Coaches Connected backhandsprings/roundoff backhandspring for the older, apprehensive athlete

[CoachGoofy]

I'm stuck on this one.

I've got an athlete who has a fantastic standing backhandspring, and a workable roundoff, and a good snapdown.

She is absolutely. terrified. to do a snapdown backhandspring or a roundoff backhandspring. Her exact words are "I feel like I am going to die". She had a similar mental block with a back tuck on trampoline this year and a front tuck last year. She's an overthinker. Love her to bits. But. She thinks.

Now, if she was smaller, we'd do snapdown backhandspring with a heavy spot (read as: Coach goofy makes the rebound into a backhandspring). I asked her if she'd be willing to do that and she looked at me like I was nuts and said "yeah good luck with that"-which is fair. Some kids will jump back if they think I will do all the work, she is not one of them, & I need her cooperation at least on direction to flip her (which she knows and told me she knows all on her own).

It's time to progress beyond standing bhs and I'm running out of ideas. We've done snapdowns off a mat into a backhandspring...except she won't jump back on the rebound.

What are some good drills to get her into a position where rebounding into the BHS is easier than rebounding up? I'm pretty sure once she feels it she'll be willing to do it again and again, based on her history, but she has to do the first 1, or 5, or 10, to trust herself. And I don't want this to turn into a bigger mental block than it already is, she needs a break from feeling she HAS to do skills that she doesn't trust herself to do.

(Yes. vestibular issues & very in her head gymnast = good thing we're patient I think)

 

[iwannacoach]

This may be a physiological problem. If she's much older than 15yo and has little experience, her brain may have trimmed away the ability to process physical motion beyond what she's accustomed to...... you know, the uprite stuff. When that happens, it takes more time for them to, literally, wrap their minds around a new motion set because they have to cultivate their brain with similar motion that they can do.

Try working her through a series of non-flight combinations that get her upside down on the second element, like backward roll series, handstand step down to backward roll, handstand stepout to backbend or bwo...... My guess is she'll go from, for instance, a good back walkover to one that's "just a lot harder"...... if you get what I mean. If you see her 2nd skill become a great big deal, then give her assignments of two connected elements where either both, or at least the second one move backward and upside down. Let her chew on that for a bit of her floor time for the next four classes/practices, and then try any skill into a bhs, like handstand step down to bhs, or backward roll to bhs, or cartwheel to bhs.

Maybe that'll help.

 

[BlairBob]

I'm a big fan of snapdown BHS but if it was freaking out a kid I would go to BHS-BHS with a shuffle spot or spotting the second.

I also like making the SuperHill which is a two wedges connected to each other. Normal fold out wedge, then put blocks and mats to connect a second wedge at the top of the first one. They don't have to start at the very top (generally middle to bottom of the second one). You may have to start on the top of the second one if you want to connect 3 or a giant gymnast.

Sometimes, backhandspring down the hill to backhandspring on floor works as well.

 

[CoachTodd]

^^^ he stole my answer with the BHS-BHS if she already has a good one.
You could try a barrel for the snapdown BHS. I'm not a real big fan of the barrels but the do save a lot of wear and tear on my shoulder.

 

[CoachGoofy]

Ooh I should do a superhill. She's got this refusal to jump back from motion, unfortunately. She's...11? and an early grower and has grown a lot, so I sympathize that she feels a bit disoriented, and also with her feeling like she's going too fast. Generally once she does a thing she's ok, & she's asked me to trick her into doing things, but there comes a point...I'm a good shuffle spotter but I can't convert her jump up into a jump back like I could if she was 8 or sized like she was 8 (isn't that weird? 11 year olds either look 8 or 14 I swear...)

I'm gunna try the monster hill. Thank you.

 

[BlairBob]

Yeah, one of my girls at 11 was the same height as me or roughly there about. Definitely that 8 or 14 is something I understand. They are either tiny or future volleyball players it seems.

It's kind of scary standing at the top of the SuperHill to do BHS, but I've never really liked doing BHS on hills. Some kids love it but when you stand on top it seems you are on a tower in the gym looking down at everything.

Have her wear a shirt over her leo and pull back on it as she sits. I generally push the front of the hip with my left hand and pull or spot the back with my right.

 

[iwannacoach]

[h=1]Connected backhandsprings/roundoff backhandspring for the older, apprehensive athlete[/h]

Geez, if you're calling an 11yo an older athlete older, what do you call a 15 or 16 year old....... Mommy?

 

[Aussie_coach]

I was also going to reccomend that you work the BHS BHS, once you take out the run and the twist that is incorporated in the round off it can be a lot easier and certainly easier to spot.

do you have an overhead safety harness you could use?

 

[AmandaLynn]

If she is afraid of BHS BHS, what about BWO BHS or CW BHS... Something that moves a bit slower.

 

[CoachGoofy]

Geez, if you're calling an 11yo an older athlete older, what do you call a 15 or 16 year old....... Mommy?

"Not level 3 on tumbling". Or "someone who gets a bigger spotter than me, because they're in a different class".

She's one of our older in her level. And 'older' is not a judgement in any way. She's got the maturity to think things through the way those 15 and 16 year olds do, which means mixing the techniques that help older athletes with the silliness I use with younger athletes most effective.

 

[CoachGoofy]

I was also going to reccomend that you work the BHS BHS, once you take out the run and the twist that is incorporated in the round off it can be a lot easier and certainly easier to spot.

do you have an overhead safety harness you could use?

Alas, no harness. If we had a harness this'd be much easier for a number of reasons. We've got a bunch of mats, a couple of cheeses, 2 olympic trampolines, a rod floor, a double mini, & a tumble trak.

I'm considering having all 3 kids in her group who don't yet roundoff bhs do a snap down from a mat on tumble trak & BHS out of that. It's harder to cut your own rebound from an elevated snap down.

 

[CoachGoofy]

If she is afraid of BHS BHS, what about BWO BHS or CW BHS... Something that moves a bit slower.

I might be able to get her to do cartwheel BHS...the big thing is she cuts her own momentum & just STOPS. I wish I had half her ability to stop motion. Kid can stick like nobody's business, connections just freak her out.