WAG Spotting Bars- please correct me if I'm wrong

[Sass&Caffeine]

For those girls practicing squat-on and tap swings (relatively new skills and not that great at it)- those should be spotted by a coach, right? The coach at our gym just watches, standing outside the bars- as in, fully outside the bars on the side, not behind the low bar or in front of the high bar. Can't catch a kid from there!
Also, a girl who refuses spotting while trying to learn a squat-on shouldn't be trying to learn that skill by herself? (Again, while the coaches stand back and watch...)

 

[Muddlethru]

How old is the child? The only time I've seen a coach spot a child on a squat on is in pre team. I do not recall my daughter being spotted on a squat on. Tap swings I don't believe is "spotted" either. I am not a coach and my daughter is now on her third year as a Level 10.; so I am just speaking on personal experience. Also the gym she was in during her lower levels spotted minimally, not to say that is good (or bad), just that it was the way they trained.

 

[Sass&Caffeine]

I've been in a few gyms as well as observations at meets during warm-up that coaches are spotting the tap swing/regrasp to make sure the girls don't peel off or catch their foot and hurl themselves over the low bar attempting a squat on. The other girls don't know how to do them at all, refuse spotting, etc. And yes, I'm talking about what could be considered "pre-team" working on the Level 4 squat on and swings. I guess I'm bothered just as much by a coach just standing around. My daughter's tap swings are pitiful and could definitely use more guidance/hands on. Just seems like everything they do gets approval whether or not it's correct or not.

 

[agtc0424]

From the two gyms I've trained at, they never spotted squat ons. They occasionally stood their for tap swings, but it's not a super daily thing. Two gyms i tried out at (I recently switched gyms) also did not spot these skills.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

My dd is a new level 4. Her gym competes level 2 and 3, so she and her teammates are not considered pre-team level. Certainly when they were first learning the squat on (well dd's gym does pike ons) and tap swings they were spotted and the coaches did a lot of hands on shaping and guiding too, especially with the tap swing. Now that they have been working on the skills for several months and they all have them pretty well. there are stations where they do them unspotted. But there is always one station where a coach is working with them on form and will still physically guide them through the kips and tap swings. The pike ons aren't really spotted anymore though. Sometimes they still fall from them, but they have learned how to fall without hurting themselves.

From what you wrote, it sounds like you think they aren't really being coached on bars though. I would find that frustrating too. Dd's gym is very bars focused and they definitely would not let the gymnasts just keep doing the skills wrong or unsafely. They are all about good form and they do tons of drills for all the different skills and they are pretty hands on with coaching.

 

[Sasha]

In practice, no spotting (meaning no hands-on helping them 'make' the skill) of squat ons in our gym, but lots of drills on the floor bar leading up to it. Can't do it? Back to floor bar or other drills then try again. Some spotting/shaping of the tap movement in the beginning (before they are actually swinging - just moving from arch to hollow shapes), but once they are swinging, not really any hands-on spotting while learning. If a girl isn't tapping right in a swing, she will go back to just the shapes. No "high" (more likelihood of peeling) tap swinging until they are really tapping well after months to years of practice. So ours isn't a case of pre-teamers just 'giving it a go' on their own and allowed to be sloppy and dangerous.

In a MEET, however, the coach is standing right inside the bars "spotting" as in "right there ready to catch / break the fall" (but not touching the gymnast) in case they do peel off.

So depends what you mean by "spotting" also.

 

[thefellowsmom]

My level 9 dd looked at me like I was crazy when I asked her if she was spotted on these skills while learning them. Then she said well maybe some shaping on the tap very early on and he would give her a shove to show her how it felt to have umphhh. But never spotted for squat on and taps were always set up with drill stations. They still do different tap drills occasionally. They worked squatons on the small bars and the moved to the real bars maybe extra mats under. If they missed they just jumped down.

If you have concerns about the coaching overall then that's a different story. Not all gyms or coaches are created equal. But spotting isn't the end all be all and is not always the best approach if done excessively or incorrectly. If you have serious concerns, get them addressed and then you can decide from there what's best for your child.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

I agree with the shaping on tap swings/no spotting but lots and lots of drills for the squat on.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Well....... the list is long of kids who I have caught peeling on tap swings and catching feet on squat on, and even longer if you add all the people I have seen at meets catch kids..... Nothing wrong with spotting folks! Frankly, gyms that don't spot have a much smaller ratio of kids who make it to optionals.

 

[coachmolly]

I don't spot squat ons exactly, but I am there and ready to "catch" as they are first learning it just in case. I am also ALWAYS in between the bars as girls are first learning to jump to the high bar, I even spot the jump until I am confident in their ability to catch. While I don't necessarily spot tap swings, with the exception of shaping, I am still always between the bars, often with a hand on the kid, in the case of peeling. That eventually moves to me just standing there at the ready in case of peeling, but I have heard and seen too many scary things to stand back and not at the very least be ready to grab.

