We have asked our fantastic Alison to write a blog post for you all today!


Communication. We all use it. Either verbally, digitally or visually. Yet how often do we stop to think about the words we use to communicate?

Communication by its definition is: “The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium” – English Oxford Living Dictionaries.

With the introduction of computers, the internet & mobile phones have provided us with many more opportunities to obtain and share information than there once was.

Regardless of the method we use, the way we communicate our information can positively or negatively impact our daily relations both personally or in the Gym.

With face to face communication, factors such as the way we listen, how we use our voice and body language can influence whether our communication interactions are positive or negative.

Positive communication experiences enhance our sharing of ideas and enables us to be open to others views and challenge opinions. This in turn allows the acceptance and development of ideas, as well as the introduction and or growth of new ideas, work practices and lifestyle choices.

Listening is an important part of communication! Receiving the information is just as important as sending it.

Showing that you are actively listening by asking questions, offering suggestions and being open to others opinions keeps everyone engaged in the topic. We can practice active listening by waiting for others to finish speaking and by paraphrasing what has been said. This helps to clarify what has been heard and understood.

Body language including position of arms, eye contact, facial expressions and the way we stand can impact the way we communicate. To enhance open and equal communication, we should practice being relaxed with a calm voice, an open body (arms not crossed), facing the person and maintaining eye contact.

Listening and body language are just some tools that we can practice to support positive communication to promote open discussion, respect and support.

By practicing positive communications and sharing these methods helps us to grow in our ideas and be open to change and development... both personally  or in the Gym!

Here is a Positive Language Exercise you might like to try:

-Yes, you did read that correctly. It’s also entirely accurate.

However, we don’t sit your little gymnasts down in the gym with a large text book on The Laws of Physics and ask them to “turn to page 203”.

Instead we are using Physical Sciences and Bio-mechanics to help teach your gymnast every time they do a roll, tumble, cartwheel, somersault or bar skill. Or maybe I should say, they are teaching themselves to be Physicists.

This is likely something that has never crossed your mind before, so let’s break it all down so we can understand together how and why Gymnastics is teaching your gymnasts Physics.

Let’s introduce you to some very close friends of a Gymnast: Velocity, Rotation, Momentum and Mass. These aspects of Physics are the driving forces behind everything you see in Gymnastics.

Expecting a gymnast to remember all the technical terms or being able to explain them isn’t crucial. However, without their knowing, they are learning to understand how they are applied to their actions and motion any time they do literally anything.

Every time they walk, they are learning how to adjust their Center of Mass. Whenever they run and must suddenly stop, they are making tiny corrections from their heads down to their toes that will affect their Center of Mass and Velocity.

In Gymnastics it is the same techniques but applied on a much bigger scale. As we all are aware, there are many apparatus’s and skills involved in Gymnastics and they all require a particular formula to be applied to get the desired result.

For example, when a Gymnast leaves the mat they have applied an angular momentum from their push-off. Once they have left the mat, the momentum cannot be changed. However, the Gymnast may be required to change the speed of their rotation while moving through the air.

Ok sounds simple enough, right? But how can they alter the speed of their rotation without pushing off an object? Simple. They can achieve this by changing their Centre of Mass from the axis of rotation. The Angular Momentum can be increased or decreased by compressing or expanding the distance between the Mass and the Axis of Rotation.

What I am REALLY saying is, the tighter the gymnast tucks… the faster they will rotate.
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It might all seem a bit much and daunting, but that's ok! Our bodies are wonderful machines that can learn, adapt and apply these physics almost instantaneously.
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Here is an informative video by Stephanie McGregor who is a Bio-engineering Major as well as a College Gymnast.

​It is a fun video to watch, that will help to explain things a little further while demonstrating some very impressive Gymnastics Skills:

Hi everyone,
I am Coach Kelesa and this is my story about moving to Australia, and how I became a Coach at FCGC.

I first arrived in Australia in March 2018 for a 3 week holiday, traveling from the other side of the world from my home town of Sligo in Ireland. I immediately fell in love with everything about Melbourne and I knew I had to make living there a possibility.

When I arrived home after my trip I investigated the visa process to move to Melbourne and it all happened very fast from there. After interviewing with FCGC via Skype, we got the ball rolling and worked quickly through the visa process. Within only 3 months I was back in Melbourne!

I have been involved personally in gymnastics from the young age of 5, having competed both at national and an international level. After finishing as an athlete, I went on to coach and have now been coaching for 19 years.

Gymnastics has been a huge part of my life and to be here in Australia working in a job that I love so much is a dream come true.

