Presentazioni delle lezioni per l’Italia Master Workshop.
Developing a Plan for Uneven Bars
Be A Better Coach
Combination Tumbling
Yurchenko Vaulting- Go BIG
Presentazioni delle lezioni per l’Italia Master Workshop.
Developing a Plan for Uneven Bars
Be A Better Coach
Combination Tumbling
Yurchenko Vaulting- Go BIG
My friend Bryon Hough texted me last week looking for drills for side stations for FRONT GIANTS and BLIND CHANGES. After I sent him a few I started thinking about the importance of side station drills in a gymnastics program.
What is the purpose of them? What are you trying to accomplish?
My rule of thumb is that side stations and drills are for the skills we need to have NEXT season or maybe even possibly the season after that. If I have to drill for the skills that are currently in their routine I am in trouble.
Specifically for BARS, which is how this whole thing started. I treat their current routine as their warm up. We then work problem parts and more routines (during the season). Always trying to leave a few minutes for upgrade skills that may get into routines. Obviously NOT when we are in the championship part of the season (March-Nationals).
Typically it will be your LEVEL 7 and/or 8s who are working drills for FRONT GIANTS and BLIND CHANGES. Here is my approach.
2. Get comfortable with a basic pirouette
3. Swinging in under grip and understanding the front giant whip tap
4. Strap Bar work. I think the safest place to teach a gymnast to swing for front giant is in strap bar. They can be aggressive and really work the correct tap without fear of ripping off. For ease of entry (we do a whole routine on strap bar) we do everything in over grip.
5. Grip shift on low bar.
6. Tramp and Tumbl Trak
2. progress to front layout. Then do front layout holding a pool noodle in under grip.
3. Front kaboom to handstand. Progress to kaboom to 1/2 front layout.
4. On TT bar front drop to handstand.
I cannot stress enough the importance of being able to FRONT GIANT prior to attempting blind change or Jaeger. The gymnast needs to be comfortable with the front giant before you have them pirouette into it OR have them do a release move from it. Even if they NEVER compete it, they should be at least able to do it on a single rail. If your plan is for them to do a full pirouette, and they don’t make it, they better know how to do something in under grip- even if it is just how to hold on for dear life.
Blind Change Drills. I have written a previous article on Pirouetting. You can see it HERE
Uneven Bars is possibly the most challenging event. It is different that the other events for girls. A Cartwheel learned on Floor Ex transitions to a Round off and aerial. The can be used at Floor, Vault and Beam. Bars is just different and takes, obviously, a great deal of upper body strength.
My general rules for conditioning:
The Core Strength you are doing for other events is probably sufficient for bars.
Bars takes grips strength and endurance. Rope climb is pretty great at this. Think, 12- 15 skills in an optional bar routine. They should be able to do 12-15 pulls with each arm on the rope. Strengthen the handstand, the handstand shape as well as moving IN and OUT of a handstands. The strength from 1/2 leg lifts will give them the strength needed to hold feet up after skills on low bar.
I feel Press Handstands are very necessary to be a good bar worker. A gymnast needs to be able to lift their body upside down to a handstand on every circling skill.
Spot MILLIONS of cast handstands. There is no way around this. Sorry.
This is only a small list. I hope it helps!
Have a Question?
ASK GYM MOMENTUM. tony@gymmomentum.com
Stephene- Here are some drills that we do on a regular basis. We start off with working on the strength of shoulder and core. Then we progress to circling elements. Many different kinds! Just to help the gymnast get comfortable with the shift.
There is one drill that I didn’t have time to video. My apologies. It is 3-5 free hip circles in a row. SPOTTED. Each one getting a little bigger than the previous one.
If we were to do 3 in a row it would go:
I hope that helps!
Tony
Do you have a question you want answered on Video? Send your question to Tony@gymmomentum.com
This is a video of my Release Moves Lectures. Because of it’s size I had to divide it into 2 Parts.
Part 2
Any Questions or comments feel free to reach out to me.
Tony
Toe on toe off to handstand is a skill nearly every gymnast should have in their repertoire.
Perhaps it is my own teaching style or the progressions I use but I have found toe on toe off a little easier than clear hip circle. If I have 10 gymnasts I can probably get 8 of them to clear hip handstand. Of that 8, 2 of them will do it well.
With a Toe on Handstand, I can still get 8 out of 10 to do toe on handstand but at least 6 can do it well.
Since all circling skills on bars should start and end in handstands, at the beginning and the end the hips will be (for example) 2.5 feet from the bar. During the circle, the hips only come in slightly.
Another benefit of the toe on handstand is that it is easier to transition to other in bar circling skills like stalders.
“The very symbol of the sport, the handstand, is indeed one of the most important fundamental elements in gymnastics. Although often viewed as an individual skill, the handstand shape is repeatedly seen in every event, every exercise, and virtually every movement sequence.” Dr Gerald S. George, Ph.D. “Championship Gymnastics. Biomechanical Techniques For Shaping Winners” 2010 [Read more…]
Bars has become more about in-bar skills. Clear hip, Stalders and Toe on Handstands.
Jason Mortimer from BOUNCE GYMNASTICS in Michigan put together a good video of some basic drills.
Incorporate these into your stations now and be prepared for next year.
Thank You Jason for sharing!
It takes time to teach a good pirouette. The best way I have found to do this is is to start early. Introduce the drills fairly early in a gymnasts career so that they have the base when it is time.
Here are some of the drills I try to get done on a regular basis.
Do You have a favorite drill that is not on the video? Share it!