Region 1 Congress

R103 School Age: Hands on Training
Thursday, August 22 – 4:00-9:00p.m.
Join us for an evening of fun and professional development! With an emphasis on safety, individual development, fitness and fun, instructors of recreational gymnasts will learn age-appropriate skills, drills and progressions on the vault, bars, beam, floor & trampoline Information about lesson planning, class management, warm-ups and games will be provided, along with hands-on spotting practice.
Pre-Registration Required. Click Here to Register!

Making classes FUN is the most important thing you can do to keep students enrolled, engaged and learning. It is the key to success in our industry. In this presentation, we will talk about what we can do to make our classes fun, and we will share some of our favorite games and drills that kids love.

Learn how to create and adapt stations on the fly to fit your little athletes.

This interactive workshop gives examples of 25 of the very best songs for Recreational and PreSchool gymnastics classes, Birthday Parties and Camps. The music is a combination of old favorites, newly cut popular songs, and new versions of classic children’s melodies. Many of these songs have original choreography which will be demonstrated. The audience is encouraged to participate.

How to use what you have for amazing stations!

This is an important topic for any teacher or coach who is looking for additional information on how to create an exciting and productive learning environment in which to teach. This workshop will help an individual become a better instructor by presenting techniques on effective class management and dealing with student behaviors.

The true test of an extraordinary teacher is the ability to effortlessly keep a class under control – focused, safe, and productive. The answer is to implement good teaching practices. This session will describe fifteen of the most tried and true tricks – and give examples for ways of implementing them into your curriculum.

When a child goes to the playground, you may find the same thing happens after only a short time: they wish to make the play more exciting or dangerous. This is because the playground stays the same, and with this sameness comes boredom. In order to prevent this boredom, we at BIG FUN utilize obstacles courses. The objective for the obstacle course is always novelty because novelty demands problem solving, bilateral coordination, upper and lower extremity strength and coordination, and that excitement of not knowing if their approach will work. This activates something called ‘working memory’ – otherwise known as the state of learning how to learn. Learning how to put children into this state of working memory is crucial to building upon their potential ability to learn new and increasingly difficult movements. Attendees will gain a foundational understanding of why we use obstacles courses, how to build an effective obstacle course to reach the state of working memory for their students, and when to implement obstacles courses throughout their classes or sessions.

Every gym has a number of coaches that are “replaceable”. They’re simply there for a paycheck and put little into bettering their abilities. If they were gone tomorrow, few would notice. Then they have the bulk of their coaches who are good, competent and do their job well. The backbone of most gyms Then there are the “Irreplaceables”… every gym has one. Some are lucky to have more. These are those who come in early, stay late, look to expand their knowledge to other departments, often willing to sub, qualified to sub in the often if needed. When we lose and “irreplaceable”, it leaves a huge hole in the organization. This session covers how to build more of our competent staff into those incredibly valuable “irreplaceables”.

Hello my little cheese balls, you think you know everything there is to do with a cheese? You don’t know Jack! In queso you didn’t know, a cheese can be used to sharpen your little muenster’s skills on all events, not just tumbling. Bars, beams, vault, even warm ups and conditioning! By the end of this session, you’ll be a certified “Cheeze Whiz!”

Fun activities that meet the developmental needs of babies and toddlers. Activities that keep babies engaged and parents feeling successful. It’s the little things that make a big difference in the world of baby gymnastics.

This lecture outlines how to create lesson plans for a preschool or recreational curriculum that work for every class, every level, every coach. Lessons that encourage each coach’s creativity and individuality. Examples are provided of skill sheets, theme weeks, drills, warm-up activities, and closing games. Methods for documentation are discussed and stressed.

The most waitlisted ninja classes in the country are the 3, 4, & 5 year olds! This means an opportunity for us to give parents what they want, and kids what they need! This session is for directors, owners, preschool directors, preschool coaches to learn about ninja, how it is different, how it is FUN, and how to integrate with existing preschool gymnastics classes the easy way, using what you have and who you have in your club. Learn the planning steps needed before opening a new program, including space, equipment, staff, and curriculum!

Drills for floor basics, and the WHY behind the drill.

Coaches will leave an extensive library of 5 minute games to play with their school age recreational and/or team classes. These games are fun, strength-building and encourage teamwork! Coaches will be able to receive video and written descriptions for every game presented. We will even play some of these games during the lecture!