WAG Sticking the landing

[roll123]

DD can never seem to stick her landings and is always taking a big step (or sometimes 2) on all her landings. Any advice to help her stick them? She's a level 6/7 and it happens in each event and tumbling pass

 

[ascarter1]

My dd is a level 7. I find that bc of adrenaline at meets, sticking the landing is kinda tough. I'm embarrassed to say this but here it goes... Last year, when she was a lv 6, I offered her $5 for each stuck landing at meets (total of 6 for $30-which rarely happened). Usually I was out $15 total.
I know, I know, shameless on my part!

 

[duyetanh]

The day my daughter sticks a landing on beam or bars is the day I post it here. Seriously.
...and she only recently got one or two on the vault or a tumbling pass...she claims it is very hard for her to do, but she is trying. I believe her!

 

[profmom]

Ugh. Even with the incentive of the stick bonus (the guys get .2 for sticking), my DS never sticks anything until fairly late in the season, and even then, he's hit or miss. His old coach used to have stick contests, which helped a little. But he'll figure it out in time, especially once he gets into a situation where there's something significant at stake (by which I mean making it or not making it to nationals) in picking up those extra tenths.

 

[cbifoja]

My DD is very powerful but hasn't always figured out how to control it. Even as recently as a year ago, she would run just as hard for a single ROBHS as she would when she was throwing her 3/2! The result was this huge rebound and then multiple steps to not keel over. Could that be an issue for your DD?

 

[gymisforeveryone]

Stick it contests! We do those every now and then and the girls love it. Usually I divide the group into two smaller groups that are competing against each other. Then we pick a skill they have had trouble landing (for example a front tuck on floor). The first team to stick 10 tucks is winner and gets a reward. This puts every gymnast under pressure. Usually our rules are that it doesn't matter HOW you stick it, so wobbles are okay, but you can't move your feet.

Sometimes especially with younger kids I don't divide them into teams. They are competing against me. Everyone has let's say 3 turns to try to stick a straight jump off the beam and if they can as a team stick 10 landings they win and I have to do 20 push ups. If they can't do that they lose and they have to do the push ups. The kids love to count my repetitions, I can tell you! It's their best reward ever.

If her coach is not up to this kind of exercise she can do this with a friend at open gym. Or even during practice. Our girls play this in small groups sometimes when they wait the practice to start or what so ever. They choose a skill, usually a back tuck, and then they go for it in turns. The first one to stick 5 / stick 5 in a row wins.

 

[Seeker]

Some of it likely has to do with age, maturity, experience, etc., which will improve over time. But I believe a lot of it has to do with 2 things: conditioning and actually practicing it (like with stick-it contests, etc). My daughter was at a gym with a poor conditioning program and there was zero focus on sticking it. They were competing skills they basically just learned, so sticking it was somewhat out of the question for many skills. So they didn't most of the time.

It takes a lot of muscle control/coordination to actually stick-it. Those that do, make it look easy, so we think it is. It is not. It won't just happen though...it has to be worked on and a priority in the gym or it won't be likely to happen in competition either.

 

[MomIdidit!]

Gymisforeveryone.....as just a parent reading your post, you make me want to be in your class.....you sound like a fun coach!!!

 

[Sasha]

I have heard this tip/instruction before, but I am not sure if it actually works...

Start by doing a few straight or tuck jumps on a trampoline or tumble-track and then "stick" on the trampoline - the trampoline has a lot of bounce, so you will have to work hard to stop it from shaking around as you land on it. You have to 'absorb' that shaking, which is the opposite of rebounding. Then move that technique to mats and floor.

Anyone know if that is an effective drill?

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

Stick it contests! We do those every now and then and the girls love it. Usually I divide the group into two smaller groups that are competing against each other. Then we pick a skill they have had trouble landing (for example a front tuck on floor). The first team to stick 10 tucks is winner and gets a reward. This puts every gymnast under pressure. Usually our rules are that it doesn't matter HOW you stick it, so wobbles are okay, but you can't move your feet.

Sometimes especially with younger kids I don't divide them into teams. They are competing against me. Everyone has let's say 3 turns to try to stick a straight jump off the beam and if they can as a team stick 10 landings they win and I have to do 20 push ups. If they can't do that they lose and they have to do the push ups. The kids love to count my repetitions, I can tell you! It's their best reward ever.

If her coach is not up to this kind of exercise she can do this with a friend at open gym. Or even during practice. Our girls play this in small groups sometimes when they wait the practice to start or what so ever. They choose a skill, usually a back tuck, and then they go for it in turns. The first one to stick 5 / stick 5 in a row wins.

Kipper's gym does stick it games, too! They have fun, especially if pushups for the coaches are on the line!

 

[profmom]

I have heard this tip/instruction before, but I am not sure if it actually works...

Start by doing a few straight or tuck jumps on a trampoline or tumble-track and then "stick" on the trampoline - the trampoline has a lot of bounce, so you will have to work hard to stop it from shaking around as you land on it. You have to 'absorb' that shaking, which is the opposite of rebounding. Then move that technique to mats and floor.

Anyone know if that is an effective drill?

Eh, DS had to learn how to kill his bounce on tramp for FS. Doesn't seem to have made him any better at sticking. I think the only thing that's gonna work for him is more irritable shouting from his coach.

 

[TheGMom]

If you are gonna do the stick it game, make sure it is still challenging. Don't be having her do tuck jumps of TT and Round offs off beam. My DD does not enjoy stick it games most of the time because it is way too easy. Good luck with sticking landings though!

