Training the Stick

Hi All,

Today I’m going to talk just a little bit about “sticking.” Sticking to me is 1) kind of an art form and 2) HAS to be trained. You can’t just expect your athletes to go out and stick their dismounts or vaults in meets without having done the requisite work in the gym first. Now, there also has to be a balance to this. Too many hard landings can break gymnasts bodies down, but not enough training of how to correctly absorb those landings and also minimize deductions after them leaves us with lower scores.

This first video is a nice one by Mary Lee Tracy. Again, too many hard landings are hard on our gymnasts, but it’s something you have to monitor with your gymnasts. That being said, this is GREAT for teaching gymnasts how to absorb and stick their landings. This can also be done forwards from jumps off the blog, front tucks off the block, or jumping off the block rebounding and then front tucking.

I also think it’s just as important for gymnasts to practice sticking/absorbing landings out of turning jumps and skills. Small things like this can make a huge difference in 1) gymnasts safety (not locking knees etc) and 2) landing deductions.

Train hard

Photo Credit: TaylorHouchin.Com