The Stunt Gym!

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Who is buying and who is selling?

I am new to owning my own gym. Even though I have coached every aspect of gymnastics for 30 years, I never had my own gym where I was the boss. So I am in a learning curve on running a business. Furthermore, my business is a Christian gymnastics school, so I am trying to understand how to run an honest business according to the Way of Christ.

This morning I had a lesson in business that got me to thinking.   Yesterday my wife had a fender bender so this morning I brought her car to some auto shops for an estimate of repair.  The damage has no interference with the function of the car, nor is it an ugly eyesore.  So my motivation for repair is very low.  But I know it will make my wife happy to have it fixed.

The lesson I learned involved two different auto shops.  In the first shop when I walked in the door the receptionist immediately began asking me for information to set up a customer file on me.  I declined to give her my name and said that I would give her that information if I decided to use their business.  All I wanted was an estimate on repair.

Since I was polite in my conversation she was agreeable and asked me to wait for a salesman to give me the quote.   After a few minutes a sales man took a look at my car.  He gave me a ball park quote of $1200 to $1300, but a specific estimate would require  a list.    So he asked me to come back to his desk.  When I sat down, he immediately wanted my personal data to set up a file on me.   I told him the same thing I told the secretary that I would give it after I made the decision to use their business.  He then said that he could not give me an estimate without creating a file on me first.   I told him, “Then you do not want my business, and I will go elsewhere.”

Next door was another shop.  He came out and gave me a quote of $280 to replace the fender and to paint it.  I told him that I would be back in a few days and that he had a deal.  I shook his hand.  He never asked for my name nor desired information from me.

Driving home I had to ask myself, who is the boss and who is the customer?  With the first shop they viewed me as subservient to them.  They were the boss, but that is not true.   They lost my business, for I am boss.  I am hiring a service.  They are the customer.  The second shop seemed to understand this difference.  The hand shake was good enough.

So as I consider how I wish to run my business, this was a reminder to me that  each customer of mine is actually my employer.  In the photograph above I ask the question, “Who is buying and who is selling?”  The answer is both.     The store is selling goods to buy the customer’s money.  The customer is selling money to buy the goods.   Honest business is when both parties in the transactions believe that they have gotten a good deal.

So I am selling my skills and knowledge in training gymnastics to the families to buy their money.   They are selling their money to buy my skills and knowledge.  We are both customers and salespeople at the same time.

The  first auto shop that I went to did not recognize this truth.  They are functioning according to the world for self gain only.  The second shop did understand it.  He got my business.  He gave a price that is profitable for him, yet was a savings for me.  He trusted me to bring my car in on a handshake.  This is how I want to run my gym.

Strong personality overcomes technique

In a recent email correspondence I spoke with another coach who puts on gymnastics shows. She mentioned that the hit of her last show were the little girls in her dance program who had very little dance and lots of costuming. She was nervous that the parents would be upset not to see the dance that they were paying for. Instead that number was the crowd favorite.

I told her that people care about people, not technique. If the personality comes through with great technique, then you have a great success. But the gymnast who has personality over the gymnast who has technique, the audience will prefer the one with personality. Of course the sport is totally focused on technique and the athlete with great technique will win over the one with personality. So for this reason, no coach develops the personality, only the technique.

But this is a myopic point of view characteristic to our immediate gratification society.  The long term goals end at the Olympics, yet everyone knows that the winners of the Olympic games go on to professional careers in other fields fueled by their new found fame.   For example, Carly Patterson has just recorded a singing CD.  And, of course, the USAG promotes all their athletes who make it to the top in their new career directions.  But what has gymnastics done to prepare these performers in their new careers?  No one cares anymore that they did gymnastics.  What showmanship did gymnastics help develop in them? Next to none, in my opinion.

Television understands what audiences want to see.  They never just broadcast the routines.   Besides the fact that the routines are too short to fill air time, people want to know about the athletes.  The majority of a gymnastics broadcast is devoted to video biographies on the top athletes and the banter of the hosts who talk about the people and their struggle in training and competing.

On Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 the TV show, “So You Think You Can Dance?”  broadcast the audition of Allison Becker who is a hearing impaired dancer.  They gave her story before her audition, her dance and the judges reaction to a deaf dancer auditioning.  It was extremely moving, yet her technique was clearly weak.   Because her technique was weak, they sent her to choreography to see if she could take instruction and work with others.  She did, and they sent her to Las Vegas.

