Old Dogs and New Tricks

Hi All,

So what I want to talk about today is…well, I guess I would call it innovation. I’m sure every one of us has had that one kid with that one skill and they just don’t seem to click the way we would want them to. Time tested techniques often work with 95% of kids, but something else is necessary for the rest of them. I’m always looking for new ways of teaching things. Not necessarily because they will be better (though they sometimes are), but because one set of progressions doesn’t work for every kid. Here are a couple of examples:

Oh, side note. These may not be new to everyone, they’re just semi – new to me. If you have any fun creative drills please share!

This first one is a nice front tumbling drill. A lot of people use bounders/flysprings to help kids learn how to connect front tumbling, but I love that this drill is elevated. Gives the kids a better feeling of how the connection will feel coming from a front layout.

This second drill is one that I only started using recently but love, love, love. Granted you’ll get better results with your bigger spotters but the principles are the same. Kids love the drill, and the air awareness is awesome. It’s also a GREAT way to introduce double backing.

What are your favorite “off the beaten path” drills?

Photo Credit: Champion Images Photography