Hey! That’s A Pretty Good Drill!

Shop Talk 101 for Coaches:

Old drills for skills

“There is no such thing as obsolete knowledge.Such knowledge only requires that the properconditions for its use be present.”

What makes a good drill?

• Self contained – “Look Ma! No spot!”

• Safe – little likelihood gymnast will get injured

•Reinforces, teaches or develops some aspect of the skill being learned

•Drill is done within a close parameter of correctness –i.e., it’s harder to do it wrong

Why do some drills fall out of use?

There are a number of reasons…

A) Changes in the equipment

Example: The bars today are usually set much, much wider than in the past

B) Changes in the event requirements.

These can be rule changes, changes in compositional requirements, and simply that certain skills and their “families” have either “died off” or changed drastically.

C) We replace the older drill with a newer, “improved” one or with a new gadget that is supposed to help a kid learn it faster and on her own and forget about the old one.

So, how can these drills be useful?

They existed as skills for a long time before we got to the point we are now, so they must have had some good solid basis in technique.

The Stemme Rise – a drill for kipping

So… what happened?

•The stemme rise, both double and single leg were a staple of compulsory uneven bars for ages (look at films from the ’60’s and before…) for teaching kips

•As the difficulty level on bars improved, they were moved wider. And the stemme rise died out as a competitive skill – an example of the event itself changing and eliminating a skill.

Beginning the Stemme rise …

• The stemme rise is an old skill from when the uneven bars were much closer that was a precursor to learning the kip.

• This drill can start as a jump with straight arms to front support. By moving the foot position to a point under and then on the other side of the bar, the gymnast can gradually learn the basic movement of the shoulders

• The use of a block allows for a little more angle and a surface to assist the jump to support for the arms to move in the proper pattern for a kip.

Block stemme rise drill

“Off-set” Boys Parallel Bars for stemme rise

Advantages of the “off set” P-bars:

• By keeping the upper bar level, any problems with one hand/arm being weaker are eliminated.

• Since the feet will be close together on the “jump” to support on the upper bar, the tilt is minimal and has no effect on the gymnast being able to perform the stemme rise.

• You now have a station that allows the gymnasts to go to the part of the bar that is “just their size” without the coach needing to adjust the bars.

The Spotted Swing-up

Spotted Swing up:

• The advantage with this drill is the coach can control the swing of the gymnast and even help lift a bit to help them perform the upper body action for a kip.

• The single leg version also aloows for the gymnast to learn the action of the kip using one leg – just like the single leg stemme rise.

The Strap Swing Up

Variations on a swing drill:

• Hook the spotting belts onto the end of the bar so they DO NOT rotate,

• Then you can wrap the straps one or two times around the bar to adjust the lengths for gymnasts of varying sizes

• Eliminates the need for a coach spotting

• Can be used for the double leg and single leg swing up

Flyaway Drill (Foot pull over by coach)

Notes for the flyaway drill:

• This drill emphasizes the lower half of the body doing the flyaway

• Helps reduce/eliminate “head throw” and arm “pull” on the bar

• Gives gymnast a “feel” for the skill on the release

How about an idea for beam?

How many of you know or remember what negative space is in art?

Negative Space Drill for Beam Skills and Series

Negative Space Drill:

• Simple enough – the gymnast tries to fit her hands and feet IN the space between the two sting mats (or carpet squares, etc.)

• Note: Every kid does not need this – may help with ones who are struggling to perform the skills

• We already use similar drills for tumbling on floor (cartwheels in between standing on edge panel mats, etc.) usually to get them to go in a straighter line somewhere. This puts them into a space the width of the beam.

Back Layout drill on trampoline

Back Candlestick “Layout” Drill:

• Spot this until you know for certain they will not throw their heads back and land on their shoulders in a candlestick

• Helps drill the correct head position on the take off for the back layout

• Helps maintain the flat hip shape of the layout

• Gives the coach a station where the kids can work alone

Front layout drill on trampoline

• Uses a “flyspring” (or bounder) as its base movement over a mat stack

• Again, eliminates the need for a spotter

• Follows the basic movement pattern for the layout front salto

Drill to teach reverse pirouette

Advantages of the drill:

• Eliminates the need for a spotter

• Teaches the skill as a ¼ turn and balance

• Gymnast can progress in smaller or greater increments

• Emphasizes balance and “posting” on the support arm during the turn

• Can got to either a mix grip or full reverse rip

• Can be transferred to a “bounce bar” station where the same steps are followed

“Canyon of Doom” Drill

For the “Chinese sit-up”/ toe up to HB

• Here’s one drill that may help with some kids that have difficulty understanding the “hecht” action of the toe up to HB

• The gymnast must have hips rise at least close to the level of the LB before straddling and finishing in the straddled sit

• Always have a soft mat between the blocks, and use softer mat at the tops of the canyon blocks if they are hard

Multiple Stations on one bar for beginners:

Multiple Station Advantages:

• For coaches with only one bar available for use and little extra space

• Easily set up 3 to 4 stations on the one bar

• Allows for changes in the drills performed

• Allows coch to keep an eye on the stations as they are spotting and teaching the one where they are standing

Block and stretch drill for beginner Vault:(Hailey’s Drill)