Motionwear || Gymnastics Blog

New popular career choices for former professional gymnasts

Posted on 21. Aug, 2009 by Kathe Jones.

If you’ve ever wondered what career choices for former professional gymnasts could be, the answer is, it’s varied. Some former gymnasts who are considered too old to compete (mid to late 20s and beyond) may opt to teach gymnastics or become a gymnastics coach. Some may prefer to retire and have careers that are unrelated to gymnastics completely. Or some may choose a career that allows them to perform their acrobatic skills in a different setting like becoming acrobatic dancers in local events. For those who cannot decide, they may be a perfect candidate for Cirque du Soleil, a successful, modern day circus business company.

Today, many retired or former professional gymnasts know that working for Cirque du Soleil can be physically challenging but yet, a lucrative career choice.

Hungarian Zoltan Supola competed in three Olympics and once was a world-champion gymnast. Supola retired and landed a job at Cirque du Soleil after the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Gymnast Paul Bowler, performs in “Mystere,” one of Cirque du Soleil resident shows in Las Vegas, at age 36. He also works as a children’s gymnastics coach after not making it to the 1996 Atlanta Games with the British Olympic team.

André Simard, an Olympian gymnast from Canada who competed in the 1972 Munich Olympics is now an acrobatic research and development specialist at the modern circus company.

These former professional gymnasts are proud to be a vital part of the company’s success. They join the company with strong motivation and wish to use their skills to entertain and touch people at a more emotional level.

They are required to train rigorously every day, as they find they are not as fit as when they were competing. Some of them may have gained a few extra pounds, so the new training process is a new transition for the athletes. Some elite athletes say their trainings can be quite demanding and challenging at times. Cirque du Soleil’s trainings are particularly designed to help the athletes perform well on stage.

Cirque du Soleil is very successful in the entertainment business, as people from around the world come to enjoy their shows. This gives otherwise young performers opportunities to execute their crafts before hundreds and thousands of people every day. Because of Cirque du Soleil’s popularity, many former athletes are finding new gymnastics-related career offers that may interest them in the future.

Cirque du Soleil is known to be willing to do anything to make former Olympians who are well-suited for their acrobatic performance join their team. The company is after the best athletes in the world because they know that these athletes have strong self-discipline, determination, as well as their ability to perform at high-level performance.

Currently, there are more than 20 Olympians employed by Cirque du Soleil. The retired gymnasts can be seen performing as contortionists, trampolinists, and trapeze performers.

Photo: Mario Groleau

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Which Gymnastics Software Do You Use and Why?

Posted on 19. May, 2009 by Bob Wilson.

Kathe recently posted a blog entry on score tracking apps for the iPhone and well, it got me thinking about gymnastics software in general. Specifically, gym management software.

I looked up a few of the more prominent gymnastics software packages that were targeted specifically towards gym owners and gymnastics coaches and I found a huge range of products:

The Studio Director

The Studio Director is web-based, meaning you don’t have to run it on a specific machine and you can access your business software from anywhere. Being web-based, it’s also significantly easier to update, so instead of paying every time there’s a new version, you simply continue with your monthly fees and it automatically updates.

The monthly fee is a bonus, but also a drawback. You don’t have a huge upfront cost for multiple licenses or copies, but you’re also committing to paying that monthly fee for as long as you use the software – essentially locking yourself in. They offer no setup costs and free training and I’d recommend taking advantage of all of these features.

The web-based component also lets you create web pages with your class schedules and even on-line registration. For gym owners who struggle to keep their site updated, that’s a huge bonus.

GetPhysical Software’s GymSOFT

With more of a focus on gymnastics clubs and cheerleading gyms, GymSOFT is definitely targeted towards the gymnastics market. However, I worry that it’s simply a repackaged form of the designing company’s DanceSOFT (for dance studios), KickSOFT (for karate studios) and other studio software packages.

At $400, it has a hefty price tag, but it comes with a 30-day money back guarantee and you can download a free demo to test it out before you buy. To be honest, the software looked a little dated, but it comes packed with features – accounts and billing, registration, attendance, inventory control, ID cards and even barcode scanning. I’d be interested in hearing from someone who actually uses this software to see how it holds up in the gym.

iClassPro

I think it’s important to note that iClassPro isn’t gymnastics-specific. It’s a class management software package that covers a whole range of class types – from gymnastics to math tutorials.

Where this particular software package excels is its online payments processing, electronic payment processing (instant debit, anyone?) and portable applications for the iPhone and PDAs. And, like Studio Director, it’s 100% web-based and priced on a subscription model.

iGo Gymnastics Software

Like Studio Director, iGo can be used for both dance studios and gyms. Integrated credit card and bank draft processing, scheduling, registrations, employee timesheets and even point-of-sale transactions for leotards, water or other items are all part of this comprehensive software package.

