WAG Question about spotting on vault

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I use this technique whenever I'm preparing myself to throw a girl through a basketball hoop...

[video=youtube;j_DohaBZOXM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_DohaBZOXM[/video]

Is this a common technique?

No...
 
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Hey Dunno, I realized this morning that I have a video clip that shows the coach/team that was in Bella's team's flight. I'm uploading it to YouTube right now and will PM you the link when it's complete. I don't know that you will recognize him. I mean you can't possibly know all the coaches in the U.S. I think. Well, hell....who knows. You do seem to know everybody.

Anyway, the clip is actually from bars but it shows him very clearly as well as his team.
 
Our coach does something similar, but he doesn't have them 'fly' over the vault. This is with the 4s getting ready to go 5, and some of the 5's and to get them to punch correctly. He stands in front of the vault, between the springboard and vault. Mind you he is short, maybe 5'2 and built like a truck. Anyway, the girls run full force, punch, he catches them until they are punching up and with enough force to go over how they should for the 5's and safely for the 4's. The higher level girls do a drill where they punch to a handstand on the vault and step down on the vaulting table. For the person who was talking about how the girls might not feel comfortable going full force at their coach I don't have a problem with it for a few reasons. First, during the summer he will walk in front of the vault, bars, etc. right before they get to the vault, bars whatever; using it as a distraction to teach them in a safe way that no matter what the distraction, stay focused on what you are doing. Second, the girls could easily make it over him as he is not much taller than the vaulting table. I should note that he is not the first person I have seen do this. I am wondering if the term 'toss over his head' is what is throwing off some of the responses.
 
Well I suppose "tossing" might not be the right word because tossing implies the coach was catching the girls. He wasn't. It was more like he was setting a volleyball...quick push above his head after they punched the board but before their hands hit the table.
 
I use standing in front of the kids to help them learn how to hit the springboard. I'm not certain I've used it with the table that I can recall. There isn't any way for me to safely make an adjustment if the kid comes in shoulders down like an NFL linebacker. If the do that with a mat behind me I can make adjustments to redirect them safely.
I can see crouching down and maybe bumping the thighs to remind them of the heel drive but now my head is between them and the table. I think that would hurt. I do put myself in the way for the beginner vaulter since they had rather get their shoulders back on the board than run into me.
 
We used to have a coach who did this (about 5 years ago)
And then just this past summer at FlipFest a coach was doing this.
Mind you they were only doing this over the vault to flatback on mats.
 
The part that scares me most is that he was flinging them over the vault with no one/nothing to catch on the other side. Give a kid just a little too much "oomph" side spotting with one hand and they can go flying.
 
What bothers me is why the heck is this coach doing this at a meet. Kids shouldn't need help getting over during warm up, if they can do the vault the vault, if not then they do not need to be vaulting at that level. When our coach does it the kids are going over into a pit.
 

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