WAG Learning New Routines

[TX2NH]

Curious how gyms/gymnasts across the country are teaching/learning the NEW routines...Learning all at once, learning sections at a time, with music/without music, watched video of routines? How is the teaching style working for your gymnast?

 

[munchkin3]

Skills were taught ahead of time.
Beam was split into about 3 or 4 pieces and taught. Then strung together.

Floor also, taught in sections. Then put all together.
The girls watched the Floor routine a few times on tv.
They just started doing it to the music and it gets messy by the end.
At one point all the girls were laying all around the floor like they had all passed out....LOL

It is getting a bit cleaner.

Now the coaches take 2-3 girls at a time, and go through the entire routine without music a few times, then a few times with music.

Seems to be working well.....DD has the complete beam routine.
Dont know about floor, but I assume she will be ready in a month or so.

 

[gwenmom]

Skills were taught ahead of time.
Beam was split into about 3 or 4 pieces and taught. Then strung together.

Floor also, taught in sections. Then put all together.
The girls watched the Floor routine a few times on tv.
They just started doing it to the music and it gets messy by the end.
At one point all the girls were laying all around the floor like they had all passed out....LOL

It is getting a bit cleaner.

Now the coaches take 2-3 girls at a time, and go through the entire routine without music a few times, then a few times with music.

Seems to be working well.....DD has the complete beam routine.
Dont know about floor, but I assume she will be ready in a month or so.

Sounds about the same at our gym from what I caught in the last 20 minutes of practice I saw.

 

[jpow]

I haven't started teaching beam yet. I've been focusing on floor - making sure everything in the routine is spot on before moving on. My faster learners have the whole floor and I'm just fine tuning it, while my younger gymnasts/slower learners are about half way through.

 

[hammy1207]

I haven't started teaching routines yet (we don't start competing until December), so I'm going to start once the girls go back to school. I have started teaching little pieces to the routines, around the skills, as they work the skills. For example: Rond de jambe before the leap sequence on beam and the pose after the jump sequence on floor. When I do start teaching the routine, I have it planned out to teach the routine is about 4-6 parts, and each part will need to be perfected before adding the music. I also plan on showing the girls the DVD before I teach, and projecting it on the back wall of the gym while I teach, so that they have someone to follow while I correct.

 

[raenndrops]

Our gym is having TEAM Camp for the first time ever. We are breaking it out be levels (Level 3, Levels 4 & 5 since they are so close, Levels 6 & 7, and Xcel Gold & Platinum). Each level has a floor day and a beam day MANDATORY. There is a second floor day and beam day offered for each group plus, last Friday, all levels were able to come and work on their routines. Each camp time is 2 hours long - with optionals (6,7, & Xcel) coming 3-5pm on their days and compulsories coming 5:30-7:30 on their days. The Optionals have the opportunity to stay over and continue working up until 7:30. The Compulsory levels actually have Floor and Bars one day, then Beam and Vault the other day. This way, the coaches can break up the team and get everything accomplished while there are no other classes going on. During the year, we share our gym space with rec classes and it can get pretty busy. The coach wants to be able to get the teaching of the routines out of the way so she can just polish everything during the chaos.

 

[JennMene]

Our team program is quite small ... but I have found that if I break them up into Right/Left groups and focus on about 1/2 of either beam or floor, the kids react quite well to it. I give them a few minutes between learning new sections so they can go through what they have learned on their own. I take it very slow while learning and occasionally a gymnast will get very frustrated, which is when I work individually with her. When practicing a new section of choreo, I make sure we go through it 4-5 times and get a little bit quicker and quicker each time. My entire team (18) kids learned their 4 and 5 beam/floor routines over a 4 day period and they have picked it up nicely and are able to remember it. I also use verbal cues and make them say the cues as they perform the action. That seems to help them when they get stuck.

 

[hammy1207]

Our skills are finished and now it's learning the routine and cleaning up skills. Surprisingly, my level 3s picked up the floor routine quicker than my level 4s who have already competed! I'm starting the beam routine next week. Our first meet isn't until Dec. 7th.

If I can, I break them into lefty/righty groups and teach it separately. If this is not possible, I split them on the floor into R/L groups and work with one group while the other group practices a piece and I go back and forth.

Verbal cues have been a big helper for my kiddos!