PART 2

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A GYMNAST

The Gymnast Profile

There are many inter-related qualities and attributes that contribute to the profile of a successful gymnast. The main factors are:

Natural talent A natural ability to learn many gymnastic skills and an extraordinary level of spatial awareness.

Physical attributes Suitably proportioned lean and muscular body shape, with good flexibility, strength, power, endurance, balance and excellent co-ordination.

Psychological profile High self-esteem, self-confidence, control over anxiety, a willingness to work hard, high fear threshold, courage, great commitment and, perhaps most importantly, determination and dedication.

Not all of these attributes will be overtly evident in the young gymnast as they commence their gymnastics training. Some may develop naturally over time and others can be learned through a suitable, well-structured training programme.

Typical range of movement tests for the gymnast's joints.

Talent Identification and Development

In the early stages of gymnastics participation the main features should be the all-round development of basic movement skills, balance, co-ordination and confidence. For young children their first experience of gymnastics should be enjoyable, in a fun environment that stimulates their imagination and enhances learning.

Talent detection normally occurs between the ages of five and seven for girls and six and eight for boys. The more able gymnasts who show a natural talent at learning the basic skills more quickly may be given the opportunity for more specialized training in the fundamentals of gymnastics.

The gymnast's flexibility can be assessed using these tests.

Gymnastics may be classified as an early specialization sport but even so talent selection as such would not normally commence until six to eight years for girls and between seven to nine years for boys. Talent selection field tests have been graded according to the age and stage of maturation of the gymnasts and take into account the physical development, accelerated growth periods and psychological development of the growing child. The age and stage of maturation guidelines and the safe all-round development of the young gymnast is paramount in all aspects of the structured development programme.

The bank of field tests are based upon the identified norms that a 'talented' young gymnast might be expected to achieve at each stage in their development. The field tests will include exercises and activities to measure and evaluate the following:

• The competence and quality in performance of a range of essential core gymnastic skills (technical skills)
• Competition performance on each apparatus (competition performance)
• Body shape, posture, alignment of limbs and degree of range of movement in the wrists, knees, elbows and ankles (morphological measurements)
• Flexibility (both passive and active), strength, speed, power and endurance (physical preparation)
• Psychological attributes such as self-esteem, confidence and fear threshold (psychological factors).

The degree of talent identification and methods used to develop young gymnasts will vary according to the culture and structure within each country but the examples given below provide a good indication of the type of tests that are widely used throughout the world.

The angles achieved are measured and compared against a set of standards.

The Development of the Talented Young Gymnast

The physical profile tests are frequently used to assess the gymnast's profile at each stage of their development. Account will be taken of those children who may be early or late developers since there are many instances where successful gymnasts have been late in their physical and psychological development.

The talent selection programme can identify precocious talented young gymnasts, but the coach must resist the temptation to accelerate or exploit the technical development of these gifted children. They will undoubtedly learn skills very quickly but there is a danger of them reaching a plateau in their learning due to a lull in their physical and psychological development, and motivation may be lost. There is also a risk of overuse injury to the young body and a high potential for early burnout. To avoid this, the emphasis should be placed on the perfection of a wider range of skills and combination of elements so that the rate of progress is in tune with the child's physical and psychological maturation state. The aim of all good coaches should be to nurture gymnasts of varying natural ability, to attain the individual's optimum level of performance as a mature gymnast rather than produce a child superstar who may be lost prematurely from the sport.

The results of the tests are used to tailor the individual gymnast's training programme to ensure that their strengths are built upon and weaknesses are addressed and eliminated.

The thorough and caring coach will ensure that the training programme focuses on the technical, physical and psychological components with the appropriate level of intensity. It is important for the coach to take a holistic approach to their coaching to develop the gymnast's characteristics, personality, social skills and gymnastics prowess whilst still making their safety and well-being a priority.

The Key Elements of the Development Programme

Most people can participate in some form of gymnastics but the level of attainment is determined by their gymnastic ability, flexibility, strength, physical size and shape. It is important that at all levels of participation an appropriate level of physical fitness precedes the learning of gymnastics skills. In some sports it is possible to play that sport to become fit but in gymnastics the risk of injury increases and the ability to learn safely reduces if the participant is insufficiently fit. A comprehensive physical preparation programme is therefore essential for all levels of competitive gymnastics. Indeed, this is one of key aspects of the gymnastic development programme, along with a progressive technical programme and meticulously planned event and training programme. The purpose and content of each of these components is described below.

The Physical Preparation Programme (PPP)

The purpose of the PPP is to ensure that the gymnast is sufficiently fit to embark on the skills and routine learning programme with minimum risk of injury and maximum potential for learning. The PPP should consist of:

Flexibility training The possession of good range of movement will improve the ability to learn certain skills, may reduce the risk of injury and will permit amplitude in movement to be expressed.

Strength training The various aspects of strength include static strength for held parts and balances; dynamic strength for swinging elements and lifts into handstand; and speed and power strength to enable the explosive skills to be performed.

Endurance training Gymnastics skills and exercises are learnt and perfected through the performance of many repetitions of the skills or exercises. Strength endurance is necessary to permit the many repetitions of a skill, combination of skills or routine to be performed without fatigue setting in. The onset of fatigue will reduce performance levels and may increase the risk of injury.

Most gymnastic training is anaerobic in nature, using energy stored within the muscles to sustain the short bursts of high-intensity exercise. However, aerobic endurance, where oxygen intake is essential to facilitate the energy release systems for longer bouts of lower-intensity exercise, underpins all other aspects of fitness. Aerobic endurance is required for the repetitive performance of full competition routines. This aspect of physical preparation is often neglected and undervalued by less informed coaches and must be developed early on in the annual training programme.

The Psychological Skills Programme

Often the key difference between the top gymnasts or sports people and the less successful is the ability to prepare mentally for an event or to cope with the stress or anxiety of an event. The more successful the gymnast becomes the greater the expectations become. The current champion will be tipped to win again and the media, coaches, parents, people within the sport, fellow competitors and the gymnast themselves will tend to pile on the pressure of expectation to succeed. The experienced gymnast can utilize sports psychology techniques to learn how to mentally prepare for an event and develop coping strategies to deal with the pressure. The gymnast can also learn how to utilize positive thoughts to enhance confidence and block out negative thoughts, and develop skills to mentally rehearse a skill, routine or performance in the competition arena.

Progressive Learning

The majority of even the most complex gymnastic elements are based upon a solid foundation of the core gymnastic skills. The core skills are then developed through safe progressive skills or combinations of the skills to produce the more advanced elements. A proven coaching method consists of:

• Perfection of relevant core skills (foundation skills)
• Learning safe and progressive drills and part skills to develop awareness and understanding of the movement patterns
• Linking together part skills to produce the whole...