Confidence is created. And it’s easy

The gymnast steps onto the floor to salute the judge to indicate being ready to show their routine. The judge makes eye contact and raises his own hand to signify that the panel is ready to watch. A crowd of over 1000 people anxiously watch too. In the crowd, the gymnast’s Mom, and she is…

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What Makes A Good Coach?

What does it take to truly be a good coach? Well, I don’t want to be like the masked magician and the TV show “Magic’s Mysteries Unveiled” who spoiled magic for me by telling us the way magicians perform tricks, but there isn’t much mystery to be a good coach. Ask any coach and they’ll…

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Are you cut out to be a Team Leader?

Here is a little assessment for the athletes out there, but it’s also for anyone who works with a group of people. If you feel you have potential to be a good team leader you should be able to identify with each of the following 10 paragraphs. Give yourself a point for each one that…

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From “Can’t” to “Can” & the story of how she got there.

Special guest post by Gymfinity Pre-School Department Leader Danielle Flaten I would like to share a story about a wonderful little girl who inspired me. I have a 4-year-old girl in one of my Gym-Tykes classes who was born premature. She was brought into this world 8 months early. Yes, that is a 2-month-old baby! Every…

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I (still) Stand by Gymnastics

This is a difficult time for gymnastics. It’s a time that needs to happen and is overdue, but still difficult. In the last few years, gymnastics has taken a black-eye with an Olympic coach being found guilty of owning child pornography, a national team doctor being found guilty of the same, but accused of much…

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Lessons from a ghostly guide

He told the girls that they needed to understand that each one of them was their Great Great GrandMama’s dream. Those women, from so many generations ago, dreamed of a day when their kin would be able to be what they wanted to be. A world, or a time, when those future girls could live out their lives however they wished.

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Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

A few weeks ago my wife and I took a mental health weekend, and traveled to Sedona Arizona. It was beautiful and relaxing, and the energy in that city was exactly what we needed at that time. While we were gone, Wisconsin experienced it’s first snow storm of the season. We came home from the…

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The benefits of ol’ Sol

Oy, I’m tired of winter. I need a little sunshine and fresh air that doesn’t hurt to breathe in. I brought up my feeling of missing the sun with a few friends and I was surprised that 2 of them said they would rather remain inside, even during warmer weather. What?  They believed that the…

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Losing what’s in hand to reach for more

The following was shared with me by my friend Patti Komara, who owns one of the best gyms in the country. Patti not only runs a great program but she shares her wisdom with neophytes like me on topics of business, teaching, and life in general. I have learned so much by simply being her…

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Hmmm, that is interesting

File this under “Hmmm, that’s interesting” but you have to say it with one of your eyebrows raised. I was chatting with a friend the other day and we were talking about how many people could be described in certain ways in reference to the world population. Like, how many people take gymnastics, what percentage?…

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