‘I cannot thank you and TriSkills enough for the life-skills and business you are building for my son,’ he said. 4 years ago, a young man at the end of his ‘compulsory’ education (year 12) met me for an interview regarding employment. He was so shy and withdrawn he was difficult to ‘read’, so we placed him into a training program for 6 months trial as a sports and gymnastics teacher. 

His first lesson left me wondering if he actually spoke. So I stood beside him and said, ‘These are the 3 teaching points for this skill, tell the children, 1, 2 3. If you are not sure what to say (no answer) copy what I say word for word. ‘ This gymnastics lesson at St Finbar’s School marked a turning point, as the lead teacher of the program and I guided him step by step in fundamental teaching, management and feedback strategies. 

‘Ryan doesn’t tell me everything, his dad told me; most of it I hear from the parents of his friends! When they ask me what it is that Ryan actually does and I tell them he owns and operates a TriSkills sports and gymnastics teaching franchise, they do not understand what that means. People belittle the concept, but do not see what I see. They know their children (who are university students) really have an amazing time working for Ryan, but they do not know the training, development and business skill my son has been involved in.’ he said.

Ryan owns TriSkills Illawarra. In his time with TriSkills he has undertaken Certificate IV in Recreation and Management, business management and human resources on the job training, and holds qualifications as a Gymnastics, Athletics and Rugby Coach. His business is set to expand with the introduction of a double-decker GymBus in March.

The Board and Executive team congratulate Ryan and Lara on their marriage, wish them success, love and all the support they seek. 

Success no stretch for Glen Iris gymnast

Taylor Tirahardjo - from Gymbus to Gold Medals

THIS Glen Iris school girl’s rhythmic gymnastic success began at a Gymbus Party.

Taylor Tirahardjo caught the eye of the host, despite having no training, who referred her to Prahran Rhythmic Gymnastics Specialist Centre.

Six years later, the 14-year-old Korowa student has returned from the Australian Rhythmic Championships with a gold medal in ball, two silver medals in team and rope, and two bronze medals in clubs and “all round”.

“I feel a great sense of accomplishment,” she said. “All the training’s paid off.”

She also won every apparatus at the state championships in May, has twice been selected for the national rhythmic gymnastics team, and has competed internationally in New Zealand, China, Malaysia, Romania and Italy.

Training for 22 hours over six days a week, the year 8 student says she avoids television to complete homework after training.

“I like the discipline. It keeps me fit and healthy,” she said.

“Once I stop (gymnastics) I don’t know what I’d do with myself, so I think I’ll be doing it for a long time.”

Published in the Stonnington Leader:  25 SEP 09 @ 07:00AM BY LUCY GRAHAM 

ACHPER Victoria hold one of the largest physical and sports education conferences in Australia on an annual basis, attracting a large range of quality sponsors and providing professional development for hundreds of physical education specialists.

The range of local, national and international presenters draws a wide variety of professionals in the excellent facilities of Monash University.

Loyal conference sponsor, Exercise Research Australia seeks quality interactive time with educators at all levels; providing Certificate 3 and 4 courses in fitness leadership, quality facilities for year 11 and 12 students undertaking physical education as a Higher School Certificate subject and school visits to their elite performance testing facility.

Today Tonight in Perth had a short two segment production on the WAIS girls program highlighting the efforts put into their chosen sport by the gymnasts, parents and coaching staff. If you were lucky enough to see it i’m sure you were impressed by how it was put together. It’s great to see one of the hardest sports getting some deserved promotion and recognition.

Lauren Mitchell is back in Action in Perth tonight. I believe she’s competing with her brand new floor routine and bar routine. With recent injury minimizing training on impact apparatus (floor and vault), Mitchell has increased the difficulty of her bar routine making her even more competitive on the international scene. Good Luck Lauren and all the other competitors with your individual and teams competitions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqtETfMyris

Lauren Mitchells new Floor Routine

If you’re in Perth, there are still two days left of competition. If you’re in Canberra, there are still a few more days left so support our gymnasts, both guys and gals. CLICK HERE for details.

Combining Physical Activity With Classroom Lessons Results in Improved Test Scores

ScienceDaily (July 1, 2011) — When schools cut physical education programs so students can spend more time in the classroom, they may be missing a golden opportunity to promote learning, according to research presented on May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver.

The study adds to growing evidence that exercise is good not only for the body but also the mind. It also shows that physical education and academic instruction need not be mutually exclusive.

