by site editor Rick McCharles
Gymnastics Coaching is an aggregator. We try to link to the best of the best published online in English. The most interesting ideas, photos and videos for coaches.
NEW ideas, in particular.
Artistic Gymnastics, especially WAG, dominates the gymternet over all other acrobatic disciplines. That’s OK — I guess — since we want every child to start with Artistic & Trampoline before specializing. 
I’ve blocked recommendations into 3 categories:
INDEPENDENT SITES (blogs, coaches, etc.)
OFFICIAL SITES (magazines, organizations, FIG, NOCs, etc.)
PHOTO & VIDEO SITES
Artistic Gymnastics is the Foundation.
_____ INDEPENDENT SITES:
The BIG news from 2014 was Lauren Hopkins launching The Gymternet. Lauren and her writers had the best WAG coverage overall in 2015.
Gymternet (with a capital G) instantly became the 1st site Women’s Gymnastics fans should check.
Bea Gheorghisor has taken over as the main editor of The Couch Gymnast | Facebook | @TheCouchGymnast. It’s a must read too.
Albert Minguillón i Colomer, Nora Schuler & Elizabeth Long (Europe) – THE ALL AROUND | Facebook | @THEALLAROUND
Katie (Ireland) – Full Twist | @full_twist
Anne Josephson’s JAG GYM BLOG was excellent again this past year. Much reposted. It’s thoughtful and unique. One of the few sites discussing gymnastics judges and parents. Check the Top 10 posts of 2014.
Every WAG coach should be following Swing Big closely. Since March 2013, Zari has been methodically posting practical drills. The best of what’s out there.
Justin Laury’s Gymnastics Progressions website has launched just in time for Christmas 2015. Coaching tutorials.
• Triple Twist Gym Blog | Facebook | @tripletwistgym
• MCSMaria is another must read
Tony Retrosi’s Gym Momentum – Gym Momentum | Facebook | @gym_momentum
Gigi Khazback-Farid – WOGymnastikA posts more often than anyone else. She often highlights GIFs from Tumblr.
• Beautiful Gymnastics had some fantastic posts in 2014.
• Dvora Meyers has been busy writing for other sites. And working on a Gymnastics book. But still posts occasionally on her old site Unorthodox Gymnastics
• Gymnast 391
• Double Double
Gymnastics News Network is an aggregator like this one. But they also post unique content. In the past GNN sometimes took full content from other sites without permission. But I’ve not heard of any problems like that lately under Terri Laymon @Tlaymon so we are again linking .
GymFever2012 on Facebook is one of my best sources. But I don’t link as it’s private. I belong to a number of private Facebook groups, in fact. Those groups seem to have increasingly taken over from private forums. In 2015 the private Gymternet Clan Facebook group was another excellent source of breaking news.
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Other must reads not focused on WAG:
• Trampoline Pundit
• T&T Coaches Canada on Facebook is a terrific T&T source, too. Invitation only. There are other Trampoline sites on Facebook, as well.
• Uncle Tim Talks Men’s Gym
• Ron Noe – Stick It Media (MAG) | @StickItMedia
• NCAA MEN’S GYMNASTICS ALUMNI on Facebook (Open)
• Nico launched a new site in 2014. The Liukin, dedicated to Men’s Artistic Gymnastics.
• GYMMIN’ MIEL! (all disciplines)
Those sites post prolifically. Each is quite unique. Please subscribe, follow and/or like those as well as others listed here that don’t post quite so often. (A much longer list of sites we follow is listed in the right hand navigation of every page on this site.)
The only site with more content for coaches than this one is GymnasticsZone, a terrific resource. Original content.
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John Geddert – The Gymnastics Coach | Facebook | @JohnGGeddert
Ask Al Fong is another superb site for technique.
I follow the NCAA mostly on these sites:
• Balance Beam Situation
• College Gym Fans
• Manual on Handstands
For NCAA scores and links best is RoadtoNationals.com
The following sites publish less frequently, but I never miss a post:
• Beam Dreams
• Andy Thornton – American Gymnast | Facebook | @americangymnast (company tweets)
• Kristal Sergent Boulden – Double Front | Facebook | @Double_Front | Tumblr
• the always thoughtful Gymnast Crossing
• Confessions of a Gym Fan
• Bronwyn & Clara Stoi!
• JAO Coaching Gymnastics in the New Millenium
• @TsukthePain | Tumblr
• Between the Olympics | @BTOgymblog
• E Panel | @TheEpanel
Valentin Uzunov’s The Gym Press YouTube channel | @thegympress.
The best site for recreational gymnastics is another I edit, RecGymnastics.com. We’re looking for contributors.
B.C. Gymnastics does a great job with their non-competitive site PlayGymnastics.com.
