As important as finding it in the first place

Hi All,

Alright today I’m going to say a few words about shape change. I can some it up into just a few words changing shape is almost a important as finding the right shape to begin with. Many skills (if not most) skills have multiple shapes. That means that kids being able to transition from one shape to another correctly and effectively is EXTREMELY important. People train it a million different ways; hanging from bars, rolling across the floor etc. Here are some videos to demonstrate.

Alright this drill is pretty old school in my mind (the second one). I remember doing it, I’ve seen coaches do it as long as I can remember. You can also use two springboards short side to short side to do it with. But it’s old school because it works. Try it out, see what you think.

This second one is a much newer to do the second drill in the first video. I REALLY like it, you can get some much cleaner shapes out of it. I kind of want to know how this was rigged up. Anyone know?

Train hard!

2 Comments

  1. wordsmith says:

    To answer your question, it’s a thick rubber band that is simply looped over the low bar.

    The bands and their uses were being advertised at Region 1 clinic a couple of years ago:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uiAWCtX9Ezw#t=165

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ-guvDK5pU&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1

    They’re useful as an assist, but can create bad, lazy habits if gymnasts are just going through the motions of, say, the pirouette exercise, without honestly thinking of weight transference and maintaining proper body alignment. The setup can “overspot” a lazy gymnast or one who doesn’t have sufficient intellectual maturity and knowledge of how the pirouette should be done.

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