Staying On The Beam

[Stretchsportguy]

I've seen competitions where falling off the beam was like a cold being spread to every participant. Even the most consistent beam workers seemed to be losing it that day.

My question to all gymnasts, coaches, and parents, is what do you do to teach girls not to fall off the beam? Are there special pointers you give them that help them stay on the beam? Is it a mental thing? If so then what do you say or do to help them with that? Is it a physical thing? If so then what are the drills and/or pointers you use to help with that?

Do you have special drills specifically designed to improve poise and balance? What do you do with a gymnast who constantly teeters? Constantly makes adjustments? Constantly loses rhythm due to bobbles?

 

[MWGC-Gymnast]

well obviously it depends on how the nerves affect the girls and if the girls physically can stay on normally at training...

last year our whole team fell off comp after comp after comp and finally when we got to state we had a different coach (my coach now) and she told us to not watch other beam routines incase they fall off and listen to music or something - im sure the gymnast on the beam wont mind if thats what it takes to get them to stay on the beam...just make sure you clapp and get the rest of the girls to clapp at the end of the routine
seeing someone fall off the beam puts an idea into the head and most then fall off

btw it worked and no one fell off at state!

 

[MdGymMom01]

Falls on beam are going to happen. My dd's coach emphasises to the girls that if they fall off, then take a deep breathe, get back up and re-focus. The inportant thing is to not let that fall affect the rest of your routine. When my dd falls on beam, she usually recovers quickly and finishes a very strong routine. She fell on her handstand at States this past month, but the routine was gorgeous except for the fall. She scored a 8.90 and it would have been a 9.40 without the fall.

Falls are going to happen. It is how the coach and gymnasts deal with the fall and how to recover from it that is important.

 

[3stars]

My daughter hasn't been doing it long but one thing that helps her is when we had a discussion about focusing on the beam and not at the mat underneath it. If she stops her point of focus there, it isn't as nerve-wracking for her.

 

[gymgirl_60]

We are also recommended not to watch other girls beam routines until we have completed ours. I have found this to really help me.
For just staying on the beam, if your chest is down and you are about to fall, bend your knees, and this should help. Also, try to get back to a lunge or your finishing position as quickly as possible.
Hope this helps!

 

[bookworm]

The biggest thing that helped my daughter stay on beam is repetition, repetition , repetition...she does 7-10 full routines every day and has to stick them all...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

beam is a four letter word. they practically never fell prior to tumbling on the beam. they will continue to fall UNTIL they increase the width. this would also prevent alot of the foot injuries that take place. fall is a four letter word too...some things just will never change.

 

[slkbeambabe07]

We practice falling and staying on the beam and focusing on the end of the beam in practice. I'll have the girls stay in releve, staring at the end of the beam, holding for 10 sec, then pivot and hold for 10 sec. If one girl falls off, we start over (i push their middles a slight bit, or at their legs to try and get them to wobble, but of course they should be pulled up tall so they shouldn't wobble), or if one girl loses eye contact, we start over. It's harder than you think with little ones!! It's a great team bonding skill as well. We have seen much success after doing this in meets and training it

 

[CoachGoofy]

I had a group of compulsories who rarely fell. It was really weird.

We talked about midline structures staying over the beam (hips one way and shoulders the other way doesn't count), toes turned out, looking for something eye level beyond the end of the beam, squeezing your "you" & which muscles that entails...

and beam was never made an OMGPRESSURE thing. Yeah, it's high. Yeah, it's narrow. Making a big deal out of staying on never seemed to help anyone actually stay on. We talked about strategies like landing heel toe, the midline structures, squeezing, & compensating for being off without over compensating, but it was never made a big thing.

(there IS a method to my madness)

 

[CoachTodd]

At meets, we don't let the girls watch beam unless they've already competed. Falls do seem to be contagious. This actually seems to work fairly well at preventing the spread of falls.

 

[All Chalked Up]

We don't exactly have a trick to stay on, but we learned from out coach is that they can't deduct points from when you are already on the ground. When we fall, we stand up, pick our wedgie, fix our hair and hop back on