 Allison Becker audition on "So You Think You Can Dance": Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Another dancer, Kelsey White,  whose technique was equal to Allison’s was also sent to choreography but did not make it to Las Vegas.  There may have been reasons in her choreography that disqualified her, but I am convinced it was because she did not have the emotional appeal that Allison has.  And that is the difference between theater and gymnastics competition.  The theater knows that star quality is not found in technique.  It is found in the personality and story of the star.  With coaching by the choreographers to improve Allison’s technique, she has the potential of drawing a huge audience as everyone wants to see the underdog win.

The gymnastics industry needs to reassess how they train their athletes. The FIG who makes the rules has been extremely narrow minded in rewarding technique over artistry and personality. The club owners need to look beyond their immediate goals of building a reputation for training high level athletes. We have a moral responsibility to help children blossom into the unique people that God has gifted them to be. I am also convinced that parents will appreciate a program that has a bigger view then just athletic training, and who see clubs as co-laborers in developing their children into creative and expressive personalities.

In my gym, The Stunt Gym, my program is advertised as a “Christian Holistic Training Center”. The parents understand that my training is geared to develop strong and healthy bodies, expressive personalities and sensitivity to their spirits. It is time for the industry to accept that their responsibilities in training athletes goes beyond mere sport.

Physical development is as important as mental development

My school is a Christian Stunt Gymnastics School.  All my customers are Christians, and 99% of them are home school families.

I got this from one of the home school parents deliberating on the change of schedule that her daughter as an intermediate needs to attend 2 hours in September. She said:

We would love for [our children] to continue their gymnastics training, but we have to view it as an elective - we can’t let it dictate our more basic
study schedule.

At first I agreed with her, because I understood what she meant. However, as I meditated upon it further, then later discussed this with her husband, I saw a fundamental error in her thinking.  The education of children is to prepare them to be godly adults equipped to face whatever the Lord may have for them later. The natural thought is in the education of their minds, equipping them to be competitive in the adult world. But this is where I realized the mistake in this narrow view.

Full education of your children is in body, soul and spirit, not the mind (or soul) alone. Physical education is just as important to the education of your children as their minds. Of course, I have a self serving interest in this, so I am making the distinction of physical education and gymnastics. Gymnastics is the elective but physical education is not. Your children can be physically trained in many other sports, too, although I am convinced that gymnastics, swimming and dance are the three best activities for gross motor movement development.

It is a statistical reality that obese children continue with obesity in adulthood. Many health problems of adults today are directly related to obese, out of shape bodies. Heart disease, organ failures, joint problems as well as sleep apnea and even cancer have a direct connection to obesity. Furthermore, it is just as true that children who are athletic in their youth tend to be slim and athletic in adult hood, having more vigor in life, which directly relates to their mental capacities.

Every child has a primary learning language. Some are visual learners, others are auditory learners and some others are kinesthetic learners. The kinesthetics especially need PE activity since they are physically orientated. Kinesthetics that are allowed to engage their bodies in physical challenges study better and learn more then they would if deprived of PE activity. But even though everyone has a primary learning language, we all need to learn through each medium. So when I teach gymnastics I try to show a skill, explain a skill and physically carry them through the skill to ensure the maximum learning experience.

I am convinced that the body and the spirit are directly connected, too. What we usually think of as spiritual discernment is often the intuitive reading of body language in other people we see. It is no wonder that so many “spiritual” people are in the performing arts. Yoga combines physical exercise with meditation, and the pagan Baal worship employed temple prostitutes for “spiritual” experience of their religion. Of course, none of these examples are spiritual connections to God, but they are examples of people sensing their human spirits or demonic spirits physically. Gymnastics training develops this intuitive movement because the skills happen so quickly they can not be performed by thinking about the skills while doing the skills. They are done reflexively.

I believe that my gymnastics training is the best physical education that your money can buy, and I hope all will stay in my program. But if not, home school kids need some kind of PE program for their overall preparation into adulthood.  Training their bodies is not an elective.

Gymnast, Salsa dancer and musical theater performer, Jonathan Platero

I began watching these competitions when my wife wanted to watch “American Idol.” I was drawn into the program, not because of the musicians, but because of the judges. I understood their comments for what they were, constructive criticism intended to help each contestant become professional musicians. Especially Simon Cowell whose comments were so accurate.

