Coaches Vault coaching fail

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There is only a few things I wouldn't do right before a meet. Obviously changing the stepping would be a big no, no,(unless you are just backing them up 2 or 3 inches) putting a hurdle line in would also not be advised before a big meet.
However, The table height can be adjusted anytime. (I move it up and down at meets for my kids, even between competition vaults, FRONT HANDSPRINGS ONLY). Also the hurdle height and arm swing can be adjusted at any time, body shape etc...

Speed, low hurdle, arm swing/circle reaching forward when leaving the board, will help the general population and fix most entries.

this is a good point. not advised to work different/new just before a meet.

and nice vault by the way! :)
 
I want to know what the 0.1 deduction was for. That was seriously clean.
Legs/feet apart upon landing maybe? But yeah, I agree. That was phenomenal. great acceleration, great preflight, great block, great amplitude, stuck landing. It was all there!
 
It helped a couple of them to put the table up. Unfortunately it didn't help the one girl I was hoping it would help most. And her mom said no videos online. Oh well. We'll just keep working.

Would she allow you to PM or email a video to a known and trusted USAG coach- say dunno :). Obviously include a mod in the convo too to be extra safe- they generally know if people are who they say they are :)
 
For basic front handspring vaults I've changed how I explain the vault and have tried to change how our girls understand the vault. In the past it has always been jump to handstand and use your heel drive and block to fly off the table. This has lead to slow massive jump with barely any block and seems to result more in the front limber vault. Lately I've been breaking it down more. First of all the fun and the hurdle need to be flawless (or as close to it as possible). Once the kids learn to not be afraid of running and learn to hurdle far and aggressively with a quick arm swing and ribs tucked in then I return to vaulting over the table. This is where I have changed my explanation which has worked incredibly for our girls. Instead of telling the kids to use the springboard to get up to a handstand I tell them the springboard is what bridges the gap between a front handspring on floor (level surface) and a front handspring over the vault (a higher surface). So all in all they slowly see a front handspring as a front handspring. I then explain that they get into a handstand by using their heel drive and they get out of their handstand with their block. This has made great improvements and I have also been spotting the post flight to let them feel the rise. Most kids can do blocking drills well but never quite believe it will work on the vault until it has been spotted a few times. So long story short I remind the kids that the heel drive gets them on and the block gets them off. As for non spotting drills I hold a noodle directly above the springboard to keep the kids from leaning forward, and I also stack blocks up at the very end of the horse asking them to block over them, sometimes I stand there too (ready to spot obviously). So as a wrap up I always look at vault in this order now (universally per skill).
1. The run (acceleration)
2. The hurdle (long, low, feet in front on board and a fast arm swing)
3. Heel drive (straight legs, starts immediately after feet leave board)
4. Block (off asap, open shoulders, neutral head)
5. And last is obviously the landing. Do I want kids to stick? Absolutely, but I find if kids focus one sticking they forget to be powerful and I could care less if a kid takes a step or two on a front handspring, they will need that extra power for when they start flipping any type of vault.
 
I'm have to add my 2 cents worth in on this one since I like vault but hate the way it is judged at compulsory levels.
1. Don't coach for high scores on the flatback. Go ahead and teach the fast turnover that gets a block since all of the technique is correct.
2. Never teach the diveroll vault that used to be at level 3. I can't seem to find anything positive about it and it seems to take 2 years to fix it.
3. something I did to help lower the hurdles.
I took a water noodle (basically a big foam stick) I would hold it at about4 to 6 inches above the kid's head at their place of hurdle. They would have to hurdle under it. It seemed to help.

4. you can stack the mats behind the table sideways and see how can vault over them. Most of them will land on the edge of the mats and slide down. when they can clear them, they should be really flying. I used this for one girl who was scared to go over the table as well. It helped her get over that fear since it was basically a flatback with a bounce.

5. I don't tell the kids to "Block" if they are doing everything correctly, they bounce
6. for faster turnover, I tell them to try to push the springboard into the table. This helps minimize the arch on take off. They can add more heel drive later if they plan on flipping the vault.

I could go on for days on how they judge the lower level vaults and how it doesn't help at all for optional vaults but I'll just leave it as it is.
 
@CoachTodd | Would you say there are any redeeming qualities about teaching the compulsory flatback vault? In other words, does it positively benefit any of the more advanced vaults? Or is it just a huge waste of time in your opinion?
 
@CoachTodd | Would you say there are any redeeming qualities about teaching the compulsory flatback vault? In other words, does it positively benefit any of the more advanced vaults? Or is it just a huge waste of time in your opinion?
I like the vault, I just don't like how it's judged. If they would give a good score for one that has a short preflight, fast turnover, and has a good bounce (block) it would be fine. I taught my girls to vault on the mats as if it were a table. One skinny little girl vaulted on a full mat stack and landed on her feet 3 feet past the mats because she got a wicked block. They took off a full point because she didn't land on her back.
 
I like the vault, I just don't like how it's judged. If they would give a good score for one that has a short preflight, fast turnover, and has a good bounce (block) it would be fine. I taught my girls to vault on the mats as if it were a table. One skinny little girl vaulted on a full mat stack and landed on her feet 3 feet past the mats because she got a wicked block. They took off a full point because she didn't land on her back.

I would have loved to see that!
 
@CoachTodd | Would you say there are any redeeming qualities about teaching the compulsory flatback vault? In other words, does it positively benefit any of the more advanced vaults? Or is it just a huge waste of time in your opinion?
Depends on the technique you teach/use in upper level vaults. The compulsory vault shape requirement works for me in advanced vaults , with minor adjustments.
 

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