Squat-ons!

[MaryA]

The question about the nemisis skill prompted me to put this out there...

My DD nailed her squat-on in every level 5 meet, but she misses it SO often in practice (maybe she hits it 25% of the time... maybe not even that!) and it's keeping her from putting in the time she needs to on her level 6 skills because often the coach gets frustrated after a couple and just sends her to the back of the line.

I'm pretty sure that it is, at least in part, a "focus" thing, because if the coach tells her that she has to do 10 squat-ons in a row, she can generally do it, but then when she does it in combination with other skills, she misses.

What's the deal with the stupid squat-on and is there any "cure" for it? Might it help to schedule a "squat-on only" private lesson? If she puts her just-outgrown grips under her pillow, will the squat-on fairy come in the night and exchange them for the skill? I know, I'm not the coach... I know nothing about gymnastics and am certainly not trying to coach her. I just hate to see this one skill that she clearly CAN do, since she gets it in the meets, be what holds her back!

Thoughts? Suggestions? Help!!!

 

[maryRS]

I don't know but I notice the same thing. My daughter has had her squat on forever, way at the end of her level 4, and she did 2 years of level 5. I don't think she has ever fallen on it at a meet, but it seems anytime I see her at practice she is falling on it. At states she was falling even in warmups (usually that doesn't happen) where I was thinking she was going to miss it in comp, but nope, she nailed it, ended up getting 1st place on bars - go figure!

Now, that being said, there are some girls who miss it in meets, but it seems like my daughter and your daughter have similar issues with it!

The question about the nemisis skill prompted me to put this out there...

My DD nailed her squat-on in every level 5 meet, but she misses it SO often in practice (maybe she hits it 25% of the time... maybe not even that!) and it's keeping her from putting in the time she needs to on her level 6 skills because often the coach gets frustrated after a couple and just sends her to the back of the line.

I'm pretty sure that it is, at least in part, a "focus" thing, because if the coach tells her that she has to do 10 squat-ons in a row, she can generally do it, but then when she does it in combination with other skills, she misses.

What's the deal with the stupid squat-on and is there any "cure" for it? Might it help to schedule a "squat-on only" private lesson? If she puts her just-outgrown grips under her pillow, will the squat-on fairy come in the night and exchange them for the skill? I know, I'm not the coach... I know nothing about gymnastics and am certainly not trying to coach her. I just hate to see this one skill that she clearly CAN do, since she gets it in the meets, be what holds her back!

Thoughts? Suggestions? Help!!!

 

[Muddlethru]

I don't have an answer for you. But just so you know you are not alone, many of our L5 and even L6 have problems with their squat ons. But unlike you both, they fall during the meets and this kills their scores. I could not understand it myself since many of these gymnasts are pretty good. Our top L5 gymnast falls on her squat on 50% of the time at meets and all our L6 (granted we only have 3) do the same. There was a similar question posted in chalkbucket. And dunno replied that it was all mental. So, if you think about it, the girls are on a 2 inch pole at least 10 feet above the ground (not sure about my measurements). It can be a little daunting to let go of that pole and stand up. I know I don't think I can do it.

 

[NGL780309]

I know the Level 5's on DD's team really stuggle with it too. No suggestions. This is the one skill that my DD has never had a problem with. It was kind of like the shoot thru for her. She could pretty much do it the first few times she tried while her teammates seemed to struggle so much. I chalked both skills up to her being little and her little legs are just so much easier to get up there. It seems like the girls with the long legs struggle with it more than the tiny ones at DD's gym.

 

[eme777]

, but it seems like my daughter and your daughter have similar issues with it!

Funny, it sounds just like my daughter too. She's had the skill since level 3. She's inconsistent in practice and meet warm-up, but got it 100% during the meets.

Sometimes her coach will send her over to the rec. bars & she'll do a whole bunch in a row. After that, she can go back to the team bars & do it fine in her routine. Apparently she needs a squat-on warm-up. I'm thinking it has something to do with her constant growing. She's extremely tall for her age (10 yrs old and just over 5'1"). Any time the girls grow they have to relearn skills.

