Doug's Blog

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!

For Thanksgiving week, I traveled to Memphis, TN, to visit Memphis Elite Allstars, and Gus, at River City Gymnastics, then to Palestine, IL, to celebrate Thanksgiving with my wife's family. We'll be back at the office by Sunday, to see how sales are going after the holiday. We have our warehouse filled, and are ready to ship out those special holiday gifts for special Gymnasts and Cheerleaders, at the best prices and the quickest shipping anywhere. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Doug

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