Doug's Blog

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