WAG Help with Front Hip Circle!!

[GymMama]

DD (7yo) L4 is going to have her first meet in a couple of weeks. The only skill she does not have is her front hip circle on bars! Several girls on her team don't have it completely yet, so I tell her no worries! But she cries a lot about it after practice because she's afraid she won't be able to compete bars, her favorite!

Here's the problem... she isn't even close. Many of the girls who don't have it on her team yet are very close, or at least getting around the bar and having to hoist up with bent arms. My dd is able to do the straight fall, but then she is just piking and falling right off the bar... not even getting close to back above it. She's got a ton of core strength, and I'm just not sure if her timing is off or what.

Is there any advice I might be able to give her to think about while she's practicing? Thanks!

 

[coachmolly]

Could be a fear of falling forward with a straight body or just a lack of understanding of the timing of the skill. If her coaches have gotten the other girls through the skill, they should be able to help your DD in due time. Some kids just take a little longer to catch on, and that skills seems to be a hold up for a good number.
One thing I tell my girls is to watch the high bar as long as they can, and as long as they can see the high bar, their body needs to be straight. When the can't see the high bar anymore, pike hard! It helps some, not others, but it's a tricky skill and different kids need to hear different things to make it "click."
Best wishes to your DD! Hopefully she can have a fun first meet whether she has the front hip circle or not!

 

[clark222]

My 9yo dd is in the same boat. Except she also cannot do the shoot through or mill circle....... She has everything else for all other events. This is stressing her out and I don't blame her.

 

[Amusibus]

I am sure her coach is working on it with her, but from what I can recall from my gymnast days, you have to get up high on the bar, then really throw yourself over hard, and as you come around, drive your heels back as hard as you can. Worked for me!

 

[Krystan]

I think gyms put the girls in a really tough spot when they have them compete in levels where they don't have all the skills yet! It is very stressful!

This happened to my dd last fall with the kip in L5. She was SO stressed out (though the coaches said it would be fine to spot/scratch/skip skill until she got it) that she cried before every practice and then wanted to quit. Finally they offered her the chance to compete L4 (she had skipped it) while still training with the L5 girls. It was a great move for her, and without the pressure she was able to get her kip only a few weeks later. It wasn't really good until spring though, and she does not want to compete skills she doesn't have well (and I don't blame her). Things seem to be better this year about making sure kids have skills before moving up (they did move ups later in the summer this year); maybe they learned their lesson.

Anyway, not a direct answer to your question, but a vote of sympathy! If she is really hating gym because of it, maybe they could work out something similar? Some kids find private lessons really helpful, but my dd found that focusing on the skill made it worse because it upped the stress level. Everyone is different, but I hope you can find a way through she is comfortable with!

 

[lhmom]

I can sympathize. DD did not get her FHC until the 3rd meet of the season. Her coaches were pretty low-key about it, said eventually it would click and it did. I think her problem was the timing. Just keep supporting your girl. When DD starts getting discouraged, I point out to DD that it might take her time to get a skill but once she does, she has it. I also try to focus her on what positives happened at practice. Another thing I found to be helpful is an encouraging word from one of the older girls to DD. Sometimes, having another gymnast that DD looks up to say something has much more of an impact. Good luck to her!

 

[iwannacoach]

Ask her to tell you what she's trying to do at every stage of the skill.....falling.....piking....passing though upside down.....coming up.....and arriving at the support, and take notes. Then take notes again when you ask her what the coach has told her to do at each of these stages. Not to go out on a limb here, but I'd bet you a chalky pair of used footies that the notes don't match up because there something extra she's added, or slightly changed because what the coach has told her doesn't fit her mental process of what makes the skill tick.

If she is changing things, and it's pretty common, this skill and many others that she thinks she's figured out will take much longer to learn than they should. Sorry about the lack of technical advice, but none is needed because there's just on right way to make this skill work.....and about five common mistakes to mess it up.

 

[UnoMas]

No tips, but I have been to a lot of L4 meets and that is one skill that seems to be tricky for a lot of L4's at the beginning of the season. I've seen a lot of spots and falls on that skill. She will get it soon and by the end of the season she will be nailing it.

 

[cbifoja]

Shoot! Our Level 5s are still having issues with straight legs on this dang skill. Bring back the mill circle (NOT).