Spotting Handstand Walks

Wheel barrel walks with emphasis on maintaining shape is great conditioning.

I generally prefer not to have team kids do handstand walks if they can't hold solid handstands; or shoulder/thigh touch with good weight transferring against a wall, while maintaining shape. Still, handstand-walking once in a while is good fun and shoulder-strengthening for the kids.

One problem for strength benefits of course, is that beginners can't stay up for very long because of lack of experience in maintaining balance.

When I do offer a spot, a great method to consider is to have the gymnast squeeze your hand/forearm. That way you're not just holding them up- they are still supporting their own body weight. You're only aiding their balance; and they only get the spot if they are squeezing my arm with their legs. Once they relax the adductors and let go of my arm, they lose the spot-assist.

A Leg or a Life: Inspiring Story of Kate Foster

Story from just over a year ago:

Gymnasticscoaching.com links to a more recent FB video of her bar routine and news story.  There are also other previous videos of her routines as well, that you can find.

Also, be sure to check out a young level 3 gymnast, Averie.

 Bar routine.   I'd say she has advantage on her single-leg shoot through.  Not so much for mount and dismount.

Sunday Funnies

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SIRI the Time Keeper

Acrobatic Paper Airplane

Sunday Funnies

IG Nov 1987

Idea for arm placement on split jumps

On leaps and jumps, arms can sometimes go every which way but the pathway most desired.  Here's a drill for split jumps to check arm placement by Cleveland Gymnastics:

Of course you'll also have to take into account the peak height of the gymnast's shoulders when she jumps.  (^_^)

Beam Full Turn Drills

Sunday Funnies

I just realized I haven't post-dated Sunday Funnies to publish these last two Sundays:

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Ban and a Hex on W Sitting

Kill it wherever you see it:

I had a patient recently ask me if it is okay for her thirteen-month-old daughter to be W-sitting during playtime. The short answer is: absolutely NOT! 
It is never ok to be sitting like this for a prolonged period of time, and should be stopped immediately whenever you see it. There are a few postural and developmental reasons for this, and I'll go into some detail on all of them:

• Hip Distortion

• Knee and Foot Distortion

• Poor Development of Core Muscles

• Lack of Cross-Body Coordination

Read on...

"Open the pod bay doors, please SAL."

Instead of a stopwatch, I've been using the timer on my phone by voice command, during practice. The level 3s love it, during timed warm-ups and timed challenges. At the end of the countdown, instead of your typical alarm, I use customized ringtones with geeky soundclips (such as the computer voice from Star Trek with red alert warning to abandon ship or somesuch).

Today, I was timing the girls for a 30 second handstand-shaping hold against the wall for part of vault warm-up. I told Siri to launch timer; and set for 30 seconds. And this was her reply back. Hadn't heard that one before and neither had the girls. They nearly fell down from their handstands from laughing so much.

Saturday Morning Cartoons

I'm sure I've posted this before:

The lampooning of backyard trampolines rings true, though.

Happy Old, Happier New!