An Upside Down World
Hi All!
Lets talk handstands. They are FUNDAMENTAL in gymnastics. They’re hard to teach correctly, and sometimes incredibly frustrating. Here are my thoughts on a couple things coaches can do to help teach gymnasts how to handstand correctly.
This first video is a drill I love to use with little kids. It’s simple, quick and a good side station. It helps kids feel open shoulders, correct head position and that their back is supposed to be pressed into the mat.
The second one is for beam. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard the words “That’s not a handstand!” said on beam. In order for kids to pirouette, their shoulders (and hopefully feet) need to stay over their hands. This nifty little set-up helps kids feel where a handstand is by making them pirouette This can be done with a very light spot with little ones and, as they get older, they can do it on their own.
What are your tricks for handstands?
Train hard!
Photo Credit: Katelyn Ohashi’s Website
1 Comment
I love this post. So simple but so important. We work a lot on the laying flat shape much like the first video. I would love to see any other ideas you have about teaching basic shapes like handstands. I am always looking for new ideas to keep things fresh for the girls on our pre team and beginning compulsory levels.