Any advice for a GYMNASTICS COACH WHO NEVER TOOK GYMNASTICS would be appreciated! =]

[newbie9]

Too be short, I am a nineteen year old tumbler who, due to a coach shortage at the gym I train at, has been asked to coach a few recreational beginner and intermediate gymnastics classes per week.
I have never taken gymnastics. Nor did I recieve any official or proper training after accepting this new job offer. I did however take it upon myself to observe the team and preteam coaches during their practices, which gave me some sort of basis to go on.

The classes go well for the most part, depending on the events. This is basically the level that these gymnasts are at.


On FLOOR the girls know how to forward roll, straddle roll, bridge, and cartwheel but they have weak handstands and backbend kickovers. I run a lot of drills on the panel mats but I think they are getting bored with them. I want to spice it up.

On BEAM I usually run them through the basic mount and walks such as Releve forwards and backwards, scoopwalks, scoop kicks, high kicks, side walks, and crossing side walks. But thats really all I know about beam for beginners/intermediates.


On BARS I am even less familiar. The girls mostly hold front supports and hollows, roll overs, skin the cats, and they are beginning to learn how to cast.
My knowledge of bars is embarrassing.

On VAULT the girls jump to knee ons or squat ons. But a lot still suffer with their run and jump on the board.

I know I need to be drilling the crap out of these girls, but I just dont know what to do!



I really need a lot of help. Any advice for a gymnastics coach who never took gymnastics?

 

[BlairBob]

There are a lot of youtube videos you can subscribe to.

CoachBen
MrATO10
TheGymnasticsMinute
ERGymnastics
ivanovjet


Next off.

Read as much of the USA-gymnastics.org magazine archive as you can. Check out DrillsandSkills and read the articles and events. There isn't that much for the girl's stuff but it's fine for vault, bars, and floor ex for girls.

GymnasticBodies and GymnasticsCoaching.com

United States Elite Coaches Association for Women's Gymnastics

the GYMCERT manuals are also of merit besides the USAGymnasticsCollege training materials. Their L1 PDP guide isn't the end all be all, but it's a good start for rookie coaches.

 

[Maya]

Since we are talking about beginner/intermediate recreational girls, i don't think you need to be 'drilling the crap out of them.' Do things that are fun! On floor, you could do things like putting them into groups to make up routines with the moves that they know to show to the rest of the class. Or do handstand competitions to strengthen their handstands (I love handstands ). Not sure about beam but for bars you could do conditioning competitions like, who can do the most skin the cats/ leg lifts/ pull ups etc in a row. Can't really think of how to make vault interesting... hope that helped a bit

 

[gymnastjess]

check out coach bens ship wrecked game fun and helping them with handstands, beam you could also try some arabesques and attitude steps (bend the leg as a forward triangle and straighten), straight and tuck jumps off the beam, quarter and half pivot turns, on floor you could do some walk there legs up the wall handstands and do a backband with your stomach to the wall and walk your feet up the wall to kick over, on vault they could work on straight and tuck and straddle jumps onto a 30cm thick mat or dive forward rolls onto the mat, start working backward rolls with elephant ears lol thats what we call them, a fun stretch is the pizza stretch (you sit in straddle and their pizza is between there legs they have to touch there left toe to get some cheese and put it on the pizza then their right for some pepparoni ect. tehn they stretch out and put it in the oven, take it out and eat it all up, what you know about bars is what beginners do on bars also start working on pullovers but mosly just be encouraging and fun and even maybe have lollipops ect as prizes for the best handstand of the day ect.