Someone please explain this to me

[NGL780309]

I'm very curious about why our coach does Lv 4 vault the way she does. I don't want to ask because someone else already did and was given an answer that boils down to because I'm the coach and quit asking questions.

For Lv 4 there is the mat they vault onto and I believe it is 32 inches. Correct me if I'm wrong. You can add mats up to a certain height within the rules correct? Well our team vaults with extra mats so it's at that highest height. When we go to meets we are the only team that vaults at the highest height allowed. She has to drag the extra mat up each time one of our girls warms-up or goes and then take it off for the other team. Several of our girls have trouble making it up and therefore do a very ugly vault. My child in particular is very little, as is another child, and still they vault at this height. Again, no other team vaults on anything other than the 32 inch mat.

DD does privates with the optional coach and he has her vault on the 32 inch and she makes every vault and they look good. He said he doesn't know why the Lv 4 coach does that and it's not helping DD.

I know you can't read her mind, but give me some insight. Why does she do this? Do you as a coach do this?

 

[Mariainlv]

Im not a coach but my guess is to get them ready to do the L5 vault over the table? Just a guess. I think the table is higher than the 32 inch mat.

Too bad that the answer given was "because I said so". Also too bad that the coach doing the privates is not doing it the same way the coach is. This can cause confusion for the gymnast.

 

[wandrewsjr]

It is definately better training progression towards going over the vault table to use a higher mat stack. I have my level 4's do this often during practice. But I have the level 4's vault at meets on whatever mat height they can score the best on. Some more powerful girls can score better on the higher stack, while smaller, less powerful girls can only do a decent vault on the 32 inch mat.

I imagine your coach/gym values the progression of becoming a better level 5/6/7 vaulter over scoring well at level 4. It is too bad your coach won't just explain this, though, as most parents would accept this as resonable.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I wouldn't train EXCLUSIVELY at the higher setting, and I wouldn't have kids compete on that setting if they're struggling, but there is definitely value in training it both high and low.

 

[vagymmomma]

Last year my DD's coach said vaults with extra mats tend to score higher because it shows more power. I would have to think it aids the transition to the L5 vault as well.

If you plan on competing with extra mats though, make sure you practice with them. DD had some inconsistency in meets because she was the only one on her team using the extra mats. Therefore, she rarely got to use them in practice (I say inconsistent, but her scores were never below 9.1 -- usually much higher).

 

[SamIam]

I don't want to ask because someone else already did and was given an answer that boils down to because I'm the coach and quit asking questions.

Can't help with the vault question, and really have a hard time with the above statement.

I respect the fact that someone is a coach and I'm not, but is there really any harm in answering a ligitimate question from a parent without the "my team my way" attitude?

 

[NGL780309]

I completely get the idea of training something in a more difficult way in order to progress further. What I don't get is competing something at a meet that isn't scoring well. One of our little girls can barely make the vault at that height and scores 7's on vault. She's very tiny even though she's 8. She's only a little taller than my DD who is little for a 5 year old. She usually pikes and then pushes up to the handstand. DD will often do this too, though DD does a nice vault sometimes.

When they did start practicing on the real table it actually seemed so much easier for DD because it was actually lower than the mat stack.

I asked her dad, who coaches, if the coach was doing this just to make it more difficult and therefore make her a better vaulter in the long run. His response was it was good to practice this way, but ultimately you want your gymnast to vault at a height that they use the correct form and technique. That makes sense to me, but I asked here because DD's dad is pretty far removed from coaching young kids. I'm sure teaching L4 vault or even L5 is very different from what he does.

At meets our girls, with the exception of a few, just barely make it up and sometimes don't quite make it. Meanwhile I see all the other teams vaulting just on the mat and their vaults are powerful. They actually block and travel while our girls are lucky if they get up. The other teams are scoring mid to high 9's. It just doesn't make sense to me. It's actually kind of embarassing to watch our coach put on and take off the extra mats while everyone waits. You expect if someone is going to all that trouble that you are going to see something really great right? Wrong! At this last meet in particular our team was rotating with a very experienced coach who's been around forever and I thought he must be laughing at our coach inside and thinking what in the world is she doing.