There are two things I like about this software – first, it looks great and seems simple to use. They went with large icons and a clear layout that’s easy to understand (a nice feature for Luddites like me). Second, you can request a free trial; if you’re paying that much for a software package ($800 plus $60 per month), you should be able to take it for a test run first.

JackRabbit Class

It may not be the prettiest software out there or the sleekest, but it’s one of the most popular gymnastics management software programs for a reason. JackRabbit is powerful, fast, comprehensive and subscription-based.

Their fees start at $45 per month with no setup costs, unlimited support and the freedom to cancel and export your data to Excel at any time. And though JackRabbit isn’t specifically gymnastics software, it looks like they do a good job of providing enough options for a gymnastics program.

What’s your favorite gymnastics software?

I’d love to hear some stories from the field though, so what type of gymnastics software do you use? What types have you tried? Are there any that you would recommend or perhaps avoid? Please, share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments.

Photo: DeclanTM

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Great Resource for Schools With Gymnastics Teams or Clubs

Posted on 18. May, 2009 by Bob Wilson.

The NAIGC (National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs) is the country’s largest, student-run gymnastics organization. Because the NAIGC was founded on principles of accessibility, they accept and run competitions for collegiate gymnasts of all levels – from beginner to elite.

Another interesting aspect of the NAIGC is their Nationals’ qualifying rules. To qualify for Nationals, a gymnast needs to be affiliated with a member school, in good standing and have competed in at least 1 event over at least 2 meets during the current season. There are no score requirements.

For a lot of schools, running a varsity program simply isn’t possible, whether for financial reasons or they simply don’t have enough gymnasts to stay competitive at that level. But that doesn’t mean gymnasts at those schools should be shut out of the sport completely. That’s where the NAIGC comes in. They even allow individual students to compete.

They also offer a great piece of scoring software – NAIGC Score. Because the organization is student-run (which is great!) they get a lot of turnover and young gymnasts who are maybe running their first meet ever. With the NAIGC software, they can print score sheets, input score data and basically track score information while still staying consistent with the NAIGC style.

I’m so impressed by the NAIGC. As an organization, it just shows such initiative and dedication on the part of our college-aged gymnasts and I couldn’t be prouder. Membership in the NAIGC offers a chance to compete, at all levels, in an environment that’s open, student-run and accessible. So, please, if you’re a college-level gymnast, I urge you to check it out.

Photo: LemonJenny

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Cool iPhone App for Gymnastics Meets

Posted on 14. May, 2009 by Kathe Jones.

If you have an iPhone, you know how addictive and fun the app store can be. But there hasn’t been anything in the gymnastics world that we can use to justify playing with working on our iPhones.

Someone has finally come out with a gymnastics app that actually tracks and totals scores for both teams and individual gymnasts – Gymnastics Meet Tracker.

So, instead of spending half the meet recording and calculating scores in the back of your program, you can quickly input the scores into the app and it will do all the work for you. You can even track scores for the whole season and create bar charts to track your child’s progress.

I think the best thing about this app is that it doesn’t require Internet access to work, meaning you don’t have to depend on an external website. However, if you have data access, you can actually email your score tallies – a nice feature for absent family and friends.

It’s fairly easy to use and much simpler than inputting stats into Excel or complicated spreadsheet programs. It also works on the iPod Touch if you’re not ready to make the leap to the iPhone.

Blackberry and Android phone owners: sorry, it doesn’t look like a gymnastics app has been created yet for your phones. However, you could try MeetScore, a free Excel-based score sheet that may run on your phone if you have basic office apps installed.

photo: William Hook

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Gearing Up For Gymnastics Summer Camp?

Posted on 13. May, 2009 by Bob Wilson.

It’s May, have you registered for gymnastics summer camp yet? Even with the economy in a slowdown, spots are still filling up fast, so savvy parents should start looking sooner rather than later. You’ll also save money by booking earlier.

If you’re looking for residential gymnastics camps close to Indianapolis, you may have to extend your search over into Illinois. The University of Illinois actually runs an incredible residential gymnastics camp for both boys and girls. This year, the girl’s camp runs June 20-24th and costs $475, including food and lodging. The boy’s camp runs July 8-12 and costs $510 including food and lodging. Both camps are open to ages 8-18.

If you’re willing to travel a bit further north to the University of Michigan, they offer two gymnastics sessions every summer and are open to both boys and girls. Honestly, UM has an incredible facility and I’d be jealous of any young gymnasts that had the opportunity to train there. Their sessions run June 21-25 and June 28-July 08.

