Pre-Prep-Op group, need suggestions!

[tumbler807]

I need some suggestions for my group of 9-13 year old girls! Theyre our pre-prep-op group, and they have a whole lot of potential... I just feel like they get bored with what we normally do, and as a result most of them dont stick it out until they get to prep-op/team. I'm very new to coaching, less than two years (I'm 18), but I've been a gymnast since i was 9. This is my first real class that ive been put in charge of. Our recreational classes are very cut and dry. i know exactly what to do and when to do it. With this group i have a lot more freedom but i dont know what to do with it! Theyre a great group of kids and i just want to make sure theyre getting the most out of practice and having fun.

What i normally do on every event is stations. It seems to work well since the gym is pretty crowded during the times they practice. For example, each beam is a different skill, usually one beam is an upper level thing that I have to spot, and the rest they can do on their own. they do each station for 3-4 minutes and then switch to the next one. I would loooove to find some other way of getting them to do all the skills we normally do during practice, but not just having to do stations. it just feels like its repetitive and we always end up doing the same things week after week. Does anyone have any fun games/activities i can do with my girls? Also, suggestions for conditioning games? Keep in mind i dont always have a lot of space. Occasionally ill be able to use the whole floor for conditioning, but most days we have a small space underneath the pit bar and a small area beside it. Also, any suggestions or advice for working with that group/age/skill level of kids would be greatly appreciated. I've been coaching them for awhile, but I could always use an outsiders opinion!

[CoachL]

what kind of skills are they working on?

[KBT]

Have them set goals, have goal charts with stickers when they reach them, mini meets. You can pick a random day and say "do whatever routine you can on beam - it must have a full turn, tumbling element and leap pass".

[tumbler807]

heres some of the things theyre working on...

vault- flatback
bars- pull overs, shoot throughs, mill circles, back hip circle underswing (bascially the level 4 routine minus a few things). and squat ons.
beam- cartwheels, english and side handstands/windys, jumps leaps turns, the level 4 mount.
floor- backhandsprings (trampoline and wedge, and most of them need a spot), roundoff+bhs over a barrel, front limbers, bwo, handstand forward rolls, leaps, backward roll to pushup, front handsprings and front tucks into the pit

[tumbler807]

oh and also, their practices are on tuesday/thursday but some girls only come tuesday, some only thursday, and some come both. so its kind of... i dont know, unorganized? its hard to keep up with what everyone is doing, and who has done what, who cant do what... its hard to do things continuously that carry over from practice to practice, if that makes sense.

[hammy]

As KBT suggested, try having them set some goals, this way they can have something to aim for while working out. Making the workouts relevant and purposeful to them will make the workouts more fun and better. You could also do a star chart type thing--they get star stickers for doing various things such as: winning a challenge, completing a challenge succsesfully, working hard, earning a skill (at least 3 times in a row), etc.

You could also set up challenges for them to complete--such as handstand contests, or holding a handstand for at least 5 seconds (on the floor). Adding in a fun/new trick is always exciting every once in a while--or you can let them choose what they do at one of their stations--for example--on beam one station can be a choice station where they get to pick from 1 of 5 things that you give them. By you setting the skills they can choose from, you can control the situation, but allowing them to pick which one they do gives them the freedom of choice.