And yes it is a shame that parents feel that can't ask a question.

 

[NGL780309]

It is definately better training progression towards going over the vault table to use a higher mat stack. I have my level 4's do this often during practice. But I have the level 4's vault at meets on whatever mat height they can score the best on. Some more powerful girls can score better on the higher stack, while smaller, less powerful girls can only do a decent vault on the 32 inch mat.

I imagine your coach/gym values the progression of becoming a better level 5/6/7 vaulter over scoring well at level 4. It is too bad your coach won't just explain this, though, as most parents would accept this as resonable.

My DD is kind of little and she's only 5. She's about 40 inches tall and around 32lbs. On most days she might make 1 out of 3 vaults. So yes she can do it, but I've seen her vault on just the 32 inch mat and they look much better. She will usually pike and sometimes straddle her legs to get up to handstand on the bigger mats. It will definitely not score well.

 

[NGL780309]

Im not a coach but my guess is to get them ready to do the L5 vault over the table? Just a guess. I think the table is higher than the 32 inch mat.

Too bad that the answer given was "because I said so". Also too bad that the coach doing the privates is not doing it the same way the coach is. This can cause confusion for the gymnast.

\


I'm actually glad she works on it differently during privates. Not only has it given her confidence, but this coach works much more on her body position and her run. During regular practice it's more like just get up there even if it looks crappy.

 

[NGL780309]

And just to add, DD is definitely not very powerful. She has a really hard time getting a good punch off the springboard. During her private the coach will let her use a different/easier springboard. He said the other springboard is tough for her because she doesn't have much weight. He works a lot with her on the springboard.

 

[gymnut29]

I agree with the others, our girls train with taller mats to build up their vaults and get them used to a higher setting for going over the table. We have very girls who compete with the higher mats on top, usually our taller stronger girls will. But not our 6-8 year olds.

Since your level coach doesnt have a real answer for you have you thought about having her private lesson coach, or the teams head coach talk to the level coach. I know its going around people but honestly there is no reason why the girls should be struggling that much with the skill. Its not fair to them to score low because the coach has decided they need to work harder than the others at the meet. I would look for someone else to talk to if the level coach wont give a straight answer.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

If they are constantly breaking form and using poor technique, all the benefits of vaulting up higher are lost. From a coaching point it is great, can stack all the mats up set the board and sit on your butt and just relax while yelling the odd correction out

 

[gymnut1]

Whoever is wrong or right it is unprofessional for one coach to say another coach is wrong. That is just causing tension and mistrust and is undermining your trust in your dd's coach. Perhaps she should take privates with her coach instead.

I think you need to go to the owner with your confusion. Ask for a meeting with both coaches and the owner. Make it clear you are wanting consistency for your dd. Say your only concern is her vaulting. Ask why she (as a little one) has to have the mats so high both in practise and at a meet. Say she looks like she struggles so much. You can do it in a way that doesn't accuse either coach of anything. Ask the owner to decide one way or the other and have both the coaches abide by it. The chopping and changing is not helping your dd. If the gym prefers the high mat thing you will just have to accept it (I wouldn't agree with it as a coach personally though).

 

[NGL780309]

DD doesn't compete so it's not really an issue for her score wise. I was just curious. I thought there might be some logical answer for why the coach does this. I don't know that she will ever compete the Lv 4 vault, but if she does I will say something.

 

[NGL780309]

If they are constantly breaking form and using poor technique, all the benefits of vaulting up higher are lost. From a coaching point it is great, can stack all the mats up set the board and sit on your butt and just relax while yelling the odd correction out

Have you visited our gym and seen our coach in action?