far end of vault table-an idea that Neil Resnick has been promoting for many years. Chow shared ideas about how he uses our products. He likes to use the 3 M Air Floor sideways for the athlete's feet to hit, when tumbling into the pit.

Hours after a 75-minute bicycle ride on hilly US 34 west of Lincoln, NE, which ended suddenly with a flat tire, we arrived in Atwood, KS. On Saturday morning, October 4, 2008 we did a clinic for the recreational kids of Creative Movements Gymnastics in Atwood, using Bungee mats and an Air Floor (see photo). The kids were good listeners, and had lots of fun on the Bungee products.

After a stop in Denver to visit a relative, and stay with a friend, we stopped to see Tom Forster of Aerials in Colorado Springs on Sunday, October 5. We discussed his bar training system, as well as some of Tom's other ideas. It is encouraging to see the innovation happening all over the country to improve the training of our athletes. That evening we had supper in Canon City, CO, with Wendy, who co-coached the tumblers of the Port Townsend Twisters with Doug last year. She's a college freshman in Pueblo, and a cheerleader there. The next day we made it to Black Canyon of the Gunnison for a short but great fall hike there. [Read More]

October 02, 2008

The Cheer, Tumbling and Gymnastics seasons are upon us. Some start earlier than others, but, with so many levels and ages, it seems to go on for, let's say, a long time. Best luck, with the competitions and the recreation programs. The Olympics sound like they are helping at least some areas, make up for the slowed economy. We are all looking for options and ideas to keep up the growth of our sports and businesses.

On September 10-12, Diana, Michelle (our newest employee), and I took a quick tour back over to Illinois and Wisconsin. We met with Patti Komara, owner and founder of Patti's All-American Gymnastics and her sister Sharon Fitzgerald, owner and founder of Tumble Bear Mobile Gymnastics, first. They are both based out of Dyer, Indiana. Patti has an awesome recreational program, as would be expected, and Sharon has the biggest and best mobile program. Patti and Sharon share their creative abilities to keep classes and curriculum fresh and fun, and are always looking for new ways to do so.

Sharon's mobile program is up to seven mini vans and will be visiting over 2200 students per week, in the near future. I still believe that the mobile program is an answer for many businesses to grow and reach the public that is less likely to drive their kids to a gym.

We went on to visit my friend Leonard Isaacs, Owner of American Academy of Gymnastics, in Wheeling, Illinois. We played with our new Bungee mats there, and his kids had a great time and helped up evaluate our efforts to upgrade and improve our concept of sealed air, tumbling and mat products. We keep discovering more applications for the Bungee mat, Bungee Block and the Bungee Ramp, almost daily.

Many of the uses for the Bungee products could not be done with any other product, which is what has kept me motivated to continue to work on them. I am proud to say that we are finally ready to bring out this product line. You can see some of the video clips of their uses on our training tips, which is growing by leaps, bounds and flips. Check it out.

Our third stop was to Andy and Jeanelle Memmels, M&M Gymnastics, in New Berlin, Wisconsin, also the home of Chellsie Memmel. Chellsie was off traveling the country with the Olympic Tour, and her foot is healing up fast. We had a play date with Andy's top level kids, and the skills they did using our Bungee mats was very nice to see. Andy thought of yet one more application for the Bungee mat, to help teach the toe rise on bars, from the low to high bar. We will be including this drill and others on our training tips soon. Michelle-can we put the clip in here??

We took the Lake Express Ferry (the fast one) back from Milwaukee to Michigan, on Friday, September 12. I am spending the rest of September trying to finish up projects since I will be heading west for a month, or so, after attending the region 5 mini congress, in Indianapolis, Indiana, September 26-28.

We will be meeting Leonard at M&M Gymnastics, October 1, to video record a clinic that he will present there, and I will be ready to share that in the near future. We will head west after that, and visit gyms in Iowa (Tumble Time, in Davenport, Chow's Gymnastics in West Des Moines), Kansas (Attwood Gymnastics, where my cousin, Kathy, and her family live), Tom Forster's Aerials Gymnastics, in Colorado Springs, Sunday, October 5, the same day the tour is in town, Don Gordon, in Springville, Utah, on Tuesday, October 7, and go on to Portland, Oregon for the region 2 mini congress that is at the MAC, on October 10-12.

We'll be in Port Townsend, Washington for about a month and then I may head East, again, to help prepare for the holiday sales that will include the Chellsie product line.

Enjoy the fall weather and best luck with the upcoming competition and business season.

Doug

September 11, 2008

Wow, what a month August was. For gymnastics the biggest news is, of course, the Olympics. The men's and women's teams did their country proud. The women had some challenges, but their grace in winning the Team Silver medal was evident. Nastia and Shawn were both magnificent, in All Around and Individual events. Chellsie had bad luck with here ankle injury, but still performed on bars, to help the team, and did it on a broken bone!

It may be news to some that the Chinese Women's Team's overall difficulty was more than two points higher than that of the USTeam. Remember, the Chinese women (or girls) did a great job!

NEW WEB PAGE: Tumbl Trak has launched a new web page that should be much more user friendly (although many people have told us the like the old one). For my part, I am proud to say that we are about to start a new, and improved training tips area, that will not only have the video that was on the old page, but, in the next weeks and months, I will be loading up hundreds of drills and skills for TUMBLING, BARS, BEAM, VAULT, as well as a special section for CHEER TUMBLING. Viewers will be able to click on Training tips, and then go to any Activity event), and within the activity, find a sub category of skills to review. For Example if you click on Tumbling, you can then decide to look at video of Round off drills, Back handsprings, whip backs, and many more. It is still a work in progress, but we are finally ready to share the hundreds of clips and many great ideas that coaches all over the country have been sharing with us.

