WAG Back leg in split jump-help!

[mobeans]

My daughter is a Level 2 and is having trouble keeping her back leg straight in the split jump-is there anyway to fix this? The rest of her routine is great but for some reason the split jump always has a bent back leg. At her last practice her coach had her jump in front of the mirror so she could see.

Any tricks? Thanks in advance.

 

[Aussie_coach]

It's very hard for them to stretch it because they can't see it and a lot of the time they feel it is straight.

If she squeezes her thigh and points her toe it should straight out, so have her picture these two things.

A mirror can help, have her do backwards kicks and look at them and try to feel the difference between bent and straight. Once she understands the feeling she should be able to emulate it without the mirror.

 

[iwannacoach]

If you think about it, many times the kids are told to kick their foot harder or get their foot higher, but don't get just how ripe those corrections are for misunderstandings. The thought and correction process works better when they are told to kick their leg or get their leg higher, because they are then at least thinking in terms of their entire leg.

A quick corrective tack that's worked for me is to tell them which muscle is going to feel the effort when the leg is lifted behind. That and telling them to stop focusing on the height of their foot, and instead put that energy into lifting their knee up behind them while keeping their quad muscles tight.

So the new goal for the day is to stop worrying about the degree of split, but to concentrate on the knee kicking up behind them and to feel the quads staying tight. I don't care what your results are other than to see what I want being your top priority. Do that, and we'll both have something to smile about!

And...

The back leg is prone to bending as a result of muscles being too weak to lift that leg up behind them. That befuddles coaches who have gymnast capable of over splits stand next to the beam and kick their leg up behind them while using the beam as a ballet bar. These coaches quickly add 2+2 and conclude that over splits plus horizontal back kicks equals a 180 split leap that's perfectly level from front to back foot.

The problem is that back kicks next to the beam are solidly anchored to the floor via the support leg, and forget the advantages a solid base provides. They then tell their kids their back legs are always low because they just don't try hard enough.

That may work if the coach is sitting in a big red vehicle from which authority can be projected (hey it could just as easily be a fire truck ;-0), but I think the better choice is to teach them a technique that makes so much sense that it works, something like this:

Our bodies are made to allow our legs to lift up in front of us, while our back legs..... not so much. So if you want a split that is equal at 150, 165, or 180 degrees, wouldn't make sense to put the bulk of your split effort into the back leg. You know.... back leg x 3= front leg..... Sorta like if the back leg is three times harder to lift behind you than the front leg, then should all your effort go into kicking/lifting the back leg up and let the front leg become an easily adjusted after thought.

It's just a bit more complicated than that, so a step is added where the front leg gets some swing and then the back leg goes hard, which gives it the energy to get the best height possible and to create a reaction that propels the front leg through the rest of it's lift. It works almost every time for kids who are not afraid to take off and commit to the jump or leap.

 

[mobeans]

Wow, thank you so much! I will talk with DD about what you said. It all makes so much sense when it's broken down like that. She is a hard worker so I know it isn't an issue about not trying but more like she just can't fix it. I appreciate your insight to this immensely!

 

[iwannacoach]

I didn't write that for a level 2 gymnast (your) daughter, but wanted to address the problem you so handily brought up. It's more geared for coaches who work with kids of all ages, as well as parents who want to understand, but are plagued with the "it looks like this, so do this" logic that. Much to the chagrin of my fictitious example of a confused and authoritative coach, and many involved parents, and nearly every child training at or below L7, this sport is made more frustration and hazardous when pursued on a "monkey see monkey do" basis.

Please don't talk to your dd about what I've I've suggested as corrections to this skill, because neither you nor I have any sense for her strengths, weaknesses, or quirks that are always a factor in the cause and affect pattern of learning. My first impression is that she's a level two and her coach could be very good and is choosing what to feed your daughter to prepare for a growth spurt of beam jumps and leaps. You could offer to share the information with her coach, or forward it anonymously to protect you from being misunderstood.

 

[mobeans]

Gotchya. Her coach is very good and we are very happy overall. I know she is frustrated with that particular aspect of her routine. I do like the idea of trying to focus just on her back leg when jumping. She is focused on getting more height however that results in the bent back leg. Thanks again for all of your insight!