- Dec 6, 2012
- 378
- 563
I'm still a newbie and I'm not even exactly sure how to word my question.
DD is a young 5 and was invited this summer to join her gym's level 1/2 team. I know that many gyms don't compete at this level, and this is probably the equivalent of an early level pre-team at most other gyms.
My parents usually take dd to gym and I only take her when I'm on vacation from work. I took her a few times this month, and since I rarely go, I was interested to watch practice. I noticed that the coach doesn't seem to have the girls do drills, but instead just has them practice the skills they are working on. For example, on bars, there are several stations. The coach will spot a girl as needed through a pullover, cast, back hip circle, and dismount. The other stations include preschool bars where girls are told to independently practice their pullovers, or casts, or back hip circles. But for girls like my dd who cannot do a back hip circle without a spot, the back hip circle stations can be a little frustrating, because it seems more like they're practicing *not* doing it than practicing doing it. I would say that more girls don't have their back hip circles than ones who do, and the ones who do have it seem to have poor form (very piked).
I guess I'm wondering whether practicing a skill independently that they cannot do is helpful in learning the skill. Being curious, I googled and found some drills for back hip circles on youtube, and I was wondering whether it is common for coaches to use drills for early skills. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is whether not using drills and just practicing the skills is standard, not standard, or whether it just depends on the coach. I guess I'm thinking that for my dd, it would be easier for her to learn the skill if they broke down the skill a little and did some drills. But not having any experience in gymnastics, I'm not really sure.
Thanks.
DD is a young 5 and was invited this summer to join her gym's level 1/2 team. I know that many gyms don't compete at this level, and this is probably the equivalent of an early level pre-team at most other gyms.
My parents usually take dd to gym and I only take her when I'm on vacation from work. I took her a few times this month, and since I rarely go, I was interested to watch practice. I noticed that the coach doesn't seem to have the girls do drills, but instead just has them practice the skills they are working on. For example, on bars, there are several stations. The coach will spot a girl as needed through a pullover, cast, back hip circle, and dismount. The other stations include preschool bars where girls are told to independently practice their pullovers, or casts, or back hip circles. But for girls like my dd who cannot do a back hip circle without a spot, the back hip circle stations can be a little frustrating, because it seems more like they're practicing *not* doing it than practicing doing it. I would say that more girls don't have their back hip circles than ones who do, and the ones who do have it seem to have poor form (very piked).
I guess I'm wondering whether practicing a skill independently that they cannot do is helpful in learning the skill. Being curious, I googled and found some drills for back hip circles on youtube, and I was wondering whether it is common for coaches to use drills for early skills. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is whether not using drills and just practicing the skills is standard, not standard, or whether it just depends on the coach. I guess I'm thinking that for my dd, it would be easier for her to learn the skill if they broke down the skill a little and did some drills. But not having any experience in gymnastics, I'm not really sure.
Thanks.