Since my industry is acrobatic dance, I decided to watch “So You Think You Can Dance”, too. Both programs are produced by Simon Fuller. At first I was put off by the judges. But as I watched the program I could see their constructive criticisms, too. But more than that I was fascinated by the choreographers.

Each week the dancers have to learn routines that are outside their usual range of training. They are given professional routines to learn from the gamut of dance genre’s of Hip Hop, Contemporary, Ball Room, Jazz, Broadway, and others that I am not familiar with. They are given professional costumes and stunning lighting. So learning what the choreographers are doing I find fascinating.

Jonathan Platero

Jonathan Platero is a gymnast who went on to dance, specifically he trained in Salsa (Ball Room). He even performed in Disney’s, “High School Musical,” so he is more than just an athlete. I enjoyed much of his dancing, and found it refreshing that a male gymnast could break out of the athlete mindset.

What killed him in the competition is his nice personality. He had to dance a Gangsta Hip Hop routine and he could not get into the character. What cut him from the show was his reliance upon his tumbling instead of dance. When I watched his solo routine it was obvious that he was going home.

Ballerina Melissa Sandvig has a strong performance because of her ballet training.

Melissa Sandvig

Unlike Jonathan, Melissa is not a gymnast. Neither is she a Hip Hop dancer or any other. She is a classically trained ballerina. Despite her lack of training in the other dance disciplines, she is able to adapt to those styles. And I am convinced it is because of her ballet training. She is also more mature than Jonathan. He is 20 and she is 29.

So here is my point. Gymnastics training rarely helps gymnasts cross over into theater. There have been some who made their careers in theater, Cathy Rigby, in particular. But sports training does not bring out personalities as does theater. Jonathan leaned on his gymnastics too much and it failed him. The USAG made a big deal out of Shawn Johnson dancing on TV, too. They pushed our votes for her simply because she is a gymnast. But no one should vote on that basis.

Acrobatic Gymnastics is in danger of this same dead end as Artistic Gymnastics. In danger, but not damaged. Acro is already a theatrical medium, even though the FIG is pushing towards more sports mentality. Many acrobats easily move to the professional arena of theater.

Acrobats need the classical ballet training that has been the back bone of Melissa’s performance. Acrobats should seek other dance genre training, too, but they must have the ballet training. It is the backbone of dance, just as tumbling is the back bone of gymnastics.

The acrobatic gymnastics community needs to watch this show and others like it. With “American Idol” they emphasis to the singers that they are to make the songs their own and invest their personalities into their performance. This should be so with acro. In “So You Think You Can Dance” the choreographers talk about the story of each dance and the characters being played in the dance. A few years ago the FIG talked about the element of story in the Artistry category. Judges were confused by the concept. No wonder, for they have the sport mentality and misunderstand the theatrical element of art. This story element needs to be built up in the acro routines.

Of course, only so much can be done with children. But the older athletes who have the maturity should be displaying these elements in their routines. Let us not lose sight of the goal of acro: Cirque du Solei and all the other performing arts companies that are growing up around it. If acro slides into the sport mentality, it will die just as Jonathan was cut from the show.

Will gymnastics schools be considered day care centers?

Texas Legislation

A few weeks ago  (March 26, 2009)  I was notified by email about a bill being passed in the Texas legislature.  The notification came from a Karate instructor who tried to alert a variety of after school athletic programs who would be affected by this bill.   The information he provided was also published on the Texas USA Gymnastics websites, that also provided PDF copies of the bill along with their report.  Even the USAG national office is aware of these bills.

In a nutshell, several bills in the Texas Senate and House of Representatives are being drafted that would subject gymnastics schools, karate schools, cheerleading schools, and a host of other after school athletic team programs to day care regulations, in an attempt to redefine athletic training of 10 hours or more a week as day care facilities.   The email regarding Texas Senate Bill 68  from Texas USA Gymnastics stated:

If you have children who train 10 hours or more a week in your facility – you will be required to be child care licensed by the state of Texas. This licensing will require your facility to meet all the minimum standards set by child care licensing (most gyms will not be able to meet these requirements which will include bathroom sink/toilet ratios in compliance with child care standards, out door playground, Child Care certification of workers and director, sprinkler systems that not only meet building code but also meet child care standards and climbing structures with safety fall zones). Uneven bars would be considered a climbing structure and would not pass child care regulations. This bill passed the Senate Sub Committee unanimously yesterday.

The legislation is spread out in several bills. They are:  Senate Bill 68, House Bills, 601, 773, 188, 1123 and 1393.

