Parents Squat on help

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Parker

Proud Parent
New to chalk bucket but my DD would love help from any coaches, parents, or gymnasts that have advice. She's a small level 4 and has been using grips at least 6 mos. She can do the squat-on ok, even pause standing before the jump, but repeatedly when she catches the high bar, her body swings past and she says it rips her hands off the bar. The bad thing is she has swing momentum at that point so instead of landing on her feet, lands on her back or the worst one on her neck. Her coaches are helping with shaping and spotting her until she gets better, but she tells me she can't keep her hands on the bar. She's starting to hate bars and I can't stand the thought of these bad falls.
 
I am not a coach, or a gymnast...and only hear what the coaches have told my child...but why is she wearing grips? My daughter is doing kips and squat ons/high bar, but doesn't use grips. She is working on cast to handstand, but isn't doing giants yet. I wonder if your daughter would do better with no grips?
 
but why is she wearing grips? My daughter is doing kips and squat ons/high bar, but doesn't use grips. She is working on cast to handstand, but isn't doing giants yet. I wonder if your daughter would do better with no grips?

My DD is a young and small kid who is training lvl 4 and she got grips as soon as she had a consistent straight arm kip. She struggles with the grips pretty badly but when I ask the coaches about it, they tell me that the struggle and temporary regression in skill is normal and that they would rather the kids adjust to them early rather than later. I think the same thing all the time though....her kips and cast to squat on were so gorgeous before she got the damn grips!

Regarding the jump to the high bar, my DD had/has a similar issue. Her coach said it is likely just because she is so small and the bar seems so darn far away that she over does the jump, gets too much momentum and peels off the bar. The coach now has her practice the jump/grab from a platform to a high bar over a pit so the falls are not so awful. It has already gotten more tolerable to watch! Some of the bigger girls can just lean and reach the bar but then they often have been struggling to get enough momentum to do the kip. I guess it is just tough big or small.
 
I think, ideally you want to be in front of (vs under) the bar when you catch it. So she may need to jump up as well as forward. Also, shaping is important. If she arches on the jump she will have mire trouble catching.
 
So, now I wonder why our gym says to wait? We were told the same about skill regression. However, I have been told the longer a gymnast can go without needing grips, the better. One person doesn't even need them at level 9, because of such a strong grip without them. It differs from coach to coach, too. One of our coaches did say to order a pair so we did...and they aren't being used because the coach changed.
 
No advice, just good vibes headed your way. Puma Jr had horrible squat on issues a year and change ago, but now she's good! Your DD will get it too! Good luck!!
 
Is she spotted all the time? She should be spotted since this skill seems to be hard for her AND she's had several falls. She should be spotted until she can safely do it like 100 times with someone standing there ready to catch. Squat on jump to high bar is one of the most dangerous skills in the compulsory levels. It should be taken seriously. Better safe than sorry.
 
It took my daughter a solid 9 months before grips were doable for her in a routine setting. She's now had them almost 11 months and still prefers certain skills without them. Her coach was very good about having her wear themy a little each day to get used to them, but still let her go without until she felt comfortable wearing them. She didn't even get them until she could do multiple giants in a row by herself. She is also young and small, sometimes it just takes some kids a little longer. Has she been able to try the jump to high bar without the grips? How does she do then?
 
most of the peeling on a jump to high bar comes from the wrong shape as well as the wrong angle. i.e. if they are arched and jump forward, they will continue to fly forward. She should jump more up than forward and even grab the bar almost as her wrists and let the dowel slide to the bar as she grips it. (reach over the bar). Stay hollow and since the next skill is most likely going to be a long hang kip, she could start learning to push her feet downward while pushing the bar back to get a good kip shape.
I think you hit it when you said the coaches are working on fixing her shapes.
 
On a slight tangent, how far are they really supposed to have to jump? From watching the upper levels I thought it was supposed to be more of a lean than a jump, but my daughter's coaches use a single bar setting for each level, and it is quite a big jump for the little ones.
 

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