Researchers Kathryn L. King, MD, and Carly J. Scahill, DO, pediatric residents at the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital, led by William S. Randazzo, MD, FAAP, and James T. McElligott, MD, sought to determine how implementing a daily physical activity program that incorporated classroom lessons would affect student achievement. First- through sixth-graders at an academically low-scoring elementary school in Charleston, S.C., took part in the program 40 minutes a day, five days a week. Prior to initiation of the program, students spent 40 minutes per week in physical education classes.

The school nurse was awarded several grants that were used to educate school administrators and revamp several classrooms into two gyms that housed equipment for an All Minds Exercise (AMX) room for older students and an Action Based Learning (ABL) lab for the younger schoolchildren.

“The teachers, administrators, parents and students at the school were brave enough to think out of the box to help the children learn in new ways,” Dr. King said.

First- and second-graders moved through stations in the ABL lab, learning developmentally appropriate movement skills while basic academic skills were reinforced. For example, children traced shapes on the ground while sitting on scooters and hopped through ladders while naming colors on each rung.

Students in third through sixth grades had access to exercise equipment with TV monitors. For instance, a treadmill had a monitor that played geography lessons as the student ran through the scene, and a rock-climbing wall was outfitted with numbers that changed as they climbed to help students work on math skills.

Researchers compared state standardized reading test scores for the year before and the year after initiation of the program. Each student took standardized tests in the fall and spring. In the fall, the results included an individualized goal for each student to reach on the spring test. Researchers measured the number of students who met or exceeded their goal score in the spring.

Results showed that the time spent out of a traditional classroom in order to increase physical education did not hurt students’ academic achievement. In fact, student test scores improved. Specifically, the percentage of students reaching their goal on the state tests increased from 55 percent before the program was initiated to 68.5 percent after the program was initiated.

“These data indicate that when carefully designed physical education programs are put into place, children’s academic achievement does not suffer,” Dr. King said.

“More studies are needed,” Dr. Scahill added, “but there is growing substantial evidence that this kind of physical activity may help improve academic behavior, cognitive skills and attitudes.”

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by American Academy of Pediatrics, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

—————————————————————————–

In gymnastics, as with any physical activity, the issue of safety is particularly important. All skills should be taught in a developmental sequence that includes a number of gymnastic opportunities and lead-up activities. Lessons need to include a warm-up, developmental activities and a warm-down. The developmental activities will form the main body of the lesson and should provide the opportunity for students to be guided through a variety of learning experiences that lead to the development of student confidence and eventual achievement of each movement skill.

Teachers should also consider the following safety considerations when planning and implementing gymnastics lessons.

• Provide adequate warm-up before engaging in vigorous activity. As students move into Stage 2 and again into Stage 3, stretching becomes an increasingly important component of warm-up routines.
• Incorporate a warm-down routine at the completion of activity.
• Have a clear, predetermined signal to stop all students moving. This may be a whistle, a verbal cue or a visual cue such as the teacher raising an arm above their head.
• Check that equipment is in good condition before use and select appropriate equipment for each task.
• Use an appropriate surface for each activity and ensure that the area is free of obstacles.
• Use space effectively by limiting the number of students using an area.
• Teach students to be aware of others when moving about a space.
• Students should be encouraged to wear clothing that allows for freedom of movement and to wear appropriate footwear, such as sports shoes for indoor and outdoor activities.

Particular caution is required with jumping and landing activities, particularly when using mini-trampolines or when mounting or dismounting apparatus. Adequate supervision, correct technique and a safe landing area are required.

The document Guidelines for the safe conduct of sport and physical activity in schools (Department of Education and Training) was issued to all schools in 1999. The guidelines are designed to support teachers in implementing, leading and supervising sport and physical activities. Schools need to ensure that sport and physical activity is safe and enjoyable for all students. The gymnastics safety guidelines in this document apply to a range of gymnastics activities and should be followed by supervising teachers.

Education Minister Garrett

The National Australian Primary Principal’s Association Conference has confronted Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett with a bold, unanimous statement calling for equality in resourcing and roll out of the upcoming National Curriculum.

Norm Hart

National President Norm Hart, told delegates it was vital that all Australian schools and their students be afforded equal status and financial resourcing in the roll out of the new curriculum. “We have to present a single, united front to ensure schools in all states, territories and educational regions. The tyranny of distance, moving from state based to a nationally based curriculum is an enormously challenging task,” he said.

