Coaches Round off back handspring shoulder problem

[arhitt01]

Everytime one of my gymnasts does her round off back handspring her shoulders close on her back handspring, either landing on her face or her elbows. Her round off is nice and she can complete the skill but I cannot figure out why her shoulders close. HELP!

 

[iwannacoach]

If you're talking about going from a stretched shoulder as she touches her hands on the floor, to an increasing shoulder angle as she rotates through vertical, she's probably reaching "around" with her chin. Lots of kids reach with their chins because they think it will help them rotate, and don't understand that once their feet leave the the floor there is absolutely nothing that will help them rotate.

There are positions that will help them take advantage of the rotation they've created from a proper jump, but the chin reach does nothing for rotation, but does do a couple other bad things........ It keeps their legs from pushing completely because they throw their chin just as they start to push out of their sit, and if you've ever tried to jump with the back of your head reaching toward your shoulder blades, you know what I mean. The other bad thing about the chin reach is it pulls their shoulder out from under their ribs and hips, creates the shoulder angle you were talking about, and if they are still able to recover it'll keep them from pushing off their hands properly.

Come up with a drill, that makes sense to you, that will put her through the correct position during the pre-handstand phase, through the handstand phase, and into the push phase. Make sure it emphasizes extended/stretched shoulders and no more than a slight backward tilt of her head, like just enough to allow her to see her hands when they hit the floor.

 

[CoachTodd]

spot a bunch until she gets the right shapes.
Put her leotard in her mouth .
You could try handstand snap downs from an elevated surface but it sounds like she's putter her hands on the floor when she sees it thus closing the shoulders. Let her know that if she can see her hands, they're in the wrong place.
I still think spotting until they are correct is going to be the major part in this one.