turns on floor and beam

[isaelijohjac]

Hi there.

My daughter has just moved to a different gym-she started at a good private club and then we moved and she attended a Y-now she is at a private club near our new home. She is training as a level 6-and had great level 4 and 5 seasons, especially on beam. Her 2 previous gyms taught her that for her turns she should have one arm in front (curved) and the other to the side and then when turning come to crown-which is exactly what is says in the text of the routine. Her new gym has her start with one arm in front (curved) and the other up and diagonally out to the side with her hand out and then when she turns bring her arms up but NOT in crown...no crowns at all she has said. Her hands are out-like when they salute. She has said the same thing on floor. Also, on her tuck jump/straight jump on beam she has them start with their arms out in front-one hand on top of another and then up and then when starting the split jump put hands in front and on top of another again. I am concerned because her original gym worked really hard to get her arms and hands the other way--and she in uncomfortable with is and thinks the other way is much prettier.

Also, how high do the feet have to be to be in a good releve?

Thanks so much for any input!

[KBT]

Turning:
Sounds like the technique your daughter has been taught is a ballet-style technique. I personally love this technique - the ballet world has really figured out hot to use perfect technique to turn and jump while making everything look effortless. One of my biggest pet peeves with gymnastics is the forced/labored turns/jumps. This is partly why I started taking ballet: so I could be a better coach when it comes to jumps, turns and artistry. In my experience, many coaches teach more gymnastics-style turns, sort of a "just chuck it" technique.

There are many skills where it doesn't matter the exact placement of the arms as long as they're in the same place every time for consistency. I don't know what I'd do, maybe ask the coach why they use this technique? I'm not sure if this new technique is going to make things more difficult in the long-run - there will be an adjustment period - but after that I don't know.

Jumps:
I can see where the new technique isn't as "pretty", but maybe they're using it to help teach the girls how to lift using the arms? And some gyms may want to focus on the lift for a while then get the pretty arms down afterwards. Do their level 7-8-9s use this same technique?

Releve - the higher the better I say! Not only is higher prettier, if the heel gets too low, it's harder for the judges to see if it's off the floor. The heel is what a judge looks at to determine if a turn is completed and a nice high heel makes a judge's job easier! (heehee, can you tell I'm a judge???) Higher releve also makes the body line easier to maintain while turning - a lower heel requires more calf strength to keep the position. Having to use strength to hold a moing position rather than technique and body line means that it's more likely the body line won't stay exactly the same throughout a single turn and in each subsequent turn. Inconsistent body line means the turn will be inconsistent. Make sure to not only get the heel high, but to lengthen throughout the entire leg and hip. I like to think of a giant bubble in the hip socket to fully push the hip upwards rather than letting it "drop" into the leg.

Does this make sense?

[isaelijohjac]

Thanks for the response! Your comments make sense. I think this coach is just trying to add her own "flair" to the team turns, etc. The problem is, it is not pretty, and my daughter can't do it very well. Not that I don't think she will be able to. It's just that they way the arms are opens up the shoulders and makes it so much easier to lose balance. That won't change no matter how used to it my daugter gets. My other problem is that it is different from the text. As a judge, you wouldn't give an overall deducation for arms in the wrong place? I don't know how long my daughter will be here, as we plan on moving next year. I just don't know how to handle it? Is it wrong for a parent to ask a coach to not change the technique my daughter has worked so hard to get. All of the optionals (8's and 9's) do their arms differently. They seem to do what they want...