Clear Hip Cirlce Help!

[VTCoach]

I have gymnasts ranging from Level 6-9 who are struggling with their clear hips. The younger levels can't seem to come out of them high enough above horizontal and the older girls are trying to reach handstand. I've tried a bunch of things but nothing is clicking. Any suggestions??

 

[gymdog]

Do you have a strap bar? What is a typical bar practice like?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

3 in a row. see my other posts on the how to.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I have gymnasts ranging from Level 6-9 who are struggling with their clear hips. The younger levels can't seem to come out of them high enough above horizontal and the older girls are trying to reach handstand. I've tried a bunch of things but nothing is clicking. Any suggestions??

I'd have to see what they're doing to be sure if this is the issue, but in my experience the most common problem (and one of the ones least commonly directly addressed by coaches) is not dropping the shoulders back early/fast/aggressive enough at the beginning of the skill.

 

[VTCoach]

Thanks for all the responses!

One of the things that I do stress is being aggressive when dropping their shoulders back when coming out of the cast but I probably could emphasize more on doing it early enough.

Alot of them have trouble getting into that tight hollow form from their cast.

We do have a strap bar. A normal bar practice would have stations set up where they are working on their clear hips, cast handstands, giants with flyaway and full routines. Then having specific drills set up for the struggling elements.

 

[gymdog]

Okay well I would start to have them do cast, drop, two back hip circles in a tight hollow (but not "hip" circles, actually trying to stay lower down on the legs). To see if they can get and keep momentum.

Then they can try to do two clear hips in a row on strap bar. Wherever they open to in the clear support. This should work up to three. They might need some spot.

For the drop back if you have a soft mat you can set up a drop back drill. Lower the bar down so they can just cast without hitting over a soft, resi mat (or like the L4 vault system) and then they do cast, drop to their back under the bar in a tight hollow. Make sure to maintain the tight hollow.

 

[hakunamatata]

I am not coaching clear hips right now, but I do recall a drill that really helped me out as a gymnast.

My coach would lower the strap bar down to about regulation low bar height or so. He'd stack panel mats to the height that I could stand on them and get a really nice hollow shoulder position with my hands on the bar (but, of course, far enough back that I wouldn't hit my head going into the clear hip). Then I'd take a small jump focusing on extending off my toes, and I'd really have to use the drop back to gain the momentum to get around the bar, since I didn't have the luxury of a high cast. Then I'd just land back on the panel mats. Strap also really helped me get the feel and the timing of opening my shoulder angle.

After that I just worked on connecting three or four clear hips on set.

 

[Optionals United]

I know one my coaches did a drill with the compulsaries for the drop. lower the low bar and but a cheese under it, and start onthe bar. do a small cast and drop you shoulders like you are going into the clear hip. it helped a lor of them get the fell of a nice hollow drop.