 

[justanothergymmom]

I think this is a very common problem. My dd1 struggled with her squat ons when moving to L5 and L6.

In L5 it seemed that she would get ahead of herself and be thinking about her jump to the high bar, and would not "finish" her kip (with her shoulders above the bar.) When she remembered to finish her kip she began to make her squat ons more consistently.

In L6 she wasn't doing her freehip properly (wasn't "dropping" into it~more like a back hip circle without hips touching the bar) so her kip out of her freehip wasn't strong/controlled enough to make her squat on. Eventually when she got a strong freehip above 45 degrees her squat ons became consisitent.

 

[Bajanswife]

I know the Level 5's on DD's team really stuggle with it too. No suggestions. This is the one skill that my DD has never had a problem with. It was kind of like the shoot thru for her. She could pretty much do it the first few times she tried while her teammates seemed to struggle so much. I chalked both skills up to her being little and her little legs are just so much easier to get up there. It seems like the girls with the long legs struggle with it more than the tiny ones at DD's gym.

DD's short legs must be why she got her squat on immediately - she's the only Level 4 who can do a cast to squat on then jump to high bar. The other Level 4s climb up to squat on in order to jump (or they get spotted). However, shoot-through is a never-ending source of grief! She gets the legs through just fine, but she doesn't control it well enough - she flings herself through and if her shoulders aren't over the bar (which is maybe 2 out of 5 tries, unless it's a good day), she falls back.

It just seems that having trouble with a particular skill is such an individual thing. DD's issues relate to tightness and staying hollow. So she is weak in a very critical thing - a simple hollow handstand! That in turn has led to trouble with beam dismounts and Level 4 vault.

There may be things the coach can do to her help her, but in the end it will come down to effort and patience. All gymnasts have their strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes it takes a while for a skill to click.

 

[iluvgym]

If she makes it all the time at meets, I agree it's probably mental in practice. Either she's scared of it and just buckles down and does it because it's a meet and she wants to do well but in practice is maybe thinking about how scary it is OR she just is rushing in practice and less focused so misses it so much due to not paying attention (which is why her coach sends her to the back of the line, lol) My guess is she is young? And she will outgrow this.

If it's the second one and she's just not paying attention, she will eventually get tired of going to the back of the line and make a change. Good luck! Oh, and I don't think privates will help, since she obviously knows how to do them!

 

[MaryA]

In L6 she wasn't doing her freehip properly (wasn't "dropping" into it~more like a back hip circle without hips touching the bar) so her kip out of her freehip wasn't strong/controlled enough to make her squat on.

Oh great... So even if she gets to the point where she's making her squat-on 100% of the time, she may lose it again when she has to connect it to her free hip? Just what I wanted to hear!

 

[justanothergymmom]

Oh great... So even if she gets to the point where she's making her squat-on 100% of the time, she may lose it again when she has to connect it to her free hip? Just what I wanted to hear!

LOL, MaryA! I know, right???

Funny story about the squat on...flash forward 3 years to dd1's 1st L9 meet and her 1st event is bars. I was about ready to get sick waiting for her to go....Would she catch the bar on her bail? Would she land her double back dismount? Guess what she missed? HER SQUAT ON!!! MAde EVERY ONE since L6 and out of no where...ugh! Luckily she saved it with a sole circle-the 1st sole circle she had ever done!

 

[MaryA]

Luckily she saved it with a sole circle-the 1st sole circle she had ever done!

Wow! I guess add "quick thinking" to the list of things gymnastics teaches you to do!

 

[MaryA]

My guess is she is young? And she will outgrow this.

In PEOPLE years she's young, but in GYMNAST years she's an old lady! (She's 10)

 

[ivyagogo]

Squat on's freak me out. I am really uncomfortable with them and I can't quite figure out why. I think I'm afraid I will catch my foot and fall flat on my face. I have 7 year old students that have no problem with them, but I just don't like them. The problem for me is how on earth to get to the high bar without a squat on now that the bars are so far apart. I used to be able to do a kip-shoot thru and grab the bar back in the old days.

