WAG Spotting or no spotting

[munchkin3]

Just a question on whether or not your gym spots. For a long time ours was a NO on spotting......with a recent addition in staff, some spotting was also introduced......
Is spotting bad???
It seems that some girls can gain confidence with some initial spot until they are able to go it alone. Some gain skills faster.
But some coaches prefer to let the athlete do it without spot.....obviously this can take considerable longer.....

What is preferable?

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Spotting is never a bad thing, unless you never let them go alone. In other words we spot a ton, that's how you get little kids into optionals.

 

[raenndrops]

Our gym spots... sometimes they accidentally over spot, lol. YG was spotted on her BHS in old L4 three meets longer than she should have been. The coach was there "just in case" but couldn't help touching her even though she didn't need to. The following meet, YG looked at her and asked her to stay off the floor

 

[beachgirl]

On bars spotting, spotting and more spotting.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Yes and no. I personally think the best approach is a combination of both drills and spotting, but it isn't always possible for coaches to spot. Sometimes the kids are too big or the coach may have an injury that prevents them from spotting safely, or spotting every gymnast may not work due to the class numbers. Coaches are told to first and foremost look after their bodies when deciding whether or not to use spotting as a form of teaching gymnasts. If the coach is injured it can prevent them from being able to work at all.

There are also many other ways to "spot" without actually touching the gymnast. The most common is to use various equipment set ups to "spot" the gymnasts, or a safety harness.

Also it is not nessesarily a bad thing for it to take longer for a child to learn a skill. Often those who have taken their time to learn and skill and done a lot of drills will be much more consolidated in the learning process. It may take longer to learn the skill initially but they are less likely to lose the skill.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

I would say it depends on the skill and the age group/experience of the gymnast. We are VERY hands on with the younger gymnasts because they need to get the feel for the right position etc, with older, more experienced gymmies you can verbally correct them more efficiently. On beam, we spot skills up to a certain point and only on floor/ low beams, then the gymnasts keep working it (getting corrections etc) and move them up to the high beams where they belong on their own. On bars we spot a lot but once they get up to higher Optionals, there's less spotting and more verbal correcting and just doing it over and over.
On floor we do tons of drills and really strive for moving them away from spotting on BHS etc as quickly as possible. We really only spot those as the gymmie is JUST learning them, then we correct from there and let them go for it. In Optionals it's all verbal corrections on floor.

 

[Redford]

It depends on the skill, the event and the gymnast.
As mentioned above, younger gymnasts have a harder time understanding verbal corrections so I do a lot of stop and spot to make them feel the right position.
With older girls I'm trying to reduce spotting to bars, I used to spot more but a few are heavier than me and my back has been complaining. On all the other events I'm trying to set up drills they can do on their own so once we get to the actual skill I only have to be there ready to safe the gymnast or give a final push. (I haven't been able to make it work for all skills but at least now I'm smart enough to get someone to help me spot if necessary) I am not really used to this method, I've been spotted a lot as a child so it's a work in progress to find out which drills are working, how can they be modified, what can I set up with limited equipment and a lot of digging for drills on youtube.
I'm not a huge fan of the no-spotting mentality. It may work with some but in my expirience not with all gymnasts. Some girls just need someone to be there until they get their confidence up.

 

[Seeker]

Dd's gym spots very little. They do a ton of drills and train on multiple surfaces for tumbling/shaping (trampoline, rod, tumble trak) to help get them ready to do the skills on their own 90% of the way, so spotting is limited. Old gym spotted heavily and it was often hard to transition from a spotted skill to doing it on their own. It seemed that that heavy spotting was more than likely due to the fact that they didn't really know how to coach/teach the skills any other way.

 

[ZJsMom]

No spotting for DS. He did have a stint at one gym where the coach would spot occasionally. It did help him at the time as he was getting ready for level 6 and fearful of the flyaway. At the first gym, the coach would just yell at him to let go of the bar. When he went to the gym where the coach spotted, he got the skill quickly.

At this point, he's used to learning new skills without spot. His coach is big into drills and more drills. At the same time, now that he's doing things with double saltos and releases, I sometime wish he could have a spot. I guess more for me than him. He doesn't complain though. And I wouldn't want his coach to get hurt. Many of the guys are bigger than him, so he can't have them dependent on spotting to learn new tricks.

