WAG How long do you think it takes to learn giants?

[GymnastMomX2]

I have never seen a giant executed from anything but a HS (not intentionally anyway). So there are gyms that teach giants out of a regular cast? That would force the kid to throw their shoulders over the bar to get over. So from now on when I see entire teams that compete HS-yucky giant with shoulders leading the way over the top, I am going to assume that these are the same gyms that teach giant swings to kids who have not yet mastered their kip HSs!

I watched my DD do her Giants last night at the end of practice and her coach spotted the cast handstand and then she did the Giants on her own, she said he won't let her try them alone alone until she gets her casts up at least close to handstand. He also said she is an oddball, because she literally just got her Giants by herself on strap bar last week (out of tap swings not cast) and then tried them on the real bar this week and just did them. The other girls in her group ALL have cast handstands, but not all of them have Giants. Every kid is different!

 

[Gymishome]

Well one of my girls just learned them in two days and now doesn't need a spot...but everyone is different

 

[gracyomalley]

DD wasn't allowed on strap bar or training CHS at old gym until level 7. She had kip cast handstand in about 5 months - giants took 2 years...but again - no pre-work and she also didn't work on them for 8 months of the year as they only did routines and she had a 10 start value without. Now she's taking a break to figure out if she wants to put the work in to "fix" all the stuff (mostly mental) that wasn't done correctly training wise before level 8, but she admits she can giant - at least on pit bar out of a cast hand stand....if she does do it - her's will be good!

 

[wgymmom]

Given consistent training, who knows? DD was working them on strap bar in required privates before new L4. Then she didn't train them until the following Jan - probably 8 months. So back on the strap bar. And now, in new 5, she sometimes works the strap bar 1x/week. So it's been over 1.5 years, with sporadic instruction, and she hasn't even done them on the pit bar yet.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I do not allow the kids to attemp a giant until they have a cast to handstand. They need to be able to feel that position and coaches need to know they have the strength and confidence to hold that position.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

^^^ because if they don't, gravity will get the best of them.

 

[profmom]

It may be different for boys, but I think at least some of it depends on how the progressions are taught. DS has his back giants, front giants, and can do a half pirouette from one to the other, but is absolutely nowhere near to having a kip cast handstand. And the kid is definitely not bad at handstands.

A few of DD's teammates can make giants out of low casts. Definitely not an option for her -- she needs to be very close to HS to do a decent giant!

 

[gasrgoose]

a giant swing without a proficient handstand is not only ugly but unsafe. not to mention that a handstand is a required skill. everything we do in gymnastics comes from, goes thru or ends up in a handstand. can't get around it.

btw, a giant swing is never fully mastered. the body changes and grows causing constant vigilance by a coach to keep their eye on the subsequent taps needed during the giant swing and during the skills that come out of them. it never ends.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ So true, both of these statements. Obviously Dunno knows this..... But for others who don't. When kids go to the "ranch" for Developmental camp they are required to show a minute hold handstand, some of these kids are already Elites. The handstand is so vital to gymnastics that they require the best kids in the country to show they can hold it.

We have girls who are doing double layouts, double doubles, full ins etc. off bars. But all of these girls spend a great deal of time working on the shape of their giant swing and primarily their tap to insure they are 1.) Safe 2.) successful on the high level skills they perform.

 

[profmom]

A minute hold handstand on the floor or on a bar/single rail? I think only a few of DD's teammates can do it on a rail for that long! Both of mine have good ones on the floor and DS can hold them on parallettes pretty much forever, but that is easier obviously.

The thing about giants too, as Dunno says, is that they learn them and get them looking good . . . and then they grow! One of DS's teammates is relearning them, and DD and some of her group are learning to straddle on the high bar. She was glad this was easier for her than she expected it to be -- both she and DS grew more than an inch in two months, and I felt sooooo fortunate that neither one had huge issues with their giants.

 

[munchkin3]

D son's gym, it seems the girls took about 3 months for the group i have seen.....from straps to pit to UB, with a spot. The girls I see are now doing them on the regular bars, with a spot for some of the girls, others, no spot. (of course i dont know how long they were on straps)
D Daughters gyms, seems like an eternity......girls are struggling with them for months and months.....only two girls are doing them consistently unspotted.....

gym variation of course is, time in the gym, time on the apparatus, and number of coaches working the skills. Sons gym has TONS of coaches while Daughters gym has 2 coaches.

 

[munchkin3]

I hope that DD coaches start working the giants NOW with the smaller L5 girls rather than waiting until they are L6/7 and a bit larger.
My guess it it is easier to spot 60-70 lbs, vs 100-120 lbs?

 

[kayjaybe]

Interesting about the cast-handstand. Dd is pretty much the only one in her group with a solid cast-handstand....but at least half of her group (about 6 girls) are consistently doing giants w/o the cast handstand. Some of them are barely casting above horizontal. But they seem to have the "tap" down very well, allowing them to get over the bars.

She is very frustrated because our gym won't let you move to L7 w/o the giant, but it appears you don't need the cast handstand leading into it to move up. So these other girls are moving up and she's still stuck in L5.

She is having both a mental block and shape issues as she circles the bars, but I keep reminding her that once she gets it, she'll be golden.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

yes, she'll be golden. ^^^^^^^^

 

[LizzieLac]

My dd does not quit cast to HS but only off by about 10-15 degrees. She certainly does a better looking giant more consistently when she has a better cast. If not a good cast they HAVE to tap hard and not everyone can do that either!!