New product line: The Mark of Memmel! From her stellar performance a the 2003 Pan American Games to her dedicated display at the 2008 Olympic Games, Chellsie Memmel has made her mark in the world of gymnastics. Now you can own a piece of history with the new Chellsie line of equipment from Tumbl Trak. Chellsie equipment includes the Jr. Training Bar, Chellsie Mats, and a Chellsie Beam all done in her signature color purple.

[Read More]

August 05, 2008

On July 2nd, I stopped by Chow's Gymnastics in West Des Moines, IA, home of Shawn Johnson our 2007 World AA champion and member of the 2008 Olympic team. The gym is dried out from the flooding that was so bad in Iowa in June. The whole community, in Chow's area, pitched in to help get the gym back up and going in a few days. [Read More]

June 30, 2008

Gymnastics news
The big June news for gymnastics included the USA Championships in Boston, June 6-8, USAG Congress in Philadelphia, June 19-22, and the Olympic trials, also in Philadelphia, June 19-21.

At Congress, Tumbl Trak gave away 270 of our new "Smart Sheets" (see photo of one in use), to gym owners who stopped by our booth. We ran out quick. These are just one example of some of the new ideas that Tumbl Trak has developed as part of our Smart Mat Technology.

At the Championships, Chellsie Memmel, M & M Gymnastics in New Berlin, WI, came back with a vengeance to seal third place and announce that she is not gone, at all. To her, Championships were a tune up for the Trials, and the Trials are a tune up for the Olympics. As many of you are aware, at Trials she placed third in all around, with 8 rock solid performances. The cardio sets mentioned last month must be serving her well, as she had plenty left to nail a 15.85 on her floor set in finals, at the Trials. Congratulations to Chellsie and her coach/dad, Andy! She has more skills to add, so keep an eye out for her at the Olympics. When she came to our booths, at Congress, there were 100 to 200 autograph seekers lined up for her.

I wish the best to Shawn Johnson, and her coach Liang Chow, of (Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West DesMoines, Iowa. They have had a difficult time with the major flooding that left a foot of water in the gym. Now up and running, the disruption didn't surface in the great performances that Shawn delivered at both the Championships and the Trials. I will be visiting their gym in Iowa soon, on my way to the Tumbling and Trampoline Nationals in Kansas City, Missouri, from July 2-6.

I will also be stopping by Al Fong's Great American Gymnastics Express Gym in Kansas City. His gymnast Ivana Hong is also in the hunt for an Olympic berth, and I wish them the best of luck. Al has a long history of preparing gymnasts for the Olympics, including Courtney McCool and Terin Humphery, for the 2004 Olympics.

Best of luck to all of the athletes who have worked so hard in their quest to represent the USA in the 2008 Olympics. We will have great teams for the women and the men.

Cheer news
In cheer, our big news is the very positive report that we received from Top Gun Allstars, of Naples, FL. John Bencomo, has been testing sections of our Air Cheer Floor, and his top elite men report that they are getting just as high on skills like whips to double fulls, on the Air Cheer Floor as on their spring floor. Other groups are testing out the Air Cheer Floor as we speak, to decide how soon it will be used in more Cheer competitions. We will have more reports and video, soon.

For all of you involved in camps for the summer, enjoy and have fun.

Doug

May 30, 2008

While I'm mostly adjusted back to Michigan, I was very pleased to hear that the Twisters Tumblers in Port Townsend, WA, won first place finishes for age 15 and over Level 7, and for 11-12 year olds in Level 5, as well as second place in age 15 and over Level 6 power tumbling, at their state meet May 10. At their Regional Meet on May 31, two of the girls placed first in their age groups for Levels 5 and 7 Power Tumbling. They also did well in Double Mini. From my perspective, it has been amazing how well they have done, without having access to the competitive surfaces-rod floor and a double mini during their training. Most of their tumbling training has been done on a 30-foot inflatable mat.

Because USAG Congress is in June this year, May was a very busy preparation month for it. So our only trip outside of the state was on the 15th to Wisconsin for a visit to M & M Gymnastics, home of Chellsie Memmel and family. We watched some of her afternoon workout, and also took some video of her younger sister, Skyler, and her teammates. Andy and Jeanelle filled us in a bit with their latest travels, and Andy explained the cardio sets she's doing daily (see article below). Chellsie is looking strong and deep in the hunt for the Olympic team gold. Best of luck to her and her family. I hope some of you can come and cheer for her at the trials in Philadelphia, as we will be. She will be competing at Nationals next weekend.

We have less than three weeks until the trials and Congress, and that is our main focus, especially since it's our 20th anniversary in the business. Chellsie has been part of Tumbl Trak, nearly from birth, since she started doing round off back handsprings on her own on an early Tumbl Trak, at age three and a half years. It's hard to believe she herself will be 20 years old, shortly after the trials. Chellsie will be at our booth area at the exhibition hall, at Congress to sign autographs, on Saturday, June 21, at 1:30 pm. If you are there, come and celebrate with us. We will be giving out a free gift to gym owners worth $30.

I hope to see you there.

Doug