Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams
by Jennifer Sey
from William Morrow
The true story of the 1986 U.S. National Gymnastics champion whose lifelong dream was to compete in the Olympics, until anorexia, injuries, and coaching abuses nearly destroyed her
Fanciful dreams of gold medals and Nadia Comaneci led Jennifer Sey to become a gymnast at the age of six. She was a natural at the sport, and her early success propelled her family to sacrifice everything to help her become, by age eleven, one of America's elite, competing at prestigious events worldwide alongside such future gymnastics' luminaries as Mary Lou Retton.
But as she set her sights higher and higher—the senior national team, the World Championships, the 1988 Olympics—Sey began to change, putting her needs, her health, and her well-being aside in the name of winning. And the adults in her life refused to notice her downward spiral.
In Chalked Up Sey reveals the tarnish behind her gold medals. A powerful portrait of intensity and drive, eating disorders and stage parents, abusive coaches and manipulative businessmen, denial and the seduction of success, it is the story of a young girl whose dreams would become eclipsed by the adults around her. As she recounts her experiences, Sey sheds light on the destructiveness of our winning-is-everything culture where underage and underweight girls are celebrated and on the need for balance in children's lives.
Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters
by Joan Ryan
from Grand Central Publishing
Letters to a Young Gymnast (Art of Mentoring)
by Nadia Comaneci
from Basic Books
Cheer!: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders
by Kate Torgovnick
from Touchstone
Think cheerleading is just pom-poms, "gimme an 'R,'" and pleated skirts? Not anymore. Take an exhilarating trip through the rough-and-tumble world of competitive college cheerleading....
College cheerleaders are extreme athletes who fly thirty feet in the air, build pyramids in which a single slip can send ten people crashing to the ground, and compete in National Championships that are won by hundredths of a point. Cheer! is a year-long odyssey into their universe, following three squads from tryouts to Nationals.
Meet the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack cheerleaders from Nacogdoches, Texas, whoseem destined to win their fifth National Championship in a row -- until they are shaken by the departure of their longtime coach. Fall in love with the Southern University Jaguars from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, an African-American team hoping to raise the $17,000 needed to travel to Nationals and transform their near win several years ago into a Cinderella victory. Root for the University of Memphis All-Girl cheerleaders from Tennessee -- a team that continually struggles for the same respect Coed teams get -- when their quest for a national title is threatened by injuries and dropouts.
Along the way, meet unforgettable characters like Sierra, a cheerleading prodigy who has never lost a competition; Doug, who is in his eighth year as a college cheerleader; and Casi, one of the few female bases who can lift anothercheerleader on her own. These are people who risk horrifying injuries on a daily basis, battle demons like eating disorders and steroid use, and form intense bonds.
In the immersive tradition of Friday Night Lights, Cheer! is a captivating, all-access journey into a deeply absorbing world.
Teaching Fundamental Gymnastics Skills
by Debby Mitchell
from Human Kinetics Publishers
Teaching Fundamental Gymnastics Skills is a hands-on guide that provides you with a strong foundation in exploratory gymnastic skills as well as formal gymnastic skills and helps you bridge the gap between the two approaches. A unique feature of Teaching FUNdamental Gymnastics Skills is the use of specific verbal cues for different learning styles. This well-organized book also covers skill progressions and lead-ups for floor, beam, springboard/vault, and bars. Each skill includes practical information you can use for individual or small-group work at stations: a complete description, common errors, spotting information and checklists.
The Magnificent Seven: The Authorized Story of American Gold
by N.H. Kleinbaum
from Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Gymnastics (Sport Psychology Library)
by Karen D. Cogan
from Fitness Information Technology, Incorporated
A must-read for every gymnast coach parent or fan this book offers solutions to the mental and physical challenges gymnasts face in training in competing and in integrating the sport into their lifestyles. Included are tips from champions strategies for approaching the apparatus and exercises for self-assessment.
A Gymnastic Riding System Using Mind, Body, and Spirit: Progressive Training for Rider and Horse
by Betsy Steiner
from Trafalgar Square Books
Developing A Successful Cheerleading Program (Developing a Successful Program)
by Pam Headridge
from Coaches Choice Books
A comprehensive yet highly readable reference for rookie cheer squad coaches and seasoned veterans alike. Covers virtually every aspect of developing and running a successful cheerleading program, including: Planning the season, tryouts, teamwork and motivation, practice planning, skills and drills, stunting and safety, school spirit, game day considerations, competition, season-ending responsibilities, and off-season training. Also includes chapters on fundraising and working with parents. Contains dozens of straightforward checklists, charts, and photographs to make using the information and implementing the ideas easy—no matter what level of experience the coach is.
Gymnastics Fun & Games
by Patty Hacker
from Human Kinetics Publishers
Gymnastics Fun and Games features ready-to-use games and activities to help elementary and middle school physical educators introduce noncompetitive gymnastics into the curriculum safely and effectively. This well-organized reference includes nearly 50 illustrations to guide physical educators in accurately recreating the activity with their students. It also features safety guidelines from the USA Gymnastics Safety Handbook. Special features include: - 13 warm-up and stretching games and activities that are also useful as cool-down exercises, - 29 skill-development activities that focus on jumping and landing, balances and poses, body awareness, and movement, - 9 conditioning and endurance activities for children in upper grades that improve strength, balance, and flexibility, - A handy Game Finder for quick reference to games and activities by name, number, location in the book, activity type, skill development, or suggested grade level and complexity,
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