Coaches Front handspring on the floor

[twinklytoes9468]

I have a 10 yr old gymnast who has never been able to do a passable handspring on the floor - nice on fast-track, nice off a spring board, nice off a platform 6 inches off floor.She can do handstand hop ok , head spring is not great, but better than some who can handspring better than her.bridges not the best but shoulders over wrists.Fwd w/over- has tendency to leave hand behind some times. Other tumbles front tuck, back tuck back handspring -all fine.BHS is actually lovely long and low, no strength issues detected in any other moves.

She NEEDS it for a comp in a few weeks (H?Spring or H/spring with step out) but finishes in a semi-squat. I have done everything I can think of. Help!!

 

[Deleted member 14190]

8 inch mat on the floor. Coach on knees on the edge of mat. Chil does front handspring from hurdle, hands on floor at edge of 8 inch mat. Child stays in arch while coach spots her to feet, child lands in arch with arms up, coach continues to push child forward until she lands on stomach in super man position. Again and again for a week. Don't let her try any alone. This programs the push and extension and deprograms the sit up. Problem solved and making them hold the tight arch all the way to the feet and to the belly is key.

 

[flanny2112]

A lot of kids come to me with front handsprings like this and it drives me nuts! So my favorite drill to help the gymnast get their hips open at the end is this:

put a spring board (can also use panel mat, but its slightly harder) in front of a octagon/rollie/whatever you call it and then the gymnast runs, puts hands on spring board and tries to handspring over without touching octagon. I couldn't find the exact drill that I use on youtube but here is a similar one:

When I do it, gymnast runs into it, and instead of a wedge we have a springboard or panel mat.

Hope this helps a little!

 

[marie83]

We have one of those 'handspring trainers' which has really helped our girls get the idea of keeping the hips and shoulders open.
I also really like to use a wedge or a sweet spot.
We do lots of drills where the gymnast falls forwards at the end of the skill too - keeping the hips and shoulders open.
One of the most important things I constantly seem to say is to keep looking at the hands. As soon as the gymnast drops her chin onto her chest the whole shape changes!