Los Angeles School of Gymnastics Blog

Healthy Competition

e_palacio@outlook.com (Eli Palacio) — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 21:30:59 GMT

Coach Yefim Furman at the Olympic Park in Rio Brazil

Gymnastics is a sport of physical excellence, where complete control over your mind and motor skills is of the utmost importance. We teach that here, through a series of championship quality coaches and Olympic quality training regimens. We operate on the principle that anyone can be a gold-studded gymnasts, and that even if they're not they will still have the time of their lives practicing and reaping the benefits of the sport. These attitudes have helped us produce incredible athletes, attract amazing talent, and be voted one of the best in the west.

This Week at LASG

Press Release: Head Coach Yefim Furman in Rio, Brazil
A recent press release was written about our Head Coach Yefim Furman, who has been consultiong for NBC at the Rio 2016 Olympics and reporting to us from the ground floor:
Click here to read more about our Olympic Fever

Mommy Poppins 'Best of LA' Competition
The 2016 Mommy Poppins 'Best of LA' competition is coming to a close soon (this Saturday) and the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics is a FINALIST for the 'Best Sports Program or Class' category. Mommy Poppins is offering a chance to win one of four free prizes, two of which are PAID FAMILY VACATIONS, for anyone who votes.
It takes only seconds!
Click here to fill out a vote for our school and be entered for a chance to win

Feeling the Rhythm

Our Olympians in Training
This last month 30 children in the country were chosen, after testing in the New York Olympic Center, to train with our team of world-class Olympic gymnasts.

Not just one, but two of our students were chosen.

Once there they were able to practice more advanced rhythmic gymnastics techniques, watch the Olympics in person, and meet some of the best athletes competing for our nation. Truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Led by Diana M., a coach here at the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics, the girls compete on our schools rhythmic gymnastics team. Diana herself ranked into the top 12 in the nation when she was competing, which is why training future champions is her expertise. She has 16 years of a serious gymnastics career under her belt, and so she easily produced two rhythmic gymnastic prodigies that were able to train alongside the best professionals in the nation.

Upcoming Olympic Events
The only events left for Olympic gymnastics are rhythmic gymnastics taking place this weekend, August 19th through August 21st. Gymnasts will compete in the Individual and Group All-Around events through the weekend, displaying a smoothness of movement that is more graceful than a soft wave in a pond. Make sure you don't miss this athletic competition, starting this Friday, but if you do we will be reporting on it regularly.

Olympic Sized Review

Not Everything that Glitters is Gold
These Olympians have trained their entire life to reach the level of skill that has won them 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the world. From around the age that they start school in the U.S., these men and women representing our country have trained with dedication and heart to master the skills of their trade. Their commitment demands a special level of respect, regardless of how close they came to being the top athlete in the world. They are all still Olympians.

Recap of Events This Week
This last Sunday August 14th the Women's Uneven Bars were fought out, narrowly putting Aliya Mustafini from Russia above Madison Kocian who took 2nd for Team USA. The Men's Pommel Horse shortly followed with two champions from Great Britain placing in the top two seats, and Alexander Naddour from the U.S. coming in 3rd. The Women's Vault came up next giving Simone Biles another gold medal to add to her trophy case, which must be getting full at this point.

This last Monday, August 15th, brought the U.S. 2 medals from women's gymnastics. In the beam Laurie Hernandez fell .133 points short of 1st place, but will be coming home with a silver medal, and Simone Biles came in behind her for a 3rd place finish.

Tuesday August 16th was a day full of success, as Team USA brought home 4 medals from gymnastics. Danell Leyva was our biggest competitor that day, taking 2nd in the Mens Horizontal Bar and 2nd in the Men's Parallel Bar. In the Women's Floor Exercise, Simone Biles took a strong 1st and Aly Raisman brought us the silver, bringing us to 12 medals in gymnastics.

The Commitment Makes the Champion

The Gymnast Who Made History
Pictured above is Simone Biles, an Olympic Gymnast who's won 5 medals, tying the record for most medals won by a gymnast at a single Olympics. How did she get to the point of borderline record breaking? By battling her way through local, state, and national championships. Biles ranks as the most decorated American gymnast, beating a 20 year old record, and practice is how she managed it. That and a drive to compete. She sacrificed a college scholarship to compete professionally in gymnastics, all with the goal of competing in the biggest international competition there is. You would think she must have been born tumbling, but surprisingly Ms. Biles has only worked with a trainer since the age of 8. A student who enters our facility earlier than that has the potential to become a future record holder, look out Simone.

