Coaches Bar skills

[teachercolleen]

I have a gymnast who is totally afraid of going over the bar. I have tried everything. She just won't do it. I strongly believe in not forcing her because I know it can turn her off from ALL gymnastics but I am running out of things to have her do on bars. She cannot progress any more without a forward roll. Do you guys have ideas of what I can have her do? we do possum, monkey and spider hangs and cast/cast dismounts.
Thanks y'all.

 

[Redford]

How old?
You can (should) of course work a decent front support, leg lifts, chin up (holds) and other strength exercises but you can't avoid the thing forever.
Spot. A lot.
Is there a problem with being upside down? Can she do a good forward roll? How about a spotted pull over?

 

[teachercolleen]

she is 6. she doesn't like to be upside down. we have tried two people spotting a forward roll on the bar.
thank you for your input!

 

[AmandaLynn]

Put a large block in front of the bar (like, the height of the bar, approximately). Stack pit cubes on it. Have her lean forward to touch her head to the cubes, then come back to support. Gradually lower them until she can go to the block and return to support. Then remove the block and have her lean all the way to a pike over the bar, then return to support. By the time she is able to do this, she will probably have gotten to a point where she will allow you to spot her (SLOWLY) through a forward roll dismount. Have her pike over the the bar, and carefully help her bring her legs over. Make sure that she knows you will be doing this. I have seen coaches just pull a kid over. With rec kids, that doesn't typically end well. They end up not only terrified, but now lacking trust in their instructor.

 

[teachercolleen]

Put a large block in front of the bar (like, the height of the bar, approximately). Stack pit cubes on it. Have her lean forward to touch her head to the cubes, then come back to support. Gradually lower them until she can go to the block and return to support. Then remove the block and have her lean all the way to a pike over the bar, then return to support. By the time she is able to do this, she will probably have gotten to a point where she will allow you to spot her (SLOWLY) through a forward roll dismount. Have her pike over the the bar, and carefully help her bring her legs over. Make sure that she knows you will be doing this. I have seen coaches just pull a kid over. With rec kids, that doesn't typically end well. They end up not only terrified, but now lacking trust in their instructor.

Thanks! I like the idea of the foam blocks. I've used mats up to the bar but they were still "too scary".

 

[AmandaLynn]

Go higher than the bar at first.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

How do you spot the roll over the bar? from the front or side?

 

[Short Balding Guy]

I like Amanda's reply. I have had success with similar approaches.

I like to use a big spotting block in front and have the athlete kick to an inverted shape, pause and gently roll back down. As the drill becomes easier ask the athlete to invert (straight shape) then pike, pause and roll. Eventually a grip shift will find the athlete in a front support. They have practiced many roll-over dismounts so it is now easy.

The block can be placed just in front of the bar. The height can be adjusted by adding/removing a panel mat. The higher the easier, the lower the more challenging.

It may be the obvious on a coaches forum, but I do remind our staff the same, that they should reward the child quickly and frequently. Set the station up for quick reward and the child will feel empowered to keep going. Stay on bars and you get better.

Good for you for caring about your gymnast and asking. Best, SBG -

 

[teachercolleen]

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I stacked foam blocks and had her lean over the bar to hit her head on the foam. we called it "Woodpecker" and we just keep taking away blocks each time until she it the floor and rolled over. SHE DID IT! I almost cried. it's been months in progress. my boss came over and gave her a pumpkin to celebrate lol. Thank you all for your help.

 

[AmandaLynn]

Yay! Glad that it worked (and quickly, too!!). Congrats, coach!