 

[Natasha]

As a parent, I would leave it alone and leave it to the coach. Especially since you are talking about a level 6/7. A well meaning parent who is focusing on the sticking the landings can hinder what the coach is working on. For example, a front handspring vault with less power and amplitude will be easier to stick, but will not help your daughter in the long run. (And by the way, will not score better). A stuck front tuck or front lay may give her an extra .1 at the meet this season, but she will need the power to add another skill to the front lay or tuck in the future. This is why the coach may not be focusing on it. My dd never stuck her front handspring FT in level 7, but as soon as she moved to L8 she also had no problem connecting her front pass. Last year at L9 she had much difficulty sticking her 1 1/2, but this year she needed the forward momentum to connect it to the FT.
On bars, a low flyaway will sometimes be easier to stick than a high one that opens up in plenty of time. So a gymnast might save a .10 on the landing, but will then be deducted on the fly away itself.
I think as parents it is easy to get caught up in the "stuck landings" because any time you hear TV broadcasters talking about college or elite meets they focus on that. The difference though, is at that level, the form and amplitude on everything else is already near perfection, so it really is the steps that set apart the routines. For most JO girls, there so much else to focus on though...

 

[roll123]

As a parent, I would leave it alone and leave it to the coach. Especially since you are talking about a level 6/7. A well meaning parent who is focusing on the sticking the landings can hinder what the coach is working on. For example, a front handspring vault with less power and amplitude will be easier to stick, but will not help your daughter in the long run. (And by the way, will not score better). A stuck front tuck or front lay may give her an extra .1 at the meet this season, but she will need the power to add another skill to the front lay or tuck in the future. This is why the coach may not be focusing on it. My dd never stuck her front handspring FT in level 7, but as soon as she moved to L8 she also had no problem connecting her front pass. Last year at L9 she had much difficulty sticking her 1 1/2, but this year she needed the forward momentum to connect it to the FT.
On bars, a low flyaway will sometimes be easier to stick than a high one that opens up in plenty of time. So a gymnast might save a .10 on the landing, but will then be deducted on the fly away itself.
I think as parents it is easy to get caught up in the "stuck landings" because any time you hear TV broadcasters talking about college or elite meets they focus on that. The difference though, is at that level, the form and amplitude on everything else is already near perfection, so it really is the steps that set apart the routines. For most JO girls, there so much else to focus on though...

Good advice, I never thought about it this way, but it makes total sense. Thank you

 

[Aero]

As a parent, I would leave it alone and leave it to the coach. Especially since you are talking about a level 6/7. A well meaning parent who is focusing on the sticking the landings can hinder what the coach is working on. For example, a front handspring vault with less power and amplitude will be easier to stick, but will not help your daughter in the long run. (And by the way, will not score better). A stuck front tuck or front lay may give her an extra .1 at the meet this season, but she will need the power to add another skill to the front lay or tuck in the future. This is why the coach may not be focusing on it. My dd never stuck her front handspring FT in level 7, but as soon as she moved to L8 she also had no problem connecting her front pass. Last year at L9 she had much difficulty sticking her 1 1/2, but this year she needed the forward momentum to connect it to the FT.
On bars, a low flyaway will sometimes be easier to stick than a high one that opens up in plenty of time. So a gymnast might save a .10 on the landing, but will then be deducted on the fly away itself.
I think as parents it is easy to get caught up in the "stuck landings" because any time you hear TV broadcasters talking about college or elite meets they focus on that. The difference though, is at that level, the form and amplitude on everything else is already near perfection, so it really is the steps that set apart the routines. For most JO girls, there so much else to focus on though...

Um, yes, yes, and YES! This is completely true in every way. Usually, I am not really concerned with stuck landings, although I do praise when I see them. Sticking the landing is usually a result of correct technique in the rest of the skill. Years of experience also will help the gymnast stick landings, too.

Sticking the landing is mainly a clean up detail when the skill has reached a certain level of polish and consistency. There are far more important things that take priority over sticking the landing.

 

[sewgood]

As a parent, I would leave it alone and leave it to the coach. Especially since you are talking about a level 6/7. A well meaning parent who is focusing on the sticking the landings can hinder what the coach is working on. For example, a front handspring vault with less power and amplitude will be easier to stick, but will not help your daughter in the long run. (And by the way, will not score better). A stuck front tuck or front lay may give her an extra .1 at the meet this season, but she will need the power to add another skill to the front lay or tuck in the future. This is why the coach may not be focusing on it. My dd never stuck her front handspring FT in level 7, but as soon as she moved to L8 she also had no problem connecting her front pass. Last year at L9 she had much difficulty sticking her 1 1/2, but this year she needed the forward momentum to connect it to the FT.
On bars, a low flyaway will sometimes be easier to stick than a high one that opens up in plenty of time. So a gymnast might save a .10 on the landing, but will then be deducted on the fly away itself.
I think as parents it is easy to get caught up in the "stuck landings" because any time you hear TV broadcasters talking about college or elite meets they focus on that. The difference though, is at that level, the form and amplitude on everything else is already near perfection, so it really is the steps that set apart the routines. For most JO girls, there so much else to focus on though...

I completely agree with this, especially the part about how not sticking the landing at lower levels can actually be a good thing as they advance in skills.

 

[duyetanh]

I revisited this thread...my daughter still hasn't stuck landings...but she is getting closer....hoping for the next meet!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

DD can never seem to stick her landings and is always taking a big step (or sometimes 2) on all her landings. Any advice to help her stick them? She's a level 6/7 and it happens in each event and tumbling pass

it'll come. and when it's ready to come. sticking landings can be dangerous. it comes with time.
so, no one else better give opinions here on this subject matter. this is something for the gym and training.