Parents Shoot Through not Shooting Through

[NY Dad]

My DD has been working on her shoot through for a few months. She’s been telling me all along that she’s soooo close and that she almost has it. I’m always excited for her and tell her when it happens it happens. I had asked her coach if he thought private lessons could help. Initially he said the he didn’t think so but he recently said that he thought he could help her work through it. I went to the gym for the first time and met her coach. He was very receptive and invited me into the gym to watch (my DD was very happy about that). At her gym there’s a door and a window at the entrance but my DD said that she’s never seen a parent invited into the gym to watch.

Anyway, at this point I know more than most parents of level 2 gymnasts. (Thanks CB community!!!) I expected to see drills but instead he went through every skill to show me where she’s at. (I hope this isn’t typical). Anyway, I was particularity interested to see her shoot through. Both her coach and my DD said she’s has fear issues on bars (when she was in rec last year her friend fell off and broke her arm).


(The free online blur filter added the text in the middle of the image when I exported it)

This wasn't her best, some times it looked like her foot got high enough she just lowered it before it got across the bar). To me it did look like she’s very close to getting it. What I don’t understand is what she’s doing wrong or how to improve it. She attempted about 10-15 times. Then he spotted her by holding one of her legs about 10-15 times (which she got since he was holding her up until she shot her leg through.) Then he held her back (not her leg) once or twice (straighten her shoulders or something like that) and she seemed confused and said that if he’s pushing her forward her leg can’t get high enough (and she didn't get it on those attempts)

She hasn’t gotten discouraged at all. She smiles each time and gets excited about how close she is. I’m worried that at some point she could start getting frustrated. She can’t elaborate to me what she’s doing wrong other than the fact that she knows she’s scared. At the time I didn’t think to ask her coach.

As a side note there's no pressure from her coach. He said b/c it's a YWCA and not a private gym when someone don't get a skill they don't push. They don't want anyone to get discouraged.

Is there any conditioning that she can do at home that could help?

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[GymDad9.9]

NY Dad, as a parent of a child who not too long ago was in your position allow me to say this....Relax...your daughter will get her shoot through soon and then it will be on to the next skill. While privates might accelerate the process I ask you, are you going to go down that road believing that privates is the panacea for skill development? At this age? You are heading towards a slippery slope of unproductive anxiety and needless allocation of financial resources.

Let her learn. Let her try. Even let her fail. Be there to pick her up and tell her it's all good.

I don't mean this in any way to disparage you. There is so much in front of you in this sport that getting yourself twisted in knots about this is really not worth it.

 

[Gymmommy71]

I think the shoot through is one of those bars skills where flexibility helps - the more flexible a kid is, the lower they need to cast to get that leg through into that space between their chest and the bar in the short window of time allowed. How flexible is she? - if she sits in a pike on the ground can she get her chest to her knees? Can she get her chest to her knee in a split?

However, I would say that unless your gym is one of those that has strict score requirements for moving to the next level, you really do not need to worry even if she never gets that skill. As an optional parent now, I look back and realize how meaningless L2/L3 bars in general were cause so few of those moves are progressive to the optional levels - and I can assure you that the majority of our higher level optionals couldn't do those L2/L3 routines if there was big money on the line now, yet they can do skills like Giants, release moves and double back dismounts. I realize you got to start somewhere on bars and these skills do teach some stuff and give them something to compete before they are mature enough to start really swinging and showing amplitude/power on the bars, but really they are nothing worth stressing about in the grand scheme of things.

IMO L4 bars is the first level w/ skills really need to be perfected and matter cause they are the foundation for optionals...

 

[Serenity28]

It looks like she has some issues with her cast and she is afraid to put her leg up to the bar for fear of falling off. Not sure there is any equipment at home to use for drills.

 

[2gymkids]

I'd give it time. My DD struggled with it all last year and it was hot and cold- she missed it in at least one meet (and if she made it, she didn't always make the mill circle, lol). She's a Level 4 now and along the same lines, struggled to get her squat on (she has that fear of getting her shoulders too far forward over the bar) but she's come a long way and it's coming along nicely!
My point is, it will come.

 

[Seeker]

Seems just like basic strength work would help. Do you have a chin-up bar? A mat? Any sort of workout that builds upper body and core strength will help her on bars.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Seems just like basic strength work would help. Do you have a chin-up bar? A mat? Any sort of workout that builds upper body and core strength will help her on bars.

This and time.

 

[duyetanh]

My child never once made the shoot through in any competition. She is in early optionals now. And she says she probably couldn't do the d*MN thing now.
Ditto the frigging mill circle.
Time to go listen to that music from Frozen...
In all seriousness, I get it, I felt the same....but just be glad it isn't a trick that keeps on giving, like the bhs, or the bt, or the block, or the ft, or the kip, or the Giant, or.....

 

[dancingimmie]

The shoot through/mill circle was such a thorn in my dd's (and my) side. After lvl 3 states we actually went out and toasted them goodbye, good riddance...

My dd struggled with them both and fell once in competition (she was so pissed) last year. This year she competed lvl 4 and is competing lvl 5 next week. I don't think she could do a shoot through/mill circle even if she wanted to and she doesn't.