 

[MaryA]

Squat on's freak me out. I am really uncomfortable with them and I can't quite figure out why. I think I'm afraid I will catch my foot and fall flat on my face. I have 7 year old students that have no problem with them, but I just don't like them. The problem for me is how on earth to get to the high bar without a squat on now that the bars are so far apart. I used to be able to do a kip-shoot thru and grab the bar back in the old days.

Thanks for the gymnast's perspective!

 

[gymmutti]

Anyone have any ideas on how to help a L5 gymnast who can't keep her legs tight together during a squat on? My dd has never figured out how to keep the towel between her knees from flying out when she does a cast to squat on and her coaches won't let her move on to practice other skills that she also needs to be working on (ie., kip) until she can do it. She's been like this since she first learned to do a squat-on 6 months ago! She can keep her feet together but her knees separate just a bit when she goes for the squat on. She's starting to miss them more and more (used to never miss a squat on) as she fights to keep her towel from flying out. She took a tumble on Friday that scared her a bit. She held it together for practice and was able to get back on the bars and do a successful squat-on (ie., actually stand up on the low bar - towel still flew out) but once she got into the car she started crying out of frustration that she can't figure out how to hold that towel in.

 

[han_<3_fcgc]

that sucks that its holding her back, i have stupidly long legs, but i could do it before they grew out of control, now i have to lean so much further, i just cant manage to get my feet on argh!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Squat on's freak me out. I am really uncomfortable with them and I can't quite figure out why. I think I'm afraid I will catch my foot and fall flat on my face. I have 7 year old students that have no problem with them, but I just don't like them. The problem for me is how on earth to get to the high bar without a squat on now that the bars are so far apart. I used to be able to do a kip-shoot thru and grab the bar back in the old days.

between you and me...you gave away your age...LOL...those were the good ole days!

 

[bogwoppit]

Anyone have any ideas on how to help a L5 gymnast who can't keep her legs tight together during a squat on? My dd has never figured out how to keep the towel between her knees from flying out when she does a cast to squat on and her coaches won't let her move on to practice other skills that she also needs to be working on (ie., kip) until she can do it. She's been like this since she first learned to do a squat-on 6 months ago! She can keep her feet together but her knees separate just a bit when she goes for the squat on. She's starting to miss them more and more (used to never miss a squat on) as she fights to keep her towel from flying out. She took a tumble on Friday that scared her a bit. She held it together for practice and was able to get back on the bars and do a successful squat-on (ie., actually stand up on the low bar - towel still flew out) but once she got into the car she started crying out of frustration that she can't figure out how to hold that towel in.

She can practice using a chalk line on the floor. Start in push up position with her hands on the chalk line and a towel between her knees. Then she can jump her feet forward to the chalk line, keeping her legs tight. It will give her the "feel" for the squat on without the bar fear.

 

[gymmutti]

She can practice using a chalk line on the floor. Start in push up position with her hands on the chalk line and a towel between her knees. Then she can jump her feet forward to the chalk line, keeping her legs tight. It will give her the "feel" for the squat on without the bar fear.

She can do that - and does that drill all the time. She's does it both with just jumping to the line as well as using a floor bar and jumping from a push up position onto the floor bar. In those instances the towel stays in just fine. I think that is what frustrates her so much. Of course, now that she has gotten her kip - the squat on frustration has moved to the background. I'm hoping that one day it'll just click. She is also not allowed to jump and grab onto the high bar from her squat on while on the competition bars but she is allowed to do it on the bars that are set closer together. At first, this frustrated me. But when I read all these great comments from those of you with much more experience - my frustration left. Instead, I really appreciate that the coach is focusing so much on form and ensuring that she gets these skills without bad habits to break later. As a parent, I think that GymDad has the key advice: this is only the beginning of a marathon and there is no need to rush.

 

[bogwoppit]

AN ugly jump to the high bar is such a big deduction that fixing the issue now is HUGE deal. She'll get it becuase her coaches care to fix it.