Stop going over the vault!

Hi All!

So this post today is basically stated in the title. One of the things I sometimes think when watching people coach, and even when I’m coaching myself is “stop going over the vault so much!” Now let me explain, it’s not that I don’t think kids should go over the table a lot, I do. And I think it does a lot for their confidence. But at the same time, I think some things can be worked in a lot more detail and a lot more effectively NOT going over the table. Sometimes improving your vaults dramatically means actually not “vaulting” for a while. Here are some videos of drills that you might add to your workouts.

This first one is a yurchenko set up I really like. Especially with the mat that gymnasts have to hurdle over. It keeps kids straight, helps with turning over their round-off and is a lot less intimidating than the table.

This second video totally fits in with this theme (except for the last two drills which are great, but I will pretend they aren’t there for today). This is a series of drills for yurchenkos by Mary Lee Tracy. I have to say, SO MUCH can be done to teach yurchenkos without kids flipping the vault or even doing timers. Your time is best spent doing LOTS of drills on the floor/tramp/springboard BEFORE ever touching the vault.

Train hard!