I come from an Acrobatics and Tumbling background. This meant moving to FCGC would give me the opportunity to expand my gymnastics knowledge and learn about Artistic gymnastics, which I had never been able to do before. Having always wanted to learn this discipline, I was so happy when I was offered training when I got to FCGC. I've really enjoyed it so far and can't wait to get more knowledge in that area.

I've been made to feel so welcome since arriving here in July. All the staff are so helpful and really chatty, happy people to work with. It's made my move here so much easier. Australia has been the dream come true for me in every way and I'm working in my dream job, surrounded by positive happy people. I couldn’t want anything more. I have met some amazing people while I have been here at FCGC, and all though the weather may not have been that great in winter... it's been lovely to see the blue skies every day!

I know I will miss my family and friends. With them being so far away, it's not that easy to jump on a plane and fly home for the weekend! However, Australia has captured my heart when I first came here for a holiday and right now I've got to follow it. I'm excited to see what the future has in store for me on this amazing adventure.

At the end of October I will be returning to Ireland for a quick trip, but won’t worry! I will be back in Melbourne before the end of the year and I am so excited to see all of FCGCs gymnasts perform at the End of Year Display.

- Coach Kelesa
FCGC COACH

It’s getting close to the start of Term 4. How fast has everything seemed to of gone this year? Sometimes it’s overwhelming how fast time seems to pass. Especially towards the end of the year. We suddenly find we have all these birthday parties, family events, holiday parties, end of year celebrations and more we would like to attend!

As we approach our return to Gymnastics and to school, let’s take a breathe and prepare ourselves for the return to consistency and routines in our day to day life.

Routines are important to children and their development, as it allows for predictability in their lives. In turn this helps them to feel secure, safe and significantly less anxious. Routines either daily, or weekly will also aid in the development of independent gymnasts, self confidence and assist in a smooth transition between activities.

Re-establishing a routine doesn’t have to be sudden, or intrusive. In fact a slow progressive approach is more likely to be successful and sustainable. It’s also recommended to start introducing elements of a routine back into the household 1-2 weeks before reintroduction to Gymnastics or school.

Here’s some helpful ideas you might like to use in your routines:

• Bedtime and Wake Up time - We all know sleep is important, but sometimes we neglect an extra hour of sleep here or there for one reason or another. Especially with a more relaxed mood of the holidays. However in our Gymnasts, sleep is ever so important. When they are sleeping their bodies can heal sore/tired muscles, re-energise and grow. Adequate amounts of sleep also contribute significantly to emotion regulation, concentration, problem solving, communication, creativity and motor coordination. The Australian Centre for Education in Sleep recommends 10–12 hours of sleep for Primary Aged children and 8-10 hours of sleep for High School Students. Engage in an open conversation with your Gymnast about sleep expectations, bed time arrangements and work towards a happy and refreshed household.

Remember, slow introduction of a routine will be the most successful. Try slowly reducing the "staying up" bed time by 10-20 minutes a night until you have reached your desired and agreed upon bedtime.

• Routine Charts - Visual aids are also another clever and creative way you can re-introduce elements of a routine. As well as a personal way you can assign responsibility and independence in your Gymnast. For example, if you have agreed to assign your gymnasts the responsibility of packing their gymnastics bag the night before class... you may have a chart they can tick once they have packed all the required items. Leotards, water bottle, hair ties, leggings,
etc.

• After School Routine - Maintaining a consistent after school routine can be greatly beneficial, no matter what your routine may consist of. Keep in mind your gymnasts needs, take the time to organise a personal routine for your household. If you have a gymnastics class every Wednesday evening for example, you might decide to incorporate a snack time, a rest time, a minimal
electronic time, travel time, and an allocated waiting time at the Gym so everybody is prepared, relaxed and set up for success. Aim to give yourself and your gymnast time to recuperate. When you are feeling rushed, chances are your gymnast will be feeling it too!

• Time Telling - We live in a very digital and modern age, which can be full of fantastic learning tools and opportunities. However, we can still use things like analogue clocks to aid in self-management, time awareness, maths and fractions. Allocate times for each task, play time, and departure time. Display them as paper cut outs or as a real clock where it will be visible. Ask your child/gymnast questions, or inform them of a specific time that an event needs to occur. Watch over time to see improvements of self management, as they will be able to predict their routines and complete all tasks according to expectations.
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These are just some ideas you might like to try, and there are many more ideas out there to be discovered as well! Get involved with your gymnasts, and work together to establish a reasonable routine for everyone in the household.

What do you think of these ideas? Do you have any techniques you believe to have assisted your Gymnast? Let us know in the comments.
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Signing off for now,
Coach Maygan