Creating Champions Here at Home
While not every young child can become a world-class gymnast, the benefits of competing are still plain to see. A child who practices gymnastics learns strength, balance, flexibility, social skills, mental function and disease prevention for conditions such as cancer, asthma, diabetes, and obesity. With the rate of obesity in highschool students being put at 14% (a figure from 2015), it shows how critical it is to fight preventable diseases. The best way to do it is through exercise.

Competing is also healthy for developing students. Competing in a sport has been shown to raise self-esteem, reduce dangerous behaviour, and teach children an understanding of healthy competition. As competition is a big part of life as your children enter highschool, then into adulthood, it is so beneficial to learn how to compete in a productive way.

There are plenty of local competitions coming in the following year, keep an eye on our blog and social media pages to keep up with the latest on everything gymnastics!

A Few Reminders

Don't forget to support our facility and help us bring an Olympian out of your community. Vote for us at mommypoppins.com/voteandwin and you could win free prizes, as well as letting everyone in town know that we're as good as our credentials show.

Support our students, our coaches, and the nations greatest athletes by watching the Olympics with your little athletes this last weekend of events. Specifically tune in to the rhythmic gymnastics coming up this weekend. Even if you don't believe your child will make it to the Olympics, don't they deserve all of the benefits gained from taking part in our Olympic-quality training?

Of course they do. To sign your child up for a class at the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics, contact us at:
(310) 204-1980
Or info@lagymnastics.com
Get your little athlete started with our classes, we're only 2 weeks into this seasons classes!

Olympic Games 2016: Then, Now, Future

e_palacio@outlook.com (Eli Palacio) — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 01:51:47 GMT

Above, one of our Olympic Gymnasts, Simone Biles, was photographed by our eyes on the ground. Our own coach Yefim Furman has been reporting to us from the 2016 Rio Olympics. Coach Yefim is following all Olympic Gymnastics activities, taking a break from training future Olympians to consult for NBC. Below we will include a detailed, easy to read Olympic Gymnastics schedule for the events ahead and give you details on how you can support bringing the OLYMPICS IN LOS ANGELES for 2024.

So far the USA gymnastics teams have accumulated 3 olympic medals, 2 gold and 1 silver, all coming from the womens gymnastic members. In the individual all-around event, Simone Biles has come out with a gold and Aly Raisman with the silver. On top of that is the gold medal won by the womens team all-around event. There are plenty of opportunities in the coming weeks for us to raise that count even higher, don't forget to remember and support your team for all of their accomplishments.

Coach Yefim Furman enjoying his view of the Arena Olimpica do Rio before the action

Boots On The Ground

Coach Yefim Furman
Coach Yefim Furman is one of our numerous Olympic grade trainers, having coached countless USA Olympic athletes to medals (Tim Dagget, Chris Walker, Scott Keswick, Chaney Umprey and Steve McCain to name a few). He is so well known, so loved, and created so many of the greatest athletes in gymnastics he's been affectionately nicknamed "The Godfather" by many. His experience and knowledge have helped numerous teams bring home top prizes from prestigious competitions nationwide. This winning record has earned him the right to consult at thousands of gymnastics centers all over the world on training techniques and program management.

An Olympic champion himself, "The Godfather" fought for his title in the 1972 games in Munich, coming home with a solid silver reminder of his skill, earned places in both the 1984 and 1992 Olympic Games, and helped guide the 2012 gold medal winning women's Olympic team. Our coach is known internationally for being one of the best in the business.

Before joining the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics in 1998, Coach Yefim served with the UCLA gymnastics department. He continues to share his knowledge and passion for the sport in every class he teaches, the School and all of it's students are incredibly lucky to have his seasoned hand.

Future Olympic Events

Many Olympic gymnastics events are still to come, below is a full list of events that you can still tune in to see, along with some posted times. You can live stream them online here thanks to NBC.

