Jaime's new toy

Jaime called me one day this summer and said, "Mom! we need to get this Boulder thing for handsprings!"  She tried to describe it to me but I just didn't get why it was better than all the toys we already have.  A couple of weeks later, Amy and Ashlyn were at NorCal Congress (annual gymnastics training) and Amy called and said, "Ashlyn and I saw it! We have to have this Boulder!" So I'm still scratching my head about what the heck this thing was.

But, I figured three women can't all be crazy about the same thing without being onto something good. So they ordered the Boulder... and as soon as it came onto the gym floor the entire rest of the coaching staff fell in love with it too.  In fact, we loved it so much that I immediately ordered a second one in a different size so we wouldn't have to arm-wrestle to see which class gets to use the Boulder each day. 

Pictured above is Miss Gina with Katie B. from our blue class, working on back handsprings. And now you know what a Boulder is!

GO DIABLO!

Level Fives Win!

Diablo's level five team won the Disco-Tech Invitational in Rancho Cordova last weekend! Lindsey Miyakado won both balance beam and floor exercise in her age group.  Coach Amy Silay was also proud of the level four girls who showed great improvement from their first competition. Five level fours attained their qualifying totals for State championships (34.50+): Brittany Bates, Shaina Vincent, Hannah Allen, and Sara Thomas, and Isabella Book. Congratulations, and good luck to both teams at the Aloha Invitational this weekend!

GO DIABLO!

Our horrible parking lot...

Today's topic, dear Readers, is our horrible parking lot. As anyone who has come to Diablo after 3:25pm on a school day lately already knows, the big downfall of our facility is the parking situation. The spaces available must be shared with San Ramon Sports on one side and Apple Blossom on the other, even though we could use every single space ourselves and more.

Some tips parents have come up with to navigate safely through the parking lot:

1. CLOCKWISE is the only safe way to circle around the parking lot. Always follow the direction of the arrows. Many people try to pull close to the front door by turning in counterclockwise, which blocks traffic and causes flared tempers.

2. Do not park where you see the NO SUV sign unless you have a short car!  Your vehicle will block the person in who parked in the space perpendicular to you, or prevent it from being used at all.

3. Drive very slowly and watch for children who have escaped from their parents.

4. Carpool: the office staff will be happy to help you arrange to meet parents who live near you and come at the same time if possible.

5. Park in one of the 85 spaces at the northeast corner of the building, and walk around to the gym. Give  yourself a few extra minutes.

Our Wonderful Team Girls!

Diablo's level four team (above left) popped out of practice today to pose for their first blog photo.  The girls experienced the first competition of their lives earlier this month, and Shaina Vincent (center) even won bars!  The girls are excited to be competing again in Rancho Cordova this weekend at Technique Gymnastics.  The level four team trains six hours a week with Amy Silay.

Our level five team girls (below left) came through their first meet of the season in fine form. Lyndsey Miyakado won beam and floor in her age group, and Isabella Book won the vault competition.  These girls are currently training twelve hours each week under the direction of Amy Silay and Jerry Wehry, and they are looking forward to their second competition of the year. 

Isabella's mom, Connie Book, is organizing the permanent tile art project in support of the team girls. Over winter break, we will mount a permanent display of artwork from students throughout the Diablo programs on the wall leading up to the upstairs viewing area.  Please stop by the office for a registration form and support our wonderful teams!

GO DIABLO!

Diablo's Founder

Well, dear Readers, I WAS going to put up photos of the team girls today, but I left my camera at home yesterday. So today's story is about Diablo's founding father (he will just hate being called that), Jim Gault. Here is a picture of him last Spring, with me and my granddaughter Kaylie at Diablo.

Mr. Gault is a coach from an era when we did not call our coaches by their first name.  I met him in the summer of 1969 when Diablo was hosting it's very first Flip Flop Follies. My summer school PE coach, Don Allen, suggested that my friend Karen and I might want to go see a gymnastics show that weekend, so we did.

And I was just hooked forever. We couldn't believe what we were seeing!  Girls dressed in frog costumes and cowboy costumes and togas, tumbling across the floor and flying off the bars in unison... Karen and I were just stunned. Amazed. Head over heels in love with what we saw. We went straight home and talked our parents into signing us up for Diablo Gymnastics.

Mr. Gault coached the US Olympic team, wrote compulsories routines for the whole country, and eventually made a huge name for himself in gymnastics from the time it was a fledgling sport in our country.  

But when I met him he was doing local stuff, and also coaching at College Park High School.  My friend Karen and I went to Mt. Diablo High in Concord.  We competed against Gault's team at Zone championships our freshman year.  College Park won the meet.  Mt Diablo came in second. Team scores were calculated by a point system;  CP creamed MD something like 236 to 17.  I know for sure that we scored 17. And I'm pretty sure Gault's team got every other point possible, leaving a tie for third place between six teams that scored zero. Ha! That was just the kind of coach he was, in a class all by himself...

So thanks to Mr. Gault for instigating these many decades of gymnastics at Diablo! 

GO DIABLO!

First post!

Woohoo!  I am dragging my buns into the 21st century at last, with the first ever Diablo Gymnastics Blog. I hope we can keep people "in the know" this way!

Here is a photo (for you ex-athletes and Mr. Gault who live far away) to show the results of our beautiful summer remodeling project... how wonderful to have that finished. Well, nearly finished. there's just that one ugly mat stack that needs to disappear from the vault corner. Notice I didn't show that in the photo... haha!

New for Fall:  we have a new warmup structure for the after school recreation classes, incorporating more cardio and less static stretching, more fun and less pained looks on children's face, hopefully.  AND, we have a new recreation program director, Ashlyn Aneloski. Well, she's not new, since I started teaching her when she was four years old, but now she's home from Arizona State with a degree in nutrition and a sideline in fitness, and she is making us work!  We also have an updated tumbling curriculum, courtesy of Jerry Wehry, who co-coaches the level five team girls. 

The level five team took third place in their first meet of the season at Golden Gate in Concord, and the brand new level fours took fourth in the very first meet of their lives!  Team program director, Amy Silay, was so pleased with the comments she received from other coaches about how well our girls did.

We are all happy to have survived the first week of Fall classes, and we look forward to teaching your kids many fun skills this year!

TTFN, Michelle GO DIABLO!