The Future of Men's Gymnastics with Jake Dalton and Dave Durante

I originally had another blog post scheduled for today, but after an impromptu podcast last week at Power Monkey Camp, I couldn’t hold out on posting this. I was very fortunate to sit down with two good friends of mine, Jake Dalton and Dave Durante, to hash out some hot topics on where the sport of Men’s Gymnastics is going.

Jake spent about 10 years on National Team, competing in both the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics while also competing for 4 years at Oklahoma. Dave had a similar background as part of the 2008 Bejing Olympic Team, with multiple years on National Team, spending 4 years competing at Stanford, and also having spent 10 years as the USOC athlete representative.

The three of us had an epic talk about men’s gymnastics and some of the large changes that we feel must happen if we want to keep male gymnasts performing at a high level, while staying safe, in the next decade. In this 30 minute interview, we chatted about

The massive impact of losing NCAA programs, and the ripple effect it will cause for male gymnasts from the JO to international elite levels.
Why we feel the future of men’s gymnastics will have a drastically different model of strength and cardio training, as well as medical care. Specifically, one that is a hybrid system that includes body weight and weightlifting while utilizing much more scientific research.
The crucial need for men’s gymnastics to become more collaborative, using a joint team of medical providers and strength coaches, as compared to the current model of mainly coaches, gymnasts, and parents.
Jake and Dave’s advice to young aspiring gymnasts and their families on how to be successful, happy, and healthy during their careers.

I promise you this chat is jam-packed with helpful education and also will provide a ton of value to anyone working in men’s gymnastics. Enjoy, and please be sure to share with your community!