Parents Flyaway issues

[gymmom8772]

My DD is about to compete her first level 5 meet of the season and she still doesn't have her flyaway. Her coach prefers that his gymnasts do a layout flyaway instead of a tucked one. The problem is that her timing is off and releases too soon, therefore doesn't have enough time to land on her feet. Would it be easier for her land doing a tucked one instead?

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Probably, the tuck flyaway is seen as the easiest one. Not up to us though, it's up to her coach.

 

[gymmom8772]

Yes it is. I'm hoping he will allow her to do it knowing it's "crunch time" and it's easier. From what I've heard, the layout is not really an advantage scoring wise anyway. Just hoping she'll get it one way or another without needing a spot or landing on her face.

 

[profmom]

The gym my children both attend is also not a believer in tucked flyaways, and it is not uncommon for kids to get and lose the layout as they're moving forward. The way the coaches have explained it is that doing the layout is better for long-term progression and is worth the hiccups that a child may have to endure for the first year or so that they are doing it. The solution for DD was a drill called "dead cow" where they just practiced working the release at the right point and then dropped flat on their backs without flipping (sort of like a double back timer without the flip). DS is currently in the retooling phase as well, trying to get his release higher. Don't worry, this problem will resolve itself. No point in trying to train a new skill that she won't need for one meet.

 

[wgymmom]

DD ended up piking her layout all year anyway. About half the girls just tucked.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Don't worry she will get it.

 

[gymmom8772]

Thanks! Was hoping she would before the first meet but I guess it'll come whenever it does.What is the deduction if the coach were to have to spot her?

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

The "deduction" in our gym would be that she would scratch bars. No spots during competitions, ever. I have seen other gyms spot during meets though and when I asked our coaches about it I seem to remember something between 0.5-1.0 deduction but I'm not certain. I'm sure someone here will know though!! Hope she is able to compete!

 

[rsm]

DD's coach said the deduction for a spot is 0.5. Most of the girls are doing layout flyway if the tap swing is high enough. They only did them unspotted the week before the first meet. A couple of girls are doing tuck flyaway, but they are generally weaker at bars. I think our coach would take the spot over the tuck if she thought the girls were close. And the coach is hands out, ready to spot all of the girls on the flyaway at the meet.

 

[gymmom8772]

That makes sense rsm. I think my DDs tap swings are high enough but for some reason she lets go too soon. So I was thinking she'd be able to land the tuck easier than the layout. Her coach may feel the same as your DDs in wanting her to continue doing the layout and take the spot deduction if needed. If it's .50-1.00 deduction it's not as bad as I thought. I was under the impression that it was actually a 2.00 point deduction because she would lose the value of the skill entirely, as if she didn't even do it at all.

 

[rsm]

Apparently they don't lose the full value of the skill anymore (up to the discretion of the judges how much of the skill they did). I just read this on the USAG site while looking for info on level 6... https://usagym.org/PDFs/Education/library/2014_jul_9.pdf

 

[gymmom8772]

Thanks for sharing rsm! That is comforting knowing she won't get as much deduction for a spot if needed.