For music check these sites:
tunegym.com
SportMUSIC.com
CodeofPoints.com is a great resource for MAG and WAG coaches. It’s a video library of Gymnastics skills
Sites dedicated to geographic regions:
Germany
• GymMedia (English & German)
• turn-news (German)
Romania:
• Cris – Gymfever
• Alina – Tare! magazine
• Mihai – FanGymnastics (Romanian)
• Bea – Gymnastics No Ceiling | Facebook
• Carmen – Romanian Gymnastics Fans on Facebook
Arabian peninsula:
• Gombazz Facebook page
China:
• Blossom, Chinese Gymnastics Flowers
• Chinese Gymnastics Blog
• Rewriting Russian Gymnastics
• Australian Gymnastics Blog
• GymPower (Dutch)
• Gimnasia Latina (Spanish American)
• Revista Magnesia | Facebook | @revistamagnesia (Mexico)
• Doble en Plancha (Spain)
• Tsukahara Tucked (Argentina)
• Gymnastikfabriken (Sweden)
• GimSpor.pl (Poland)
• Gymania (Israel)
• gymnet.org (French)
• Gym-Nast-iique (French)
• Gym Blog Brazil (Portuguese)
• Jenn Isbister’s Gymn.ca (Canada) … perhaps the original dedicated National site
The Chrome browser offers automatic Google language Translate, one of the main reasons I use it.
_____ OFFICIAL SITES:
I link a lot to IG. Dwight Normile, Amanda Turner, John Crumlish & team – International Gymnast magazine online News | Facebook | @intlgymnast
Last year and again this year I was astonished at the quality of communications out of USA Gymnastics and FIG. Those organizations have media people equal the best bloggers. In the past information from both was whitewashed — no bad news. But both have gotten increasingly open, over time.
• USAG Headlines | Facebook | @USAGym
• FIG News | Facebook | @officialfig
British Gymnastics does a terrific job of communicating.
With a small staff, Inside Gymnastics magazine does a good job during LIVE events. And especially on Facebook.
Inside Gymnastics News | Facebook | @InsideGym
_____ AUDIO, PHOTO & VIDEO SITES:
FloGymnastics are the leaders in unique online VIDEO.
I was boycotting FloGymnastics.com (formerly Gymnastike) as were many other sites. That started with the Joe Battaglia Flocasts scandal, but – in fact – I don’t like some of Gymnastike’s business practices. And haven’t for some years. Things have improved in 2015. I’ve not heard any charges of plagiarism for many months. So I’ve begun linking again.
Sports2Visuals.com posts high quality gymnast documentaries in Dutch and English. Everyone knows their The Hard Way To Success videos.
But Sports2Visuals.com is doing much more. For example they created videos for the 2013 World Championships Organizing Committee. See ALL their videos linked from the home page. And subscribe to their YouTube channel.
The Gymneo WAG coaching video tutorials (now in French and English) are superb. Cost as I post is 199€ or $218 / year. That’s reduced from when they launched. They do post free teasers on their Facebook page.
The best thing that ever happened for gymnastics coaches is YouTube. Thank Google for buying that company and letting us share with the world for free. In 2011 I still link to YouTube over Vimeo and others as YouTube streams quickest over a weak WiFi signal. The worst place to post your videos is Facebook — link to a YouTube video in Facebook, instead.
Some of my favourites this past year:
• Arabian Punch Front links to the best montage videos. And more.
• American Gymnast Gymnastics on Demand videos on the JoeLangley YouTube channel (1150+ coaching tutorials)
• British Gymnastics TV
• GymTactics Videos on YouTube (formerly JAO)
• Sargis Siradegyan’s sKT YouTube channel (MAG)
• Coach Sommers – Gymnastic Bodies videos (the #1 MAG strength guru)
• Nick Blanton on YouTube
Nick relocated to Canada. And started up Blanton’s Gymnastics Consultancy. Recommended.
• Tony Retrosi – Gym Momentum YouTube Channel
• Mary Lee Tracy – USAmlt YouTube Channel
• John Geddert – GymnasticsCoachUSA YouTube channel and DVDs $.
• Gymnastics Minute YouTube channel. And GymSmarts for DVDs $.
• RedNasvw YouTube channel, especially his MAG Code of Points videos
There were fewer & fewere gymnastics montages in 2015. I link most to AshleyakaFlipper and CSaccullo.
For AUDIO there’s only one superb site. GymCastic. … That’s regular Uncle Tim and moderator Jessica O’Beirne of Masters Gymnastics. They have a number of guest hosts as well as celebrity guests each week.
For PHOTOS, Inside Gymnastics has the photographer I link to most. That’s the terrific Grace Chiu. She uses Facebook perfectly, posting a few of her best shots in order to promote sales from GraceClick.ca.
Former Michigan State Spartan Christy Ann Linder and her team capture some fantastic images. Many sport photographers do not really know gymnastics. Christy does.
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Did I MISS one of your favourite sites? … or links to their content?
I’m reluctant (yet) to start listing too many Tumblr sites or Twitter feeds. Those can be as messy as Facebook. Too much crap interspersed with good content.
But … leave a comment and I’ll update this list in a week or so. I could name many more.
related:
Gymternet – best of 2013
Gymternet – best of 2012
Gymternet – best of 2011
Gymternet – best of 2010
Lastly, a big THANKS and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all the individuals who emailed or messaged me with links in 2014.
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