Tweet There’s something I have noticed about myself since I’ve come through my teenage years and left my gymnast days behind. I am now nearing my mid-twenties and have begun to realise that a part of me is missing. It’s not that I feel less of a person but there is something I really miss about myself.

 
As a gymnast I was a hard worker, stubborn and fearless but now I am just a hard worker and stubborn. I no longer have the firey fearless persona that the other gymnasts admired …

Tweet I came across sports correspondent Ollie Williams twitter. He is tweeting while watching all the action in the O2 Arena in London. Ollie also has a blog that he writes at the end of every day covering the days events.  If you have any excellent links to share in regards to coverage of the events in London please post in the comments below!

Tweet Some great moves in this video of the “Amazing Super – Human Stunt Man”…
 

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When I think about my role as a gymnastics coach, many thoughts and images come to mind. When people I meet for the first time ask me what I do and I tell them I’m a gymnastics coach, they ask me to tell them all about it and have many questions. I tend to give a brief outline, similar to what is written on my CV , simply because I could talk about my role as a coach all day!
 
My main role as a gymnastics coach is to teach …

Tweet I often find it hard to recall moments from my childhood; the first time I rode a bike, the first time I went on holidays, but I can always remember my first day at gymnastics.
I had spent the summer in between school term telling my parents that I wanted to take up football, tennis, camogie (an Irish womens sport) and all kinds of other different sports. At this stage, I had been in swimming classes for quite some time and was doing very well. In July, I attended my …

Tweet Thanks to Rick at GymnasticsCoaching.com for posting this youtube video of a fantastic little gymnast Catherine Lyons from the UK. Catherine was competing at Level 4 and shows some amazing strength, power and flexibility and only at aged eight! I’d imagine we’ll be seeing her in the Olympics in years to come. Well done to Catherine for doing so well!
 

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Performing a simple handspring vault, I landed incorrectly, meaning one foot took a disproportionate amount of the impact, mainly on the big toe joint from pointing my toes so much during the move. I was competing in an international friendly at the time and oddly I had complained to my coach that this vault was too easy for my level.  I almost felt like Kerri Strug in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.   I was in incredible pain but presented to the judge before hobbling off to the side. Bruising …

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Being injured is a terrible event in any athlete’s career.  One injury can jeopardise some-one’s progression in the sport or even mark the end of their career.  In gymnastics, it is so easy to get hurt. The simplest deviation of a body line can inadvertently cause great harm.
 
Types of Injuries
There are the obvious types of injuries; muscle strains and tears and broken bones.  There are also injuries that develop over a period of time (Osgood Schlatters disease for example, which occurs from a combination of factors such as …

Tweet For sixteen years, I’ve taken part in the great sport of gymnastics. I trained as a gymnast for eleven years and I am now in my fifth year of coaching professionally.  Everyone has their reasons for feeling passionate about something in their lives. I’d like to introduce you to mine.

Personal Education
My coaches taught me about my body – what was the correct way to stand and why. Standing up tall with my “bum tucked and belly sucked in” somehow gave me an air of confidence.  I learnt that …