Pointed toes, pointed feet, straight toes, straight feet?

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Marino

Coach
Judge
What is the correct terminology when talking about a gymnasts feet being bent or straight?

Does one say;

"Remember to point your toes"
"Remember to have straight feet"
"Remember to point your feet"

or is it something completely different?

anyone?

regards,
Peter
 
English is not my native language, but if someone said any of those to me, I would do the same action. I prefer "point your toes", because it seems obvious.
 
For the um-teenth time.....Would you please POINT YOUR TOES!! What are you, a delusional carpenter with hammers taped to the end of your ankles. Really, that's not what Tim and Elfy mean when they say "you've got to nail your dismount!":rolleyes:
 
Pointing toes and pointing feet are the same, but telling someone to have straight feet could mean telling them not to turn out or in, especially on beam.
 
well, it depends on the age of the athlete and where they are in the gymnastics learning curve. more often than not, when you tell the younger and inexperienced gymnast to "point your toes" they will do what they're told and then promptly make a "fist" with their foot. they need to be instructed that the "point" is an extension of the ankle and not the foot alone.

and then you will have the child that extends their ankle but then pulls their toes up toward the shin. they too must be instructed the same thing.

so then, learning this gross and small motor skill is complex and sometimes easier said than done.:)
 
I coach mostly 5/6, so the girls are all at the age/developmental stage that they know fully well HOW to point, they just don't always rember to DO it. So I have to admit that my coaching often denigrates to "feet...feeeeeet....FEEEEEET!!!" Followed by my face buried in my hands, telling the girls my eyes hurt too much and I just can't bear to watch anymore.
 
thanks everybody for all your responses...

it seems like most people use the term "pointed toes".. so I think I'll go with that.

another question (related)... I tell my gymnasts all the time to have pointed toes, we warm-up with pointed toes and I have them sometimes write their names 10x with pointed toes... but they always seem to fall-back (or forget) if I don't constantly tell them.

Is there some other magic drill trick I can use that will teach them, so they do not have to think about it and just do it?

anyone?

Peter
 
Practice practice practice practice! :D

yes.. but with what?

the strange part is that about 50% of the team have no problems pointing toes... but the other 50% does... and always forget.

is there a drill that everybody uses that I'm aware of? or is it just constant verbal coaching (in a nice way :)?

regards,
Peter
 
My coaches just make us do everything with pointed toes and if we don't point them, they tell us and we do it again with pointed toes. Basically what you do. I don't know if there is anything else.
 
I coach mostly 5/6, so the girls are all at the age/developmental stage that they know fully well HOW to point, they just don't always rember to DO it. So I have to admit that my coaching often denigrates to "feet...feeeeeet....FEEEEEET!!!" Followed by my face buried in my hands, telling the girls my eyes hurt too much and I just can't bear to watch anymore.

bwhahahahahahahahahaha! i know exactly what you're talking about!! "you're harming my eyes"!!! lol!:)
 
about 50% of the team have no problems pointing toes... but the other 50% does... and always forget.

is there a drill that everybody uses that I'm aware of? or is it just constant verbal coaching (in a nice way :)?

I've had success with having the kids go through their individual event warm-ups, and basic skills that need daily work, placing emphasis on toes, legs, and arms. Frequent group reminders, in a brief sit down session, that all of their skills will be easier when done with good form. It's all about them getting a payback for the effort they've invested......90% effort = 60% payback ....... 100% effort = 100% payback. After they do that math, and see a few real life examples, they seem to be much keener on giving it 100%.....pointed toes included.
 
I tend to prefer 'point your feet' rather than 'point your toes', because it is a whole foot action, plus I don't want to encourage clawing of the toes.
 
I agree with Dunno and Nikki. It depends on the developmental level. With my beginners I always catch myself saying Point your Toes and then the curl their toes and I find myself correcting with, "I mean Point your Feet" and that seems to correct it. Once they know what I am talking about I will switch back because that is what I am used to saying.
 
I coach mostly 5/6, so the girls are all at the age/developmental stage that they know fully well HOW to point, they just don't always rember to DO it. So I have to admit that my coaching often denigrates to "feet...feeeeeet....FEEEEEET!!!" Followed by my face buried in my hands, telling the girls my eyes hurt too much and I just can't bear to watch anymore.

The other saying I've heard frequently yelled across the gym is "GUMBOOTS!!! Lose the gumboots" ... of course my two looked at me like I was an idiot when I asked what it meant ..."Oh gosh Mum, point your toes of course!"
 
DS's coach periodically lectures them, "EVERY time your FEET leave the FLOOR, you NEED to POINT your TOES!" After about ten minutes, they all start forgetting again, and he buries his head in his hands and shakes it furiously and growls incoherently.

I don't know if it helps, but it seems to make him feel better.
 
I don't know what they ever said to her or did to her, but DD eats dinner with pointed feet, reads books with pointed feet, watches TV with pointed feet, etc. Makes me smile to look across the room and see her on the couch with a book and her legs straight, feet pointed.
 
I don't know what they ever said to her or did to her, but DD eats dinner with pointed feet, reads books with pointed feet, watches TV with pointed feet, etc. Makes me smile to look across the room and see her on the couch with a book and her legs straight, feet pointed.

ha ha - relate to this
son stopped gym 4 years ago - saw a pic of him on fb doing that plank thing ages later and he was POINTING HIS FEET! it must become ingrained!

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