 

[Splash123]

I don't spot squat ons exactly, but I am there and ready to "catch" as they are first learning it just in case. I am also ALWAYS in between the bars as girls are first learning to jump to the high bar, I even spot the jump until I am confident in their ability to catch. While I don't necessarily spot tap swings, with the exception of shaping, I am still always between the bars, often with a hand on the kid, in the case of peeling. That eventually moves to me just standing there at the ready in case of peeling, but I have heard and seen too many scary things to stand back and not at the very least be ready to grab.

This is what I do. With the addition of the fact that a couple of the girls in my young group (pre-squad) have a habit of falling backwards on squat ons so I hold their wrist and shoulder to correct the form and so I can stop a serious injury in the fall.

 

[LilyChow7]

In ALP level 3 gymnasts jump from a box to catch and 3 tap swings. It is mandatory for coach to stand between bars during a routine.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I always spot squat on, jump to high bar and tap swings in gymnasts who are learning them. If it is a smaller gymnast I will continue to spot them, even as they become more experienced.

This skills causes an enormous amount of injuries. In our competitions it is a requirement for lower level gymnasts to hav their coach stand in.

 

[Muddlethru]

OP, I've been in your shoes a few times in the past (and still in the present once in a while) where I've questioned coaching style, or coaching in general. Currently, it upsets me somewhat when my daughter's coach says something and then does not do it or forgets about it. We left my daughter's former gym because they hardly spotted ANY skill; and it was definitely a move in the right direction. If you feel your daughter is not being coached properly, nothing people say in this forum will change that. So, I would evaluate the quality of coaching more seriously. However, there is also a thin line between what parents feel is bad coaching and overly zealous parents.

 

[gymcoach1]

I'm always standing in between the bars whenever one of my gymnasts is doing tap swings, whether they just learned them or not. When they are first learning them I wouldn't call it spotting, but I am very hands on with correcting the shapes. I've seen way too many kids go flying off the back of the bar in tap swings to not stand there.

 

[Vivianflips]

My coach spots girls in the beginning when they are first learning to jump to high bar and do tap swings there. She stops spotting once she feels you are safely able to jump to the high bar.

 

[Sass&Caffeine]

Thank you for all the replies. I'm surprised to see such a wide variety of responses about spotting.

Regarding learning the squat on, there are no "progressions" that I've seen. Not sure I've even noticed if there's a floor bar to practice on. No extra mats pulled over either for the girls just learning. Just another coach standing *outside* the bars. (There are 3 girls and 2 coaches in this group. Plenty of opportunity for hands on. No shortage of supervision.)

Regarding the tap swings, my girl is 48" tall and a fall from the high bar (she's connecting a baby giant up there) could be catastrophic. There is no "shaping" being taught and there is no correction for gaining a more powerful swing. She doesn't swing bars well and needs to learn.

Thank you for those who have pointed out my main issue is unhappiness with the coaching. I think that's why I was so worked up about the spotting-it seems so basic to me. When we came to the gym (just a few weeks ago) I was under the impression that the main coach (that I do trust more) would be coaching her and that isn't the case. I just feel really stupid for picking, yet again, a poor quality gym. This will be our 3rd move (and last option) move if this issue can't be fixed.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Well....... the list is long of kids who I have caught peeling on tap swings and catching feet on squat on, and even longer if you add all the people I have seen at meets catch kids..... Nothing wrong with spotting folks! Frankly, gyms that don't spot have a much smaller ratio of kids who make it to optionals.

Oh goodness no, nothing wrong with spotting at all, we spot plenty!!! Just these two particular bar skills I see way more "catching and shaping" of tap swings and not a whole lot of hands on spotting during a squat on. I *have* spotted squat ons but I really prefer drills for those! For most other bar skills I can think of (I coach up to L5-ish skills as well as TOPs routine skills) I spot and shape lots.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Adding: i took "spotting" too literally. Of course i (and our other coaches) are standing right there ready in case something goes wrong. My comment on not spotting squat ons was more of a no "hands on gymnast at all times through the skill"....

 

[Sasha]

Well....... the list is long of kids who I have caught peeling on tap swings and catching feet on squat on, and even longer if you add all the people I have seen at meets catch kids..... Nothing wrong with spotting folks! Frankly, gyms that don't spot have a much smaller ratio of kids who make it to optionals.

I think people are responding about two different things. One is what you are describing - spotting meaning standing nearby ready to catch them if something goes wrong, which most are saying yes they do... The other "spotting" people are referring to is physical manipulation of a gymnast new to learning the skill - as in, holding on to them during the squat on to help them get their feet on the bar, or to holding onto them while practicing tap swings, which appears to have a wider variety of responses. I assume most of the 'less hands-on spotting' (during skill acquisition) gyms who are successful use lots of drills, shaping, and progressions, as well as extra matting/over pits, etc., like ours does. They don't just let kids try new skills on their own.

The OP, however, apparently isn't seeing either in practice and so perhaps has a bigger issue with the overall coaching program...