 

[Quadqueen]

At DD's gym, there is some spotting on bars, but that's it. No spotting on any other events. It certainly makes them go for skills earlier than they would if they had the option of being spotted, especially on beam, but it also creates anxiety in some kids. At DD's former gym, everything was spotted, to the point where the coach was standing less than a foot away during an entire beam routine in level 7+, which certainly didn't help them. That gym did not have pits though, which I think resulted in more spotting.

 

[gympeeps]

Spotting is never a bad thing, unless you never let them go alone. In other words we spot a ton, that's how you get little kids into optionals.

Well said!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Just a question on whether or not your gym spots. For a long time ours was a NO on spotting......with a recent addition in staff, some spotting was also introduced......
Is spotting bad???
It seems that some girls can gain confidence with some initial spot until they are able to go it alone. Some gain skills faster.
But some coaches prefer to let the athlete do it without spot.....obviously this can take considerable longer.....

What is preferable?

non spotting methodology is preferred. yes it takes longer but they have less problems later.

spotting is appropriate for whatever task is trying to be accomplished. example...bumping a double back up in to the air is not appropriate.

spotting the landing is appropriate.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

On bars spotting, spotting and more spotting.

no, no and no.

 

[skschlag]

Thanks dunno. I needed to see that. D's coach does spot his landing, and only does something if he is going to land short.....

 

[Deleted member 14190]

no, no and no.

Diaagree disagree disagree And thus a prime example of different coaching techniques.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

coachp, even at the ranch the only spotting, like bars, are kip cast hands or cast hands over and over again. the coach giving a little help but more for shaping.

or certain little drills...like in bar stuff.

big stuff is not spotted. they slide mats and such. i could have never lasted as long as i have if non spotting methods were not used. neuropathically speaking, it is the BEST way to learn and keep. and you need pits and mats and resi's...lots of them.

but i'm sure you're not (i know for sure) one of those guys chucking kids in the air on double backs...then letting them go and crash in a meet. you know it's unfortunate that we still have that in our sport.

i don't think that we're that different. it depends on what the spotting is for.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

and i coach men also. there are few things you can spot them on without getting killed. have you ever seen a practice at Colorado Springs with the men?

there is not a skill that can't be taught when using non spotting methodologies.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

I agree with your point about chucking and too much spotting. But they do spot a bunch at the ranch. Pretty much everything, bails Paks, tekaxhevs , casts etc. Howie spots those vault entries like crazy, and it definitely works for him. That being said, I can't imagine how low our move up rate would be on bars if we didn't spot those flyaways and giants , lol. (I would have a pretty small team). Personally I can't imagine having a kid throw a Ray or tekaxhevs for the first time without at least putting them in a belt. But I know it can be done, I just don't want to assume the risk. Anyways, I think many of us bundle the word spotting with shaping, so our interpretation of the subject may be different.

 

[munchkin3]

I prefer compulsory gymnastics.....I really like those cartwheels and terrifying BWOs.

Fear spotting-
As a Mom (non logical) I want spotting as much as possible. Logically, I get the non spot methodology, and I can see how a non spotted skill is a keeper, once it is achieved..........some coaches at our gym DO like over spotting and they feel it is necessary.......or perhaps they are just big suckers for scared little kids LOL.. Some of the kids downright look like junkies waiting for their next spot and unfortunately my DD is one of them....

I can see that there is no correct answer since coachp and dunno disagreeing.....I guess the same disagreement will remain in our gym....

Until then, my DD will have to navigate the different coaches, and I will pray she can be spotted until she builds the confidence to do the skill.....or till she build up the nerve to do the skill......after all, we all know she can do it.

 

[xxStumpyxx]

I would say it depends on the skill and the age group/experience of the gymnast. We are VERY hands on with the younger gymnasts because they need to get the feel for the right position etc, with older, more experienced gymmies you can verbally correct them more efficiently. On beam, we spot skills up to a certain point and only on floor/ low beams, then the gymnasts keep working it (getting corrections etc) and move them up to the high beams where they belong on their own. On bars we spot a lot but once they get up to higher Optionals, there's less spotting and more verbal correcting and just doing it over and over.
On floor we do tons of drills and really strive for moving them away from spotting on BHS etc as quickly as possible. We really only spot those as the gymmie is JUST learning them, then we correct from there and let them go for it. In Optionals it's all verbal corrections on floor.

My youngest has been working on cartwheels on the beam for around 6 months and is not making progress, she has been trying them on the floor beam and cannot land them at all, her coach doesn't spot at all on this skill, I am sure that if she was spotted through the skill especially the landing then she might get it, I am not a coach and might be way off base here but it is frustrating for both of us.