This task will require education professionals receive dedicated training to ensure implementation within their classrooms. Teachers returning home tired after teaching all day are in no fit physical or psychological state to attend piece meal after hours training. This is our opportunity to change education Australia-wide.

The financial and human resources required to ensure the smooth transition require strong political leadership; understanding that primary, secondary and independent education sectors will be equally affected. Delegates sought that the  the minister to show the political will to ensure the National Curriculum is an outstanding success in the coming 2 years.

A Second Chance is the story of  a young girl who quits the sport after a tragic accident. Although she’s not sure she was the cause of the accident, it was enough to have her leave the sport. 15 years later, she is drawn back to Gymnastics, coaching at an elite level of three young gymnasts.

A family movie to be released soon will inspire young gymnasts, show them that everyone can have a second chance!

Details will follow soon regarding the opportunity to have an exclusive screening session of “A Second Chance” for your Gymnastics club. Stay tuned for more information as soon as it’s released by the producers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4qpUfSDH_w

A Second Chance Website

Facebook

ScienceDaily (June 2, 2011) — Imagine being able to calculate one number that would tell you just how fit you are — and what that means for your heart health. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have managed exactly that: they have developed a model that can help doctors — and individuals — determine just how fit an individual is, and what that means for overall health.

Scientists at NTNU’s newly established KG Jebsen Centre of Exercise and Medicine, led by Professor Ulrik Wisløff, have assembled the largest dataset of its kind in the world on fitness in healthy women and men. Using the database, the researchers were able to develop a model that enables the calculation of maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max), which is the single best way to measure physical conditioning and cardiac health.

5000 Norwegians provide data

Until now, there has been relatively little information to describe the levels of fitness that could be expected in a healthy adult population. That led Wisløff and his colleagues at the Jebsen Centre to look at how fitness is related to traditional risk factors, by testing approximately 5000 healthy Norwegians aged 13-90 years.

The researchers found that women’s and men’s fitness (oxygen uptake) was 35 mL / kg / min and 45 mL / kg / min, respectively. This figure dropped by about 5% for each decade of increasing age for both sexes. For example, women in their 20s had a VO2max on average of 45 mL / kg / min, but by the time a woman reaches her 50s, that number was closer to 34 mL / kg / min.

Women and men who had lower fitness (regardless of age) than the average for their gender were respectively 5 and 8 times more likely to have many risk factors for cardiovascular disease compared with those who had fitness values higher than average.

Conditioning a continuous measure of health status

The researchers also found that conditioning seems to reflect a continuous measure of health status, and that just a 5 mL / kg / min decrease in oxygen consumption was associated with an approximately 60% higher chance of having a collection of several risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The study confirms that a person’s physical condition is even more important for heart health than previously thought.

The research group is now pursuing the cellular, molecular and genetic causes of good and poor conditioning. Since conditioning has such an effect on an individual’s overall health, researchers believe that identifying these factors may lead to new approaches for new and more effective medicines in the treatment of lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes. The researchers believe that based on a single blood sample, it could be possible to design effective exercise program that suits an individual’s genetic make-up and that makes it possible to prevent or delay the development of cardiovascular disease.

One workout a week is enough to start

“It could be the same as just writing a prescription for medicine, except in this case it could be number of workouts per week,” Wisløff says. “And what is even more encouraging is that our research shows that the workouts don’t have to be onerous to have an effect. For people who are in poor shape, just one 15 minute workout per week is enough to make a difference. Even parents with children should be able to manage that.”

The key, however, is that that one workout must involve a high intensity session of 4 minutes where the heart is working at up to 90 per cent of its capacity, Wisløff’s research has shown. A 10-minute warmup should precede this high-intensity portion of the workout session, and the high-intensity session should also be followed by a 3-minute cool down.

Scientists at the K.G. Jebsen Centre of Exercise in Medicine are currently conducting clinical trials of this approach in many different patient groups. The group was the first in the world to have clearly isolated heart cells from humans and has contributed to the mapping of cellular and molecular characteristics of heart cells from individuals with and without heart failure. This has led to the discovery of new mechanisms behind heart disease. The researchers are now conducting animal studies to examine how altering these mechanisms might reduce the rate of cardiovascular complications in individuals with heart disease.

The research associated with this study is from the newly established KG Jebsen Centre for Exercise in Medicine. For more information about the centre, visit:http://www.ntnu.edu/cerg.

To try the VO2 max calculator, visit:http://www.ntnu.edu/cerg/vo2max