Interview with the Man Behind JAOVideos: A great Gymnastics Coaching Resource

A few years back as I logged on to YouTube, I get a recommendation to check out JAOVideos  If there’s anything I know about recommendations from a computer algorithm is that most of the time they are painstakingly off. However, this time the computer gods were dead on.

As a follower of JAOVideos, I’ve learned some great techniques for my younger gymnasts. Each video is unmistakably well thought through and systematic. The drills that are showcased are clearly effective for producing the results coaches are looking for. Some of his more popular tutorials have reached to an audience of over 200,000. The channel showcases not only tutorials on skills but also how to DIY equipment and my personal favorite, athlete progress and successes. VAOVideos has recently passed the 1 million views mark, amazing milestone that would make amateur filmmakers jealous. 

Check out this little cutie progressing towards a great straddle sole circle dismount.

Following my curiosity, I’ve reached out to the man behind JAOVideos. Jason Mortimer is the Women’s Competitive Team Coach for Team Bounce in Hartland, Michigan, USA. With a 13 hour time difference he agreed to share a little bit behind his video making on his day off.

Coach Casie: First off, thank you for these great videos. I myself have used many of the techniques you shared. What inspired you to make your very first video?

Jason: I knew I wanted to coach as a full time job, and I knew that I had been on enough interviews that everyone (coach/owner) says the same things. They all talk about being disciplined, progressive, etc. but most people aren't truly disciplined or truly progressive. I’m probably not always enough either, but it’s what I want to be.

So, I wanted to make something that actually showed how I thought about skills, and send that to prospective owners, so they could actually see me work.

If they thought it was too detailed, or too slow, they wouldn't bring me in for an interview. If they thought it was exactly what they were looking for, then I probably narrowed my search down and didn't waste time visiting places I wouldn't be comfortable coaching for. "A picture is worth a thousand words," so to speak. 

I wanted to make sure that when I moved somewhere to coach, it would be somewhere I could be for a very long time. A lot of times you don’t really know what a place is like until you’ve been there for a year or so, and I didn’t want to have to gym-hop. So, I wanted to make sure that I made the right decision, and I’m absolutely positive I did.

And then YouTube just happened to be a far easier format to share than burning DVDs and mailing discs. I could just email a link, free and easy.

Coach Casie: How far back was this?

Jason: Probably 2009?

Coach Casie: Take me through the planning of these videos. For example your tutorials. What is the very first step in your process after picking which skill you will use?

Jason: I think about building every skill in three ways: strength, swing (or momentum), and timing. If it's a bar skill then I start looking for conditioning drills for the strength, drills for the swing (momentum) and drills for the timing.

The theory is simple: every drill has something good and something bad about it. The best drills simulate the desired skill as closely as possible while also enforcing the fewest possible "bad habits". So, I look for drills where I think the net gain is more good than bad, and if it isn't, then I don't use that drill.

Then, I start outlining things.

Strength: what do we need to do to be strong enough to do this skill? 

Are the multiple parts? phases? 

What comes first, second, third,etc. 

What do the pre-team kids need to be doing, what do the next level kids need to be doing, etc.

Then do the same for swing (momentum) and timing (sometimes rhythm).

I've listed everything out, sometimes a drill bounces back and forth between one of the groups (they overlap, for sure)

Coach Casie: totally

Jason: and eventually I settle on it, thinking it's "more" about one component than another, or according to what makes sense in my head.

Then I bring a kid in a start filming it. Takes a few hours, then I edit it together, find some music I like, and put it up. Sometimes the longest part is finding music that YouTube will let me use. I don’t like to use music with lyrics because often lyrics are inappropriate, or at the least they are just so unrelated to the sport that I think they’re a distraction. I was happy to discover the genres of post-rock, dubstep, etc.

I haven't uploaded a video in a year now because we’re still trying to master some of the next level skills. But when we get there, I’ll be happy to start filming again.

Coach Casie: is the filming done outside of normal practice hours?

Jason: Yes, I bring the girls in during a holiday or weekend or they stay after a practice. I'll use something if it's really good during practice, but generally I don't like background kids, etc. So I prefer to do them when the gym is otherwise quiet

Coach Casie: lol, or if you are Mary Lee Tracey, background dogs

Jason: For a few reasons. Those background kids didn't necessarily agree to be in a public video, etc.

Coach Casie: Got it, do you have your kids agree first to be in the video?

Jason: they're always up for it

Coach Casie: And by kids, I mean parents too?

Jason: New parents are sometimes cautious, but they trust me, and I always send them the link first for approval, just to make sure they feel their daughter was positively represented. I don't usually include "bad" examples

Coach Casie: I'm sure having a "bad one" being viewed by tens of thousands might do some damage to self-esteem.

So what type of camera do you use to film?

Jason: I use a $65 Flip Video. I couldn't afford anything better, and it gets the job done. It only has 1 hour of record time, so I have to be efficient

Coach Casie: Do you find yourself deleting many times in a session?

Jason: oh sure

Coach Casie: What is the funniest thing you've ever caught on camera? & Did you save it?

Jason: In the straddle sole circle video, the girl in the video at the time was 5 years old, and after every take she would look at the camera and ask, "did it see it?"

She would also ask, before the turn, "Is it watching?"

Coach Casie: Adorable!

Are you still looking for a coach at bounce?

Jason: We're always looking for coaches, but I do have someone helping me right now, but the team is growing, so there will be a need to add someone else soon.

Coach Casie: What would you recommend coaches interested in a position do? Make a video?

Jason: I have asked that, and no one has ever done it

Coach Casie: I bet if someone does, they might be the exact type of person you are looking for.

Jason: Hopefully

There you have it, I hope you enjoyed learning about what is behind these fantastic videos as much as I did. Take a moment to watch his latest video, Jason is in need of your help!

  

If you are interested in a position with Bounce under the guidance of Jason, please send a shout out to him at jtmortim (at) gmail . com