Many people have contacted the legislators to protest these bills which is trying to corral  a multitude of industries – sports, religious, arts and academic – that train children under the child care umbrella.    In one letter  (30 Mar 2009)  from Senate Bill 68 author Texas Senator Jane Nelson she states:

Please be assured that I will not pass this bill unless it provides a clear exemption for gymnastics.

The Texas USA Gymnastics is continuing to post updates on the legislation.  In the April 11th update they posted two new drafts of the bills that include a long list of exemptions,  which shows that many people from other child centered industries are expressing concern, too.

Exemptions Are Red Herrings

Frankly, I am not encouraged by these exemptions.  The government always regegs on their exemptions  through technical loopholes.  When Social Security first started it was only for government employees.  When the income tax started it was only for corporate profit.  When driver’s licenses were first issued it was only for chauffeurs  and professional drivers.   When marriage licenses were first issued they were only for inter-racial marriages.  And the list goes on and on.

When the government camel sticks its nose under the tent, rest assured that the rest of the camel will be in the tent after wards.  If this bill were truly to protect children in day care centers, the language would be precise and specific regarding these facilities.   A list of exemptions is a negative assurance.

Furthermore,  it is a part of political history in the USA for agendas with national intentions to begin in a single state to set precedence, or to force federal legislation to address the issue at a later time.  This problem is currently a Texas problem that could cause expensive requirements in after school programs that could make such businesses cost prohibitive.   But other states should be on the alert for similar legislation to be introduced in the near future, too.

We should not let our guard down on this matter. This is trouble for our industries growing in the near future.

I started my gymnastics career in 1968 as an All Around in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics.  What started as a casual interest in wanting to be a super hero because The Daredevil trained in gymnastics, turned into 4 years of high school training.  I began on the very first of my high school gymnastics team.

What began as a boyish fantasy turned into a wonderful joy as I learned to fly through the air and to enjoy the rhythmic swing of my body on the high bar.  High bar was my greatest joy in high school.  I even competed in one of the first USGF meets in Oakland, CA back in 1971. But when I graduated, I had no thought of continuing in gymnastics. As far as I was concerned that was a high school activity that was now over.

Having not developed any clear purpose for my life after graduation, I accepted an offer from my brother to move to Washington State where I worked as a salmon fisherman outside Bellingham.  After three seasons we both had enough of it.  He moved back to California, and I stayed in Bellingham. I had not realized what an addiction to my body gymnastics had created, so I went to Western Washington State College (now University) and began working out again. There I met Frank Dakin, a former  NCAA floor ex champion who ran the gymnastics program for the YMCA at the college. He gave  me  my first job coaching gymnastics.   As long as I was working out, and was still young I longed to get paid performing gymnastics, not just coaching it.

When I had heard a radio advertisement for the Spherical Miracle Circus Works in Seattle, I called them up. As it turned out the group had disbanded and were regrouping as the Floating World Circus.  I told them I had my own trampoline and asked if I could join their circus.  Greg Albert, the juggler who formed the circus, said, “Come on down.” So I quit coaching and moved to Seattle.

To continue training I audited a class in gymnastics at the University of Washington by Dr. Eric Hughes.  I asked the gymnasts if they would like to perform in the circus with me.  They all declined since they did not want to jeopardize their amateur status.  Only Jay Lavadeur was willing to join me in the circus.  So we created a doubles tramp act and some low key acrobatics.  We performed for the summer of 1977 traveling around the Puget Sound, passing the hat for our living.

In 1978 Greg Thompson sent a request to the U of W gymnastics for gymnasts to perform on stage.  This was a professional show. Dr. Hughes called me into his office and told me about the opportunity.  He also recommended several retired athletes who might be interested in the act.  So we created a vaulting routine, called the “Wacky Illwaco Brothers” and performed nightly for a year.

The dream came into my heart to form an acrobatic theater company at that time.  Later I produced two stage shows in New Jersey for a school I coached at,  Surgent’s Elite School of Gymnastics, before I left for New Orleans to train as an Elite Acrobat in Mixed Pairs.

During that time Kurt Thomas had his show team.  I contacted him, and he turned me down since I was not a former champion, and did not see my vision for gymnastics theater.  He had a show that combined theater with competition that, in my view, did not work.

All throughout my performing career, I had to coach gymnastics to make my living since performing was not full time work for me.  When I finally got too old for performing, Montreal’s Cirque du Solei had built up a reputation that spawned many other companies that now there are many opportunities for gymnasts to work for a living performing gymnastics, which I struggled to do in an era when it was not “gymnastically correct” to do so.

