WAG Level 10 Vault Help!

[Deleted member 18037]

However, there is one factor that is within the gymnast's control: effort and experience! If she always trys hard, and keeps it up through the years, then great vaulting technique will not elude her.

I can only hope you are right. My kids vaults are her weakest link and we are only talking FHS and pancake at this point.

I am hopeful (as very afraid), she will be better at the flipping one.

 

[meganliz77]

The laws of physics dictate that the faster an object is moving (the gymnast), the more it weighs when it impacts another object (the springboard). This explains why small girls have still been known to vault well; they run really, really fast, so that when they hit the board, they are able to deflect it way more then a girl who runs "kind of fast."

This also explains why an older, larger girl can sometimes vault better than a girl who is a bit smaller, even though the larger girl's technique is inferior to the more minuscule gymnast. The more impact applied to the springboard (force, causing deflection), the better the reaction of the board (restitution).

However, there is one factor that is within the gymnast's control: effort and experience! If she always trys hard, and keeps it up through the years, then great vaulting technique will not elude her.

Granted my DD is only a level 6, but she is pretty tiny, yet very solid. She has a heck of a run... Really fast run, never slows and a solid block... She tends to be one of the higher scoring vaulters for our team... She took first at state in level 3 and 2nd in level 4. I never really understood why she was a strong vaulter (at this point...which is pretty low level obviously) until this thread... The knowledge on this site is sincerely unmatched... so thanks!

 

[Seeker]

However, there is one factor that is within the gymnast's control: effort and experience! If she always trys hard, and keeps it up through the years, then great vaulting technique will not elude her.

Gymnast working hard is only one side of the coin. They simply must have a good coach or help them and proper equipment (good vault table, proper springboard/mats and ample runway space). These things are not always available. My daughter moved to a bigger, better gym at L7 and much to my surprise, she's a pretty great vaulter.

I thought it just wasn't her event, but at the first meet with her new team, they started on vault and she was first up. I watched her sprint hard down the runway and hit the board like a champ. She popped off by far the best vault I have ever seen her do. We cannot watch practice, so this was quite a shock to me!! Prior to this, her highest vault score was 8.85 or something like that.

Score? 9.7

My point is -- coaching matters a lot. Yes, doing the FHS for so many years gets boring, but it's necessary to learn it properly. Why the sudden improvement? A good vault coach finally taught her how. She would have never been able to do that without a good coach, no matter how hard she worked.

She is pretty petite too....not a waif, but is 12 and just broke the 70-lb mark this year. The extra weight has helped, but it's the technique that makes the vault really work.

 

[catova]

No doubt, coaching matters alot! DD's coaches are quite good, fortunately....A lot of strong vaulters on her team.
L7 and below, vault was not a problem for DD...she did great. Really, a lot of tiny girls do great FHS vaults. I don't think small size is a factor keeping girls for doing a solid FHS vault...It's when the gymnasts have to generate more energy than what is required for a strong FHS that I wonder if being a lightweight is a disadvantage. But, I'm very encouraged by Mimi's post! DD is working on getting even faster ...

 

[profmom]

The run is a huge part of it. I think this is part of the issue for small, lightweight kids who just aren't built to sprint. I think DS's coach should purchase a taser and start chasing him down the vault track. DS is so slow right now that I'm guessing his coach, who's older than me, could catch him.

The good news is that, with good training, they can all get better over the years. My DD won vault at her last L7 meet (it was a small meet, but still, it was quite a moment for a kid who routinely owned the lower quadrant of vault scores earlier).

 

[Seeker]

No doubt, coaching matters alot! DD's coaches are quite good, fortunately....A lot of strong vaulters on her team.
L7 and below, vault was not a problem for DD...she did great. Really, a lot of tiny girls do great FHS vaults. I don't think small size is a factor keeping girls for doing a solid FHS vault...It's when the gymnasts have to generate more energy than what is required for a strong FHS that I wonder if being a lightweight is a disadvantage. But, I'm very encouraged by Mimi's post! DD is working on getting even faster ...

My daughter is now vaulting a very solid Yurchenko Pike....she just broke 70 lbs. The run definitely matters, but you can generate a lot of power with good round-off entry technique. Don't worry!