The shoot through/mill circle need strength, flexibility (this is important too) and patience. It will come.

 

[NY Dad]

Thanks to everyone that's responded. Here's an overview of what I've gathered.
- My DD is not alone in having trouble with this skill
- Along the way there are always going to be more difficult/scarier skills ahead - I shouldn't stress
- splits, and strength work (upper body/core) - and time
- In the grand scheme of things this is not a very important skill to master (doesn't lead to much)
Here's my specific replies:

are you going to go down that road believing that privates is the panacea for skill development?

No. She’s in a large class and they don’t work on bars too often. I thought that if she got a few privates she would have some extra time to work on skills that challenge her or learn from her coach what specific conditioning/stretching she could do at home to help her along.

You are heading towards a slippery slope of unproductive anxiety and needless allocation of financial resources.

I do understand how that could happen but there’s no anxiety for anyone. I asked her if she wanted privates and she said she did. Neither her coach nor I said it was to work on her shoot through (and it isn't specifically for that). In his opinion an hour is too long to work on one skill anyway so it sounds like his plan is to mix it up and possibly even let her decide what to work on (not sure about that last part). I can’t disagree with you about the cost. I had been thinking of this as getting over a hump. I do not plan to continue them indefinitely.

if she sits in a pike on the ground can she get her chest to her knees? Can she get her chest to her knee in a split?

Yes (pike), on one side she can split all the way down and have her nose on her leg, on the other side she can’t go down all the way and she can’t get her body/head all the way down (maybe a few inches on the split and 6-8 inches between her chest and her leg. From my perspective she’s amazingly flexible but I’m not sure on the gymnastics spectrum where she falls.

unless your gym is one of those that has strict score requirements for moving to the next level

I don’t know what the requirement is for higher levels but they don’t compete at level 2 so there’s no score requirement to get to level 3. The coach (L3-L9) will evaluate them at some point but I don’t know how or when that normally happens.

you really do not need to worry even if she never gets that skill. As an optional parent now, I look back and realize how meaningless L2/L3 bars in general were cause so few of those moves are progressive to the optional levels - and I can assure you that the majority of our higher level optionals couldn't do those L2/L3 routines if there was big money on the line now

That’s crazy, I just assumed everything was a building block.

It looks like she has some issues with her cast and she is afraid to put her leg up to the bar for fear of falling off

Thanks for letting me know about the cast, I hadn't thought about that (this was probably a bad example but it was what I recorded). To me it looked like she was getting her foot high enough so that totally makes sense about what her specific fear might be.

she's come a long way and it's coming along nicely!
My point is, it will come.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I agree

Seems just like basic strength work would help. Do you have a chin-up bar? A mat? Any sort of workout that builds upper body and core strength will help her on bars.

Yes we do have a chin-up bar and a stall bar. She can do 5 pull-ups. I also think she's very strong but not sure for a level 2 gymnast how that stacks up.

This and time

It's funny how much more obvious it is when it's someone else asking.

My child never once made the shoot through in any competition. She is in early optionals now. And she says she probably couldn't do the d*MN thing now.
Ditto the frigging mill circle.
Time to go listen to that music from Frozen...
In all seriousness, I get it, I felt the same....but just be glad it isn't a trick that keeps on giving, like the bhs, or the bt, or the block, or the ft, or the kip, or the Giant, or.....

The shoot through/mill circle was such a thorn in my dd's (and my) side. After lvl 3 states we actually went out and toasted them goodbye, good riddance...

Wow, I guess she's in good company .

I feel better already, CB feels like therapy sometimes

 

[duyetanh]

The shoot through/mill circle was such a thorn in my dd's (and my) side. After lvl 3 states we actually went out and toasted them goodbye, good riddance...
.

Ok that is so awesome. Love it. I remember my husband asking if these tricks followed her to the next level, and when I said no he said THANK GOD, lol.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

I'm happy that I have never had to teach this skill! We don't do shoot through here AT ALL, my gymnast just lift their eyebrows when they see videos from the USAG level 3 and that weird skill. Gymnasts all over the world except the USA and a few other countries do just fine without ever even trying a shoot through. It's not an essential skill.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

I'm happy that I have never had to teach this skill! We don't do shoot through here AT ALL, my gymnast just lift their eyebrows when they see videos from the USAG level 3 and that weird skill. Gymnasts all over the world except the USA and a few other countries do just fine without ever even trying a shoot through. It's not an essential skill.

Agreed and the time spend teaching some of the L3 bar skills (especially that one) would be better off spent doing conditioning and kip drills to get ready for L4.

OP, don't sweat L3 bars, we have optionals at our gym that still cannot do a mill circle! They came up through the Xcel program and then scored out of 4 and 5, so they never needed it.

 

[mommyof1]

My child never once made the shoot through in any competition. She is in early optionals now. And she says she probably couldn't do the d*MN thing now.

I call it the cr@pshoot-through. It is the reason I can't stand watching bars warmups. Sometimes they make it, sometimes they don't--even our strongest bar workers miss it sometimes.