For day programs closer to home and within Indiana state, I recommend checking out the camp listings on the USA Gymnastics website. You’ll find mention of day camps run by gyms like Sportstastiks in Indianapolis, DeVeau’s in Fishers and more.

You can find additional listings for camps in the US and Canada on MySummerCamps.com and CampResource.com, both are paid listings and tend to focus on the larger gymnastics camps.

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Making Accommodations for Gymnasts on the Autism Spectrum

Posted on 08. May, 2009 by Bob Wilson.

Autism rates are rising and more gyms are seeing an influx of students on the autism spectrum, but guess what? Children on the autism spectrum make great gymnasts too. But how to welcome students on the spectrum and how to do that safely and correctly is a major question facing many gym owners. However, opening yourself and your business up to the possibility can also open a whole new world that’s incredibly rewarding.

Do I need special classes?

Some gyms offer special classes. For example, one gym offers a weekly class for students on the autism spectrum. The instructors are trained and the coach to student ratio is about 2 to 1.

You don’t have to do this. Many gyms find that most students with autism do great in regular classes. They may need a little more attention or focus, but it rarely detracts from the experiences of other students.

Do we need special training?

Ideally, special training would be available to instructors. If you can’t afford it or you’re looking for something less formal, consider contacting your local Autism Society. They often offer awareness and training workshops that are low-cost or free.

What happens if we simply can’t handle it?

In some cases, a child (whether on the autism spectrum or not) may need either the one-on-one attention of private lessons or the assistance of a personal aide within a group setting.

If you feel a student’s behavior or ability, again whether or not they’re on the autism spectrum, is a danger to themselves or other students or detracting significantly from the experience of the other students, you’re within your rights to talk to the parent about making other arrangements.

Am I legally required to make accommodations?

According to the Americans With Disabilities Act, yes, you need to accommodate people with disabilities and if a child is capable of participating in a regular class, you can’t exclude them. However, you are not required to offer special services specifically for children with disabilities.

For more information, call the Autism Society of America at 1.800.3AUTISM.

photo: Franklin Park Library

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So, How Do I Place an Order?

Posted on 30. Apr, 2009 by Bob Wilson.

Placing an order is pretty simple and there are several options you can choose from regarding just how you want to do that.

But there are rules….. Yes there are always rules and we have ‘em too. Sorry about that. The good news is, by following the “rules” you will get what you what, when you want it more easily and worry free.

Why? Because we follow our rules too.

OK, enough of that stuff. On to Ordering…

Order Placement for Gymnastics Customers

You’ll need to have either a wholesale or retail account set up with us.

Wholesale Accounts (generally gymnastic facilities) – as is the custom, you’ll need to fill out a credit application and be approved. Once again call customer service for info on that. Once set up, wholesale prices will apply.

Retail Account – To become a retail account, just send us an order and we can supply you, however we cannot extend wholesale pricing.

Both wholesale and retail accounts have the same contact options, here they are:

1. Call us. 1-800-869-0609
2. Fax Us. 1-888-869-0609
3. E-Mail Us. Orders@motionwear.com
4. Sales Rep. Contact your sales rep directly.

Many products – are available at the motionwearstore.com too… at retail prices.

That’s It!

So there is your handy-dandy guide to ordering. The hardest part is picking out what you want to order; of course we can help you with that too. And hey, if you have any questions, that’s why we are here, just call us and we’ll get you set up as quick as a wink.

I invite any questions about ordering – send me your thoughts directly and I’ll get you answers.

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What I Learned From Jack Stack

Posted on 28. Jan, 2009 by Bob Wilson.

I read a lot. Whether it’s biographies, business books or local papers, I’m always reading. And I’m always hassling my staff with article clippings or a great book. Which is why our blogs are so great – I can finally share some of my clippings with someone other than the sales staff.

So, whether you are in the dance or gymnastics “business”, here’s something that inspired me, maybe you will like it too…

This month in Inc. Magazine, Jack Stack, one of my favorite writers and motivational business speakers, had a little, 3-inch column.

Small? Yes. Still Powerful? Definitely.

In the piece, Stack talked about how his daughter has managed to grow her high-end apparel business despite the recent recession. Instead of rolling over and lamenting the downturn of the economy, Stack convinced his daughter to really utilize her sales staff to get people into the store and buying.

In October 2007, she did about $55,000 in sales. In the same month -October 2008, the store did about $81,000 despite luxury clothing being low on the list for most consumers in a recession. She almost doubled her sales by focusing on what customers want and working diligently to get existing and new customers into her store.

It’s articles like these that always keep me thinking – what dynamic steps do I need to take as a business person? How can I grow?

In my opinion, you’re either moving forward or you’re moving backward – you can only stay stationary for a small period of time, let’s all get moving and now!

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