Which brings me to the point of this post. Competition is a wonderful tool.  I have seen gymnasts who only train for shows, both in Group Gymnastics and acrobatics, and the lack of competition scoring shows in sloppier performances.  Competition hones the athlete and brings him or her to polish and refinement. So I applaud the industry for what it has accomplished. But for many clubs, competition is the end, not the means to another end.  Why should parents pay thousands of dollars to train their child in gymnastics for a decade or more, only for them to quit the sport when they go to college?  Of course, for the women, the goal of a college scholarship is still a justification for the expense.  But even that is becoming less available.

I propose to all the gymnastics clubs of the nation to think outside the box.  Most of the coaches only think in terms of competition.  They are not thinking of life after gymnastics.  Oh sure, there have always been “Masters Divisions” of competition, but these meets are for retired athletes who are out of shape and only capable of during their basics.  They are more concerned with making a living and raising their families.

But if you train your athletes as future professional performers while they are competing, you are preparing them for life after competition. Besides, Artistic Gymnastics, is supposed to demonstrate artistry.  Artistry is more than just clever trick combinations that are pretty to behold. True artistry is sharing your heart and soul in a performance.  That is one of the reasons that Olympians in gymnastics need to be 16 and up.  Children are not capable of expressing their hearts in a routine. That requires more maturity. Cathy Rigby, Olga Korbut, and Mary Lou Rettin won the love of the world because they put their heart into their routines.   No one really cares about the big tricks.  Everyone cares about the people. If a gymnast does big tricks while performing their hearts out, then you have a winner that inspires more kids to come into the gyms.  Don’t let competition be the end of training, let it be the means to a better end, where your athletes can make a living performing in their 20′s and early 30′s.  Think outside the box.

This question is on the mind of every gymnastics school in the world.  The industry is based upon the 4 year cycle of the Olympics.  When a favorable games occur with good television coverage of gymnastics, many little girls and some boys get excited and enroll into gyms all over.  That enthusiasm is sustained for about a year, maybe two.  Then the reality of how hard gymnastics sets in and many get discouraged and quit. By the third year a dip occurs and by the fourth year the bottom is touched.   But then the games occur and the cycle starts all over again.

The amount of enthusiasm an Olympiad generates for the sport is dependent upon several factors.  Was there a star?  That is an athlete who was very charismatic that kids want to emulate?  Was there drama?  A close contest, or, as in the case of Kerri Struggs, a demonstration of heroic character when she vaulted again after injurying her ankles.  Was there prime time coverage?  There are now several gymnastics disciplines being contested in the Olympics. Trampoline and Tumbling and Rhythmic Gymnastics  had joined Artistic Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics several years ago.  Yet I have not seen these events broadcast during prime time.  They have not grown (to my knowledge) significantly yet because of being in the Olympics.

So in these games let us consider the questions I have proposed.  Is there a star?  Well Nastia Liukin did win the gold medal in the AA, so that helps.  But she does not have the star quality of charisma.  Mary Lou Rettin had a huge impact on the industry because she is a bubbly delightful person, as well as a gold medalist.  Nadia Comaneci was an incredible athlete that really boosted the sport, but that was at a time when excellence was not as high, and she set a new standard.  She definitely did not have the charisma.  Shawn Johnson does have the charisma which is why I think she also got the media coverage. But she is a silver medalist and in the world of the Olympics, only the gold medalists are remembered.   So I am hopeful that Nastia will have an influence on the business, but I am not greatly encouraged.

Was there drama?  I  think there was some, but I really can not tell because of the third factor.

Was there prime time coverage?  When the first competition began they had it on prime time by tape delay.  Then I read that there was a complaint that people were getting the results off the internet and watching the videos online of the meets.   I think, and I could be wrong, that NBC made the decision to broadcast the meets live, which meant late at night.  I am getting on in years and do not stay up late, so I made the decision to get results online instead the next day.   Children, the bread and butter of the industry, are not allowed by many parents to stay up late.  So I fear that many kids did not see gymnastics, and that is what will probably hurt the industry the most.  We needed the prime time coverage.  Instead of seeing gymnastics we saw the Michael Phelps swim show, instead.

I think we will have some increase in business, but, frankly I fear it will not be enough.  We shall see as school gets underway.  Let us hope and pray for the best.