WAG Vault

[Mamabear]

Man, level 4 is tough! LOL What is the single best piece of advice you would have for someone to help with that front handspring over the table? My DD definitely leaves the table way too late (good bit past vertical) and I can see where the deductions are, but the coach just tells them to block harder and faster. Well duh. What types of conditioning would be conducive to vault? Anything she can safely do at home?
The scoring was brutal, I only saw a couple 8's at our last meet and the rest were 6's and 7's. Not a 9 to be found anywhere amongst nearly 100 girls.

 

[Peachy88]

Our first meet was the same way...only 7 and 8s. No advice here just sympathy.

 

[sce]

It just takes time and practice. Learning to run consistently, pubchbthe biard hard, heel drive etc.

 

[John]

Vault is a.dynamic ecercise. The athlete must run full speed hit the board and use tremendous heal drive while getting to the table with proper position ans enough energy left to block from the table. No child is strong enough to block themselves from standstill to feet in the air.

 

[rjb123]

My DD always says strength makes everything easier. When she puts in extra work on conditioning it shows- and especially on vault. I imagine the usual things help- push ups, leg lifts, press HS, HS holds, etc. Good luck- she will get it!

 

[Flippin'A]

There are definitely types of conditioning that can help. Blocking is all about shoulder strength and staying tight on the table so handstand shoulder shrugs are good, so are handstand hops. But all the strength in the world won't make a difference if she doesn't have the timing and technique. And sadly that's something that comes from coaching, trying over and over, drills, and time. As a poster above said, it's impossible to block from a stand still so the run and hurdle are vital (and difficult to work at home.) If you trust the coach, then just know that she'll get better throughout the season and that nine will feel so much sweeter when it eventually comes.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Time.

 

[profmom]

Don't sweat it. A lot of kids don't develop good FHS vaults until they are training flipping vaults (yurchenkos and tsuks). Generating the power to flip those things requires a more aggressive run and better blocking technique. A coach can stand there and yell at them to run faster all day long, but they won't really start running faster until they have to in order to avoid killing themselves when they're trying to flip. I think it just takes a long time and a significant external threat (i.e., hit the table and flip or die) for some kids' brains to overcome the automatic alarm bells that go off when they are running hard toward a stationary object.

 

[spider_monkey]

Patience. My DD could barely get over the table when she started vaulting in September of her first season competing. Many, many meets she face planted/caught her butt on the way down. But then something clicked, and by April, she won 3rd place on vault at state. But man did I hate that vault for most of the season!

 

[Rockygym]

Agree time and reps are key. My daughter high score on vault her L4 year was like mid 8s.