Coaches Teaching lightweights to block

[gymjunkie]

Looking for ideas for tiny kids who run as fast as they can, hit the board as hard as their puny bodies can hit, use good technique on the table, etc., etc., but still can't score beyond mid to high 8s?

 

[Deleted member 14190]

This a a fun drill for the kids. block pops, (stand behind the vault facing the child, when they run and block, grab hips and assist the block over your head). Make them hold a hollow hold over your head and then slide them down your back to a stand. (be sure to put an extra soft mat behind you so they don't face plant). I do this once or twice a week for part of the vault workout, ONLY with the little ones!

 

[gymjunkie]

We have done this drill and others like it, which is why they can block pretty well. They have good tight body positions, which is why they are in the high 8s. They are just not getting enough power off the board to fly off the table. I'm wondering if I've missed some drills to help them get more power off the board into their pre-flight! We have some really tiny Level 4s this year.

 

[2gymmies]

For my dd (who was a tiny Level 5 last year), they worked so many front layouts to work on the heel drive and they always had to remove springs compared to the other kids. They used the Level 4 vault turned sideways and did front layouts over it. They also used our rod floor instead of a springboard to work on punching. Also, they did a drill where they elevated a springboard and put their hands on it and did a front handspring to work on the block. She was an excellent vaulter, but it was definitely hard work on her part and the coaches part.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Speed = power

 

[CoachTodd]

It wall all depend on the set up you have. I've had kids that were 1/2 the size of other in their rotation using the same springs in the board and the same table height and getting better blocks than the larger kids.
My personal opinion is that a block happens when everything else is done correctly.
A video may help for us to see where the problem may be happening. Many times we try to fix the symptom without knowing the cause.
If the are getting a good punch on the board we need to look at the board distance and table height. If they are not hitting the board correctly, we need to start there.
I'll leave it at that unless you can get us a video of what they may be doing. I could speculate a lot but that may not help .

 

[gymjunkie]

I'll need to get permission from the parents to upload some videos. Meanwhile, Coach Todd, can you speak to board distance and height in a general sense? I find that to be a frustrating judgement call when the kids are younger and still throwing inconsistent vaults. At that stage, IME, if you leave the height and distance alone and watch them vault 10 different times, you will see 10 different qualities of vault. When I decide to play around with measurements (with handspring newbies), I am never convinced that a change I see in the vault is due to the measurement change, since the young little ones are so inconsistent in their vaulting anyway.

 

[gymjunkie]

2 gymmies, thanks for those examples. We do a lot of those drills too. It's producing some high scoring vaults for the little ones who have "thighs." It's the little ones with toothpicks legs I am trying to help right now

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Gymjunkie; Coachp has a good point that the long term is developing speed in the runs and the important hurdle/board contact to transfer the forward force to an upward/forward force. I presume you are working the long picture.

As to the general question you re-posed to Coach Todd I would like to chime in. My chime is that the hands should contact the vault table quick. Feet -hands should not have a big pause in between. That "floating" does not transfer the speed/power that gives an efficient after flight. I ask the athletes to arrrive on the board with feet in front of hips and hands in front (not high and certainly not by ears). The hands lift to ears as the hips start lifting during the pre-flight. I have had success building lift in the lighter framed gymnasts using "strong hands." When they get to Yurch. vaults I use the same verbage, "strong hands," for the round-off / hands in front and then lift arms into the inversion/lift to vault table. In order to have quick "feet-hands" (feet on board and hands on table), I find the board to be closer than the handsprings that I taught even a decade ago. I believe I should stop as my "chime" stopped resonating shortly ago!

Chimming in today in the key of E, (Lov'ing the Blues), SBG -

 

[CoachTodd]

I'll need to get permission from the parents to upload some videos. Meanwhile, Coach Todd, can you speak to board distance and height in a general sense? I find that to be a frustrating judgement call when the kids are younger and still throwing inconsistent vaults. At that stage, IME, if you leave the height and distance alone and watch them vault 10 different times, you will see 10 different qualities of vault. When I decide to play around with measurements (with handspring newbies), I am never convinced that a change I see in the vault is due to the measurement change, since the young little ones are so inconsistent in their vaulting anyway.

I usually start with the springboard a foot to a foot and a half away from a mat stack. Most little ones won't need it much further than this. My bigger vaulters board setting was never more than 2.25 feet from the table.
If it is inconsistent, I'd look at the run and the board angle. If they are getting a good preflight, in my book, they aren't flipping fast enough. I hate that preflight is judged at the compulsory levels. A good vault's preflight is about a millisecond.
Before I worry too much about turnover, I slide the landing mats back and stand between the board and mats and catch the kids. Kind of make a game of who can be the tightest when I catch them. If they already have good turnover when I'm catching them, I kind of let them keep moving a bit with the turnover before I stop them.
I've also set up drills to see who can hit the board and get on top of the highest mat stack. Need to stay close for this one if they get really high but don't make it to the top.

For lighter vaulters, I see it as a fast punch instead of hard punch. This isn't easily learned from what I've seen.

Hope this helps.