Getting that stretch on a 3/4 front

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I'm looking for drills to get kids to stretch out and watch the trampoline on the 3/4 front for Level 4, rather than simply ducking the head.

Suggestions?

 

[LucyTRA]

If they having up duck rather than wait for the force of rotation to drive them over, it sounds like they aren't driving from the heels enough. A drill I used (and what finally cracked this skill for me and many others....) uses two mats on the tramp, and is kinda hard to explain but here goes...

Put a big mat on the end deck, hanging down onto the back quarter of the bed. Put a small mat in front of it, in the middle of the bed, with a small gap in between the two. The gymnast stands in the gap, and from nothing (or from rocking) the jump up and push their heels back, kicking the big mat behind them hard. They can then return to feet (unlikely) or land on their front on the small mat in front of them. It forces them to keep the body straight because if they duck, they won't land comfortably, and they won't move the back mat, which is the aim. I did this with a group of kids and they all put markers of how much they moved the mat - made it more fun and effective as they all wanted to be the best!

Once they can do this confidently, they will understand how to drive the heels back more effectively (and hard). take the mats away and ask them to perform the same drive but harder, and they should be much straighter as they go round for the Crashdive.

 

[Tumbellina82]

When I learned this one of the drills I did was to crouch and put my hands on the trampoline then do a big bunny hop and kick my heels to handstand, see the cross in handstand, then duck and drop into a backdrop landing. The point being to think about the 3/4 front as a heel drive into an inverted position, and to watch the cross before ducking under. I think that can help, to aim for half a somersault straight like an over-rotated front drop, then duck under for the final quarter rotation, so you are seeing the move as having two distinct parts.

Also it is important to have a good straight front drop with control at (some) height where you watch the end and don't tuck in at all before attempting 3/4 front. If you get the technique and form really solid on those basic skills it does transfer to the harder ones.

I certainly agree with Lucy about the heel drive but the corollary of that is the need to keep the head and shoulders up on take-off. It sounds like at the moment they are generating rotation by dropping the head and shoulders forwards instead of driving the heels back. If they do the two together they will massively over-rotate and while they are generating rotation from the shoulders they won't feel the need to drive their hips and heels back. This is why I think it is vitally important that they have a really good front drop. If they need to work on those it might help to stand someone at the end of the trampoline and have them hold eye-contact on take-off. It would probably also help to have them do some push and go because if you have no rebound it forces you to jump up into it much more.