Aug. 12
Men's Trampoline Qualifier
Men's Trampoline Final

Aug. 13
Women's Trampoline Qualifier
Women's Trampoline Final

Aug. 14
10:00 AM Men's Floor Exercises
10:47 AM Women's Vault
11:34 AM Men's Pommel Horse
12:21 PM Women's Uneven Bars

Aug. 15
10:00 AM Men's Rings
10:54 AM Men's Vault
11:46 AM Women's Beam

Aug. 16
10:00 AM Men's Parallel Bars
10:47 AM Women's Floor Exercises
11:34 AM Men's Horizontal Bar

Aug. 19
Rhythmic Individual All-Around Qualifier

Aug. 20
Rhythmic Individual All-Around Final
Rhythmic Group All-Around Qualifier

Aug. 21
Rhythmic Group All-Around Final

The Olympics Might Be Coming To A Town Near You

In a short 8 years, the 2024 Olympics will be held and the city where it will be hosted in still isn't decided. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will be choosing the city in September of 2017, and Los Angeles has thrown it's hat in the ring. The IOC will choose the city based on who they believe will have the best vision and concept of the games, will have the funding that will be required, and who can create an experience that's unique. Thanks to Los Angeles being an international mix of people, an unparallelled mix of artistic culture, having a thriving economy, having a passion for sports and healthy lifestyles, and our friends in Silicon Valley, there's a good chance that in 8 years you will be able to bring your children to the Olympics. If traffic doesn't get worse that is.

The Vision

Los Angeles 2024 supporters are everywhere, and what they want to do is revolutionary. The plan is to make the 2024 Los Angeles Olympics the first energy-positive, solar-powered Olympic games in history. Entrepeneurs are already building massive music venues, nightlife, and museums to entertain all the visitors the games will bring. With all of this money from some of the richest people in the nation being funneled into the city, Los Angeles might just have the best chance to woo the IOC.

What Does This Mean For Me?

This means that in 8 years, under the mentorship of the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics' Olympic grade coaches, your child has the opportunity to compete in the Olympic games right in their backyard. More than that, the Los Angeles economy would boom, solar technology will expand, and the legacy left behind will be remembered for decades.

Follow the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics by just clicking on the icons below to start supporting your local gymnastics programs, and to learn how to help the 2024 Olympic Bid:

The average Olympic gymnast starts training more complex skills at age 5, if your child has been practicing there's a chance they will be in an upcoming Olympics. But it's never too late.
To start your childs career in gymnastics, click here to contact us and easily sign up for a class.
Or Call Us at (310) 204-1980

Fall Classes just started, and it's not too late to sign up!

2016 LA CUP Invitational Scores

cesar@lagymnastics.com (Cesar Borgen) — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 16:00:00 GMT

These are the scores for the LA Cup Rythmic Gymnastics Invitational 2/26/2016 to 2/28/2016

The L.A.S.G. ladies who ranked in the top 5 of the LA Cup Rythmic Invitiational 2016!!!

Rythmic gymnastics Award Summary

4 Child C

Place	Floor	Rope	Hoop	All Around
2nd			(tie) Rummier, Pia 7.10
3rd	(tie) Mora, Madeleine 7.90	Mora, Madeleine 6.90
4th			(tie) Mora, Madeleine 7.00 (tie) Song, Isabel 7.00	Mora, Madeleine 21.80
5th	Song, Isabel 7.40

5 Child C

Place	Floor	Hoop	Ball	Clubs	All Around
1st			Kim, Fiona 10.20
2nd		O'Herron, Sophia 9.90		O'Herron, Sophia 9.85	O'Herron, Sophia 38.60
3rd	Kim, Fiona 9.10		O'Herron, Sophia 10.00	Kim,Fiona 9.70	Kim, Fiona 38.40
4th	O'Herron, Sophia 8.85	Kim, Fiona 9.40
5th

6 Child C '05

Place	Floor	Rope	Ball	Ribbon	All Around
1st
2nd
3rd	Alexander, Mealnie 9.40
4th		Alexander, Melanie 9.00
5th				(Tie) Alexander, Melanie 8.70	Alexander, Melanie 33.20

6 Child C '06

Place	Floor	Rope	Ball	Ribbon	All Around
1st
2nd
3rd	Conover, Kelahni 9.10		(Tie) Conover, Kelahni 8.00
4th
5th		Conover, Kelahni 6.70		(Tie) Conover, Kelahni 7.50	Conover, Kelahni 31.30

9 Senior Grand Champions

Place	Floor	Rope	Ball	Ribbon	All Around
1st	Connor, Isabelle 12.750	Connor, Isabelle 14.150	Connor, Isabelle 13.550	Connor, Isabelle 12.100	Connor, Isabelle 52.5500
2nd
3rd				Jahr, Rachel 10.150
4th
5th

*For clarity on the ladies with a "(tie)", they may have tied with another from LASG or another lady who isn't of the school.

