Debunking reasons kids in day cares don’t get exercise

We know that there is an epidemic of inactivity in America when it comes to children. That didn’t start as recently as when electronics began occupying children’s time. In fact it has been a trend for many years and is leading up to the perfect storm of increased obesity, increased sickness and lowering academic skill. Now we…

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The future of our health…..maybe

Lets look to the future. I’m not talking SciFi flying car and perosnal jet packs: I’m talking in 8 years. That’s 2 more Olympics, 2 more Presidentail Elections, when my kids will be 12 and 16. Not too far away. Here is what is projected. Based on a study (National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys…

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Mr. Williams vs. that other guy

Scene: Carleton Elementary school, Milwaukee,  Mr. Williams’ gym class:. We did stuff that I hated, we had to dance to Frankie Valli’s “You’re just to good to be true”. Oh I hated that. But at other times we did things I liked; basketball, football, racket skills, games, and as you could imagine, I loved tumbling and gymnastics.…

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If not for them, then for who?

We are all concerned about the child obesity problem in the “civilized” world but  like car accidents, we all believe that it will never happen to us. Maybe you look at your kids and think that their OK or that there is no way that they could be considered “fat.” Great, good for you. But…

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Gymfinity competes St. Jude Benefit

In 1991 a small team in Peoria started the St. Jude. Benefit to donate in the name of a team mate who lost his battle with cancer. The first meet had about 100 gymnasts and they donated all of the proceeds which totaled about $2400. As of 2010 The St. Jude Benefit meets have raised…

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Inspiration is a two way street

Every team athlete, OK every person, occasionally needs a course correction. Sometimes the path of travel gets veered from because we lose sight of greater goals or our potential desired outcomes. That is why things happen that we don’t want to happen. A t times, training gets tedious. Working the same skills over and over, practicing routines…

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How did we get in this mess?

One criticism I have heard of my posts is my assumption that all children are fat.  That is not true. I have the privilege to work with many healthy kids from new walkers to advanced and high level athletes. I don’t assume that all kids are fat and out of shape, but the average child…

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Sometimes “weird” is OK

When I was a competitive gymnast I had several deficits that I had to deal with. I was too tall, too weak, and too poor to afford training time. When I trained, I often did it at various open gyms or in the high school recreation program (that eventually I came to run). I trained…

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Ah…I was right.

Sometimes the view from the soapbox is a good view.  Recently I was chastised by fellow coaches and club owners because I have a section on my website (down on the bottom of the page)that corresponds with a blog post made here awhile back. I stated that trampoline is dangerous. Some saw it as a statement that countered getting kids to…

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How much is that Twix?

What does it cost us to be a society that choose unwisely for health options? How much does it really cost us to have a candy bar, say, a Twix? It’s gone up to $1 for a candy bar now (outrageous to chocolate junkies). Do we really know the costs? We do, in fact California…

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