WAG L7 Beam Connections

[vagymmomma]

DD has her BWO BWO connection and her BWO BHS connection on the high beam. She said they were doing drills today on beam and has been asking about other connections. Are any of the following good L7 connections? FWO FWO, FWO BWO, FWO RO, or Handstand BHS. She would still be doing BHS (not connected) with these skills. I think the reason she's asking is her BWO are sometimes crooked. Her FWO are really good.

Do certain connections score better than others (assuming both are performed decent)?

 

[Flipomaniak]

I find that the classic (I find most people do this anyway) BWO BHS is great for building up on thought the years.

Like
BWO BWO or BWO BHS- level 7
BWO BHS or BHS BHS- level 8
BHS BHS or BHS back tuck/pike/ layout step out- level 9
BHS back tuck/pike/layout step out- level 10

The ideal would be (as looked at my gym):
BWO BHS- level 7
BHS BHS- level 8
BHS B tuck/pike/layout step out 9+


I had a friend that did FWO FWO in level 7 because of a fear in backward tumbling, it's never good to do this (in my opinion) its better to work to overcome the fear no matter how long it takes. My friend ended up quitting as she got to a point were she couldn't avoid going backwards.

FWO BWO would be interesting because of the feet positions and would actually be pretty hard to be considered a connection. FWO BHS would be easier but still a higher chance of a wobble in the FWO and loosing the connection. I have also seen the FWO RO but mostly for again fear issues.

Hanstand backhandspring is a common learning step at our gym, you do those and then you upgrade to a BWO BHS but a few girls that had bad BWOs just competed that.

We do handstand BWO, BHS, B TUCK, LAYOUT as drills for the series with a flick.

I don't think certain ones score better, as long as they meet the requirements and you don't loose the connection (FWO BHS is common to loose connection with)

This is my opinion, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Agree that the FWO connections are difficult to get credit for, and not as progressive. Handstand BHS series are common at level 7, a good percentage of our level 7's do this series(usually the ones that don't have the prettiest BWO) they usually move on to BHS-BHS for level 8. But they must be able to consistently hold the handstand for 2+ secs.

 

[iwannacoach]

DD has her BWO BWO connection and her BWO BHS connection on the high beam. She said they were doing drills today on beam and has been asking about other connections. Are any of the following good L7 connections? FWO FWO, FWO BWO, FWO RO, or Handstand BHS. She would still be doing BHS (not connected) with these skills. I think the reason she's asking is her BWO are sometimes crooked. Her FWO are really good.

Do certain connections score better than others (assuming both are performed decent)?

It sounds like she's in a mental state of mind with her bwo, and I don't blame her.....I hate those things! If she really has to give up on the bwo bhs for a series, I'd favor a credit worthy handstand to a bhs.

Flipomaniak had it square on with her list of classics, and the closer a child stays to the course the better. Deviations from the classics should be reserved for special abilities that defy the norm, like the kid who does a round-off back tuck, because her shoulders were cast in concrete form day one and her bhs looks like Frankenstien's. Deviations just to detour around an issue usually lead to a mental typecast, and therefore should only be used as a last resort.


The list of alternatives is full of opportunities to lose connection credit, as a forward skill imperfection must be compensated for during the landing phase of the forward skill priort to initiating the bhs. Most kids are going to give that compensation one last check and then rush into the bhs to "save" the connection credit, and either suffer the loss of credit or fall off after they land the bhs.

The handstand-bhs series will keep her on track to work the more rewarding classic skills, as well as provide a few judges a pleasant surprise. Once she's ready to move on she will transition easily to a bhs-bhs, or bhs-layout.

 

[vagymmomma]

Thanks everyone for the comments - that really, really helps. It's really not a fear issue with DD. She's been doing the backwalkover on beam for years, but she's developed a weird technique that just doesn't look real pretty and isn't conducive to a connection (it's VERY fast, with bent legs, not getting the 180 split - but she amazingly sticks it). Her new coaches are trying to get her to slow it down to help the form. The FWO is apparently very easy for her on beam, so she wanted to see if it was an option. She also liked the HS BHS option they tried yesterday in practice.

Her shoulder flexibility is not spectacular so I think that's part of the limitation with the BWO. I think the ultimate goal is for her to get the BHS BHS on beam some time this year. The handstand BHS sounds like it may be a good progression for that series. Thanks again!

 

[Azgymmiemom]

Your dd sounds aLOT like mine! The series she is doing is BHS step out first, then BWO. I've heard this is really strange, but it works for her. She goes right into it...no stopping. Her BWO's were not always real consistent. I think they did this so that she gets the connection credit even if she then falls on the BWO. Her BWO's are actually pretty good now, but she is still practicing the BHS into BWO. She already has the BHS BHS, but I'm told you can't do that series at L7...

I didn't even know the handstand into BHS was an option. Sounds pretty!

 

[2gymmies]

You can compete bhs bhs at level 7. My dd competed it for levels 7 and 8 (and technically she could still use it for 9). It is a great option for 7 if you can get it!

 

[Quadqueen]

an L7 at DD's gym also does BHS-BWO...I thought it was a little odd too, but it works for her!!