It was super exciting to see the results and we are extremely proud of all of our students who attended this Championship. In LASG, they are all Champions who are brave to attend and continue to do what they love to do! It's the spirit our students have that we adore and look forward for it to take them where they want to be. Stay tuned for the upcoming scores, it is insane amount of results as boys are to be posted and we have State Championships upcoming! Feel free to share any pictures or clips of the championship performances! Also have a great day

So much is happening and such little time!

cesar@lagymnastics.com (Cesar Borgen) — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 20:00:00 GMT

It's a new year and it is insane to be aware of being on our 3rd month in. The time is flying as the saying goes, the children are growing past our height (at least mine, sad times) and before we know it, I will be writing the same blog about "time flying" again next year. To get to the point, we have many events coming and the session will come to an end 6 weeks after this one. Here is a list of SOME the upcoming events.

State Championship Girls and Boys, March 12th-13th
Spring Camp is on March 21st- April 8th
Academy Meet & Expo April 17th
Session 2 ends on April 17th
Session 3 starts April 18th
Open House is on May 22nd
Summer Camp is on June 6th- August 29th

A ton of fun that can't be missed out, everyone who has attended to any, loves it. Best to sign up now then later. Below are more information to the upcoming Camps.

Still awaiting for results for previous competitions, as our main priorities are the students to have the best experience learning as much as they can. Till next time, have a great day!

Overall benefits of Gymnastics

cesar@lagymnastics.com (Cesar Borgen) — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 02:00:00 GMT

Gymnastics is a great sport to attend for anyone and everyone.

This modern day and age.

The world is advancing remarkably fast, perhaps too fast for us to pay attention to the consequences of it's pace or it's power of distraction. Not too long ago, we used landlines to make calls only to family and friends. Now we have mobile touch screen phones, well known as smart phones, that provide us a mass amount of knowledge and phone calls aren't used as often as text messages. It may be distracting as the internet is filled with a substantial amount of entertainment and we can not forget that we in America still have the issue that still rises, which is obesity in the youth.

The age of gymnastics is unknown, could be as old as thousands of years as a sport or practice from Greece but don't take it as fact instead an educational guess. Long enough to know that it is well reputable sport in the Olympics and an impressive sport at that. Challenging the body to be able to push it's limits in strength and flexibility. However that is not to neglect the mind as well, as it takes a good amount of focus and dedication to execute actions fluently and accurately. The longer anyone does the practice, they learn a discipline that can be applied to anything and especially school! Learning to feel great about one self's success and support their peers in class, learning social skills and a strong healthy foundation in their life. You can follow this link to read the basics of the foundation one obtains from gymnastics. http://www.champaigngym.com/benefits-gymnastics

Like any sport, training and well just plain going out for a walk is great for anyone. Gymnastics is different to some sports as upper, core and lower body are constantly engaged. Balance is improved and as the writer of this blog, being able to walk on your hands is impressive alone. Overall it's a great counter to obesity and every student who attends Los Angeles School of Gymnastics always has fun. In addition, the skills gained from gymnastics can be used in any other sport. This article goes well in depth to some sports, in addition to what skills are learned from constant habit of learning gymnastics. https://usagym.org/pages/home/publications/technique/1999/3/whygymnastics.pdf

You have gotten just the gist of the benefits of Gymnastics and in the upcoming blog, there will be more information that goes in depth as to why everyone should do gymnastics. Thank you for reading LASG Blog, feel free to ask any questions or share your positive experience with gymnastics!

This Weekend We have A Couple of Competitions

cesar@lagymnastics.com (Cesar Borgen) — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 16:00:00 GMT

This weekend we have two competitions and LASG is excited to hear soon about their great performances. We will be having the Girls LA Cup Invitational Competition and Boys LA Lights Conference Championship. These competitions are for Qualifications for State Competition which leads to Regionals and then lastly Nationals. We are rooting and without a doubt highly confident that our students will be going the distance!

