WAG Funny things - preteam

[gymisforeveryone]

I didn't know how to headline this thread so please read further to find out what I'm talking about.

Well, I'm a preateam coach. The kids are all 7 or 8 years old. I have a lovely assistant coach with me. She's a mother of one of the girls and a former gymnast.

As a mother my assistant coach has brought up some good ideas about how to motivate children do better at practices and enjoy it even more. She always remembers to use funny words, high fives, mental images etc and I have adopted her methods as well. She doesn't know that much about technical stuff and theory of gymnastics but she's absolutely fantastic with kids and makes them smile.

I would love to know how others make practices fun and effective for the younger children? We have used a goal table with small stickers when a skill is perfected. We have also made them a safe home conditioning and stretching plan and they have own "gym notebooks". They write it down when they practice at home and get stickers for it at practices.

One little thing the kids love is counting unison in different languages like in English, Swedish or French when holding a split or something like that.

I heard that one of the teams we have in my club has an own mascot monkey and every week the coaches give it for some of the girls depending who has worked hardest and been a good friend. I love the idea and I think we could use that one too.

Which are your best ideas ?

 

[Vaibicy]

Well, when I was in pre-comp/pre-team (ah, whatever you call it! XD), my coaches then had a big chart where we would stick in stickers or stamps for getting a new skill, coming to gym on time, helping out, etc and when one row was filled, we would get to choose a prize from a box filled with stamps, pencils, animal erasers, notepads, wristbands, cards. It was really effective, haha!
Sometimes if we were good and stayed quiet, we would get 10 extra minutes on tramp or tumble track. I think that offering fun activities, contests (<--works like magic with everyone), and small rewards really helps motivate and you won't see anyone sitting down on a mat doing nothing...but I am biased being a gymnast myself, LOL. At our gym,also, if we get a new skill, we can ring a bell to notify the entire gym, and everyone watches the gymnast perform the skill and cheers them on. Your ideas seem really awesome too! Varying everything once in a while also helps to prevent them from being bored of stickers. Having fun drills involving the foam pit, tumble track, big huge port-a-pit mats, trampolines are great too, since they'll enjoy them and put in more effort.

The mascot idea seems really cool! I can so see it being extremely popular. Good luck!

 

[leotardmakermum]

My daughter just loves Monday Fun Day (although it doesn't have to be on a Monday - it could be Saturday Fund Day - it's just that Monday obviously rhymes better. Maybe not in Suomi! )

If they've been working really hard preparing for a competition, or had a long and hard weekend training session, our daughter's coach lets them have Monday Fun Day.

Apart from playing fun conditioning and strength type games, they get to have a short time playing in the pit. But the best part of fun day is trying new skills. The girls often get to try new things such as flips or flyaways for the first time on fun day. So apart from just being fun, they look forward to it as an opportunity to get to try new things.

 

[iwannacoach]

Drama day........

Where every bit of communication is done in character, whatever that may be. If a kid has a problem they want to tell me about, they rant, whine, and put on a sad or upset face. If there's something good that happens, it's a "Pomp and Circumstance" moment with exaggerated fanfare and me acting out with arm waving, head grabbing I can't believe it was so good.... can I pleeeeze get your autograph, pleeeze kinda rave.

It's fun for the kids, and at least I get to be myself for a few hours.

PS.... What an inspiration!!! Somebody get a hold of the jaw dropping, pencil flinging Maroney vault judge. Yeah, she'd fit right in on Drama Day.

 

[Amusibus]

My daughter is in pre-team, and her coach is always giving them free stuff. I think they keep sticker charts, then when they complete them, they get a prize. Really nice stuff, too. Over the last year my daughter has received flip-flops, a Webkin, a Hello Kitty alarm clock, a scrunchee, and a new leotard, among other things. I guess it helps that her coach is the co-owner, so they can give away whatever they want. Definitely keeps the kids motivated! They are a bit younger, 4 to 6 years old.

 

[Liv...]

I have a skill chart, they get a sticker next to a skill when it is competition ready. But you need to have it perfect for 2 training sessions in a row things like that so they don't get sloppy as soon as they do it.
Also I find competitions within the group are so motivating, eg Jump/Handstand/Landing/Holding body tension comps.

 

[my4buffaloes]

My dd's group has a team cheer that they do at the end of every practice. I think it helps cement the bond of the team. They scream it really loud and think it is so funny.