Drills for Front Handspring Vaults

Hi All,

Today I’m going to share a few drills for front handspring vaults. This is one of those skills that can be a huge struggle in the beginning, partilly because often gymnasts are very small, because they don’t sometimes have the body awareness or know how to turn themselves upside down. There are really all sorts of things that can do wrong. So today I’m going to share a couple drills. No one drill is going to be perfect. And no drill is going to work for everyone.

This first one is one that I like to use a lot when kids first start out, and I’ve found that some coaches like it and some coaches don’t. I like it because it gets gymnasts turning upside down, but some coaches find that it encourages their gymnasts to bend their knees when vaulting. When gymnasts are proficient at this and have a good amount of strength I start having them go to their feet instead of their knees, that seems to help that issue. Also note, I never want to be able to see their ears during this drill.

This second video is of another drill that a like. Normally there is some fear with younger gymnasts of not getting over the vault etc. This is a good drill just to encourage them to be powerful, and it can be a fun way to get over that fear.

Train hard!

Photo Credit: Abigael Kaufman