Luckly, was able to have a quick second interview of one of the many students attending this weekend's competition, as all are completely focused to be the best. Caught him taking a minute break,

From the picture below we have Mason Stokdyk lvl8,

,who got 3rd on the P-Bar (Parallel Bar) from the previous competition known as the Azarian cup.

Confidently Mason is "Excited and Ready!" for this weekend as you can see with his striking pose in the picture above. He has an uplifting spirit and remarkable amount of energy, it was difficult for him to stay seated. He was anxious to go back to practice to hone his skills to perfection, and glad to have him for the second to show what kind of confidence our students have for the upcoming competitions to qualify for state and we have no doubt they have the potential to do so.

Below are some of the competing boys of L.A.S.G.

Followed by the girls who are adamant and focused, where when they fell, they had a strong front that showed their mentality was not phased each time they fell (which was rare) and got up and tried again until they feel closer to perfection.

We can't wait to hear about their results!! Thank you for reading and have a great day!

!Salute to LAX All-Star Team!

cesar@lagymnastics.com (Cesar Borgen) — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 20:00:00 GMT

!Cheer4UAthletics recent pic before heading out to the NCA All-Star Nationals!

Instagram post @Cheer4UAthletics

This team have been working hard to perfect their routines and it is certain the crowd will be astonished by what the LAX All-Stars have up their sleeves.

Here is the schedule tow hen they perform:

NCA All-Star National Championship
February 19 - 21, 2016
Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center
Dallas, TX
Friday/Saturday: L1 – L4 Tiny, Mini and Youth divisions
Saturday/Sunday: All other divisions

http://nca.varsity.com/Competitions/All-Star-Nationals

!!!Await the Livefeed here!!!

http://www.varsity.tv/event/252992-nca-all-star-nationals

SO SHOW SOME SUPPORT FOR THE LAX ALL-STARS!!!

As this will be quite an event to witness. Where, just not too long ago, they were here at Los Angeles School of Gymnastics practicing countlessly to now heading to compete for Nationals in Dallas Texas to show every opponent what we, from L.A., are all about!! Winners that overcome obstacles that get in our way! Keep in touch to their performance and update in this blog!.

Update from LA Lights Performance!

cesar@lagymnastics.com (Cesar Borgen) — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 16:00:00 GMT

Martha Valkov Entry Number 505, RG Level 5, performing at the Rythmic Gymnastics - LA Lights 2016!

Martha Valkov performance went exceptionally well that she had recieved her own blog post! Here are some evidence to prove it

Martha Valkov's Hoop Performance

Club Performance

Ball Performance

Keep in touch as we are awaiting score results to be posted! In addition, expect more students with great skills to show up. One more note, UPCOMING EVENTS WILL BE POSTED SUCH AS THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP AND REGIONALS!!!!

Thank you!

julian@lagymnastics.com (Julian) — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 01:41:08 GMT

LASG would like to say "Thank You!" to all the families who participated in our Sunday Family Funday! Everyone in attendace had the opportunity to watch the UCLA women's team upset Alabama in the season opener this past Sunday, January 10, 2016.

We've attached the Daily Bruin news story for your reading!

http://dailybruin.com/2016/01/11/ucla-womens-gymnastics-upsets-no-3-alabama-in-season-opener/

Stay in touch for our future Family Fundays! Once again, thank you to all who participated and for those who didn't.... we'll see you next time!

#LASG #Gymnastics

LASG Family funday Jan.10th at UCLA!

julian@lagymnastics.com (Julian) — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 15:30:00 GMT

LASG is hosting a family funday! We invite our members to join us as we attend PAC-12 UCLA vs. Alabama NCAA home game Sunday January 10, 2016 at 2pm!

Make sure you pick up your blue or black LASG t-shirt on or before Saturday January 9, 2016. Each member will have a limit of 4 guest that can attend with them.

THE DAY OF:

Proceed to the Pualey Pavilion adjacent to the John Wooden statue on the UCLA campus. You will see the LASG group with blue and black t-shirts. Please meet around statue around 1:30pm.

**Everything is included with trip with exception of parking**

See you then!

#LASG #Gymnastics