bars flyaway and letting go at 1

[dmytv]

Ok, so my dd has had her flyaway for 3 years now and at the last meet I think she almost put her coach into the hospital because of her flyaway. It has gotten worse and states are Friday. "She lets go at 1" is what her coach says. It is crazy and scary. She has no idea why she does it. She did not do this before. My question is what should she do? If she does the level 5 dismount what is the deduction? What is the deduction for an OMG flyaway/may need a coach to spot/may land on her knees? She is a level 7 and all other events are great. She placed last meet 2 on vault, 6th on floor and 3rd on beam. Even with the scary dismount on bars she placed 6th. What should she do for state?

 

[pattymello]

I'm confused about when she lets go. If the 1 is referencing a clock then I assume she would be letting go late however is sounds like you are saying she is letting go very early. You might want to explain this better

 

[gymdog]

Yes, there is no way we can give an accurate view of the deductions in this instance without a video and/or a more detailed explanation from a coach.

However to answer the other questions, she should not compete anything that is scary or dangerous, even if it means scratching the event, being heavily spotted, or just omitting the skill. There will be significant deductions, but it is better than a serious injury.

 

[dmytv]

She lets go when her feet are pointing down at the ground. The coach says count to 4 on the swing and let go when your feet are high. She is letting go at 1.

 

[AmandaLynn]

She lets go when her feet are pointing down at the ground. The coach says count to 4 on the swing and let go when your feet are high. She is letting go at 1.

Did she do this in L6 as well? Or is it a recent development? Is she doing it out of a giant? Did the problem start when she began trying to connect a giant to the flyaway?

There are really too many variables for anyone here to offer much advice. I'm sure that her coach has a plan to work through it. That said, if a child begins releasing the bar too early, I would almost always bring them back to timers for a while until they are consistenly letting go at the correct time.

 

[iwannacoach]

about flyaways

She lets go when her feet are pointing down at the ground. The coach says count to 4 on the swing and let go when your feet are high. She is letting go at 1.

Talk to the coach about using a visual cue with his gymnasts. It may not be a good idea right now and the answer to that issue should come out of a discussion involving the coach, your daughter, and you in that order. So I'd give more weight to the coach"s opinion then your daughter's followed by you. Not that you are irrelevant, but this may be more of a change than your daughter and coach can handle in the short amount of time available, so let them decide.
A good visual cue could be to look at the wall in front of you as you pass the bottom of the swing and push the bar away when your feet block your view of the wall. Some kids may need to cue just as their feet appear
in the wall picture as their reaction to the visual cue may be slower and some may need to look for their feet at the top of the wall as their reaction time is faster.
The benifit of a visual cue is that one downswing may be faster than the others and counting to four would place the gymnast farther into the circle than they want. Counting speeds can vary as well, so a faster count under stress could mean an early release and counting slower to compensate could keep the gymnast on the bar too long. So i'd suggest a visual cue like the wall because walls dont change in height during a practice. When changing to another setting it's pretty easy to find a wall and adjust to the new wall's height and distance.

 

[MaryA]

A girl at our gym had a very serious injury doing a flyaway (last year when she was in a different gym). Her knee connected with her face and she broke several bones around her eye. It took a while before she could even watch someone do a flyaway, and it's only with very slow, measured steps that she is starting to get them back more than a year later. Bottom line... I would be wary about my DD competing an "iffy" fly-away. Earlier this season, my DD hit her toes on the bar in a flyaway and the coach took her back to the very beginning of the skill... doing "timers" (whatever they are) and worked up again. Similar issue of letting go at the wrong time. She got them back in time for the first meet, but HC would have scratched her if she hadn't (or maybe had her do the level 5 dismount). She said that one meet wasn't worth potentially breaking toes and/or developing a fear that it would be hard to come back from.

Flyaway seems to be one of those skills that is easy to lose. I've watched several of DD's level 6 teammates compete a lovely flyaway at one meet and then, when I watch them at the next meet, they're scratching or doing the level 5 dismount.

Sometimes I wish my daughter had just taken up soccer like everybody else! Or maybe roller derby... it's probably less dangerous!

Good luck to you and your daughter as you deal with this!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

1 o'clock is WHEN you are SUPPOSED TO LET GO. hands are at 12 o'clock (UP) and the feet are at 6 o'clock (DOWN) in a long hang. if she is letting go at the bottom (6 o'clock), which is very unsafe, possibly the coach can give her any dismount but the fly away.

as in most skills having backward rotation, this child is most likely rotating her head backward thru the bottom of the swing to initiate rotation which she thinks is the correct way to go about it. as you coaches know, that is not how to go about it and the head must remain neutral and chin neatly tucked down thru the bottom and thru the ensuing forward/upward swing.

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

Sometimes I wish my daughter had just taken up soccer like everybody else! Or maybe roller derby... it's probably less dangerous!

Um, yeah, this! DD was in soccer as well as gym, I actually wanted her to continue with soccer when she started competitive gym because it was only 1 night a week in the summer and she was day training. She claimed to not enjoy running around outside.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

if soccer were the choice i would take up knitting...

 

[wallinbl]

Watch much competitive soccer? The injuries can be nasty. Once saw a teammate's femur sticking out through his skin. One of those sights that you just can't forget, no matter how much you want to. Braces, tape jobs, cortisone, etc were all quite common.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

watching soccer is like watching cricket or golf. nothing personal. just can't get into it at all.

 

[mimi]

if soccer were the choice i would take up knitting...

C'mon now, you've got an ex-college soccer player reading these threads!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

my niece/Godaughter is on full athletic scholarship at a D1 school. she knows i love her cause i sit thru an entire game.

 

[MaryA]

To be honest, I'm actually really happy that both of my kids chose nice indoor, climate-controlled persuits. While sitting squished on bleachers in a gymnastics meet can be less than confortable, at least it's not 100 degrees, or below freezing, or raining, or snowing, or mosquito infested...

Other daughter dances, and at this point in her "career" that means one or two recitals in June and that's the extent of the parental "sitting around and watching." Next year, if she makes the competitive team, that may change, but again it won't be 100 degrees, or below freezing, etc, etc...

Though I do like Dunno's knitting suggestion... practical and trendy!

I think it may be my fault that this thread got so off topic. Many appologies, and good luck to your daughter with her flyaways!

 

[mimi]

my niece/Godaughter is on full athletic scholarship at a D1 school. she knows i love her cause i sit thru an entire game.

She's got good taste. To be honest, I don't love watching soccer, but the adrenaline rush that I used to get while playing is indescribable.

I do, however, LOVE to watch gymnastics!

Good luck with the flyaways, the moral of the story is that precautions must be taken in any sport to minimize injuries. I bet she'll get the skill back before you know it!

 

[dmytv]

Boy, did this get off topic. I would just like to point out that soccer is no. 1 in sports related injuries. I have a niece too in soccer and I sat through a whole play-off championship tourney. (4 games!), so there.
Well dunno is right about the head back thing. Scary fly away started after she peeled off the bar at a meet. She has been learning to connect the giant with the fly away and they were the last session of the day on the bars, there was no water bottle at the meet and too much chalk on the bars. Several kids peeled off. My dd was the worst. Since then it has been scary in the gym with her dismount. She is getting better. I talked with the coach and a good drill he had her do was to hold a nerf ball with her chin. This seems to have helped. Don't know about states though. We will see soon.