Coaches GRR FHS Vaults!!

[PalmTree]

My Level 5s need HELP!!! I "inherited" girls who were never taught a correct FHS vault, and now have been doing them incorrectly for 3 or 4 YEARS. Their main problem is that they pike terribly getting onto the vault and are too slow off. I have had them try to get their feet in front on the board and really heel drive over but nothing is changing. How do I fix this??? I have video if that helps, just PM me.

Any drills would help! THANKS.

 

[arhitt01]

my favorite drill and it helps drive there heels is you put a panel mat long ways and a roller in between that and an 8 incher, then they literally fall on their belly on the roller and have to stay flat and hit a handstand and then fall to their back.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

layout fronts off a vaulting board or mini-tramp.

 

[BlairBob]

Once they can do a layout front, a simple front handspring vault will be cake.

By that time, they will be able to punch the board correctly. More than likely they will have mini prudanova legs.

So they need to sprint a lot, plyo's off boxes (depth jumps), single leg squats, hamstring curls/gluteham raise. A whole of ankle/toe raises to make their ankles strong enough they don't collapse when sprinting.

I handspot the layouts off a board for the lil ones. They love it but if they pike they go back to straight jumps. Obviously they are working front salto progressions on trampoline or t-trak and lots of flyspring work.

I generally don't use the mini-tramp ever anymore. Maybe for a kid who has joint issues but that doesn't make too much sense as they will have to run/sprint down the vault anyways and that is pounding on their joints ( as for Osgood Schlater, Plantar fascitis, Severs, etc ).

 

[iwannacoach]

After three or four years!!!! Geez that's such a long time that they'll probably relate every correction coming out of your mouth to the model they have imprinted in their head. So when you say kick/lift your heels......they do, but their hips will always lead the way because that's what they think is the "right way".

You gotta do the front lay-outs to give them the correct sensation, but give them a lecture about "change" just before putting that sensation to the test at the end of a vault run. Every time a kid gets closer to making/learning a skill, it's because they've made a change in how they move during the skill. It sounds easy to do, but a lot of kids don't make changes because they don't relate to the "new" sensations.

So work that notion around in your head while they're doing front lay-outs. To get their heels up at the end of a vault run means making a change, and making a change means trying something differently, and letting it feel different.....because it is.

 

[PalmTree]

GOOD NEWS!! I had one of my 5's come in for a private lesson today and she left doing AWESOME, BEAUTIFUL front handspring vaults. I had her do front layouts off the board to a mat and progressively over higher and higher blocks. She did them perfectly, as she always has. Then I took her to the vault but I put it down to its lowest setting so she could try to front layout over it. She almost did but used her hands for a second....AKA an awesome vault! I put it up one more and realized the vault was probably just set waaaay too high for her before. She was used to going on a high vault because that's how her old coach always had her do it. It was a DUH moment for me. She's only about four foot nine!

 

[BlairBob]

Sounds like the old coach was lazy regarding adjusting the vault.

 

[Jabba]

cz, congrats on your success with your gymnast that came in for the private. I definitely feel your pain on vault. I spend most of my days lately analyzing vault and how to get my girls doing real FHSPs. They have strong legs, and can flip off a spring board into pit very well, but dont carry that idea to vault. I have four level 5s and right now the vault is on its lowest setting. My best is just at a 9. Her run can be inconsistent, but she is getting the idea of hollow at least. With her, I am debating raising the vault a little. My other three have major issues. One has a ton of power but pikes and puts her hands down right away (we've tried several things to change this, so far nothing has worked) and then arches off. all power dies out. another should be flying - she runs well, her preflight seems great, but then she bends her arms and arches off. the fourth lacks power, pikes on and kind of quickly presses off. we need help! they all have beautiful bounders/flysprings on tumble trak, so they essentially get the idea of the skill, just aren't translating it to vault. our hands are on way too long and they dont pop off until way too late (some dont pop off at all, just fall). i've googled and googled different drills/ideas. I am starting to incorporate front layouts, but we are in the middle of the competitive season, so i dont want to take the vault away entirely (i think they'd freak out when i put it back). my girls have come a LONG way in the past year and work really really hard. we are a really good team otherwise, it's very frustrating that this event is really holding us back. all other events, we are just cleaning up little details, but here we need a drastic change. i would really appreciate any and all help, advice, thoughts. thank you!!

 

[BlairBob]

One has a ton of power but pikes and puts her hands down right away

She needs to understand that a front handspring is just a front layout with a handstand pop.

Honestly, your girls do not need to vault over the table every day. Now this will depend on how often you are training vault during the week and how long but if they are just practicing the same mistakes over and over, nothing will get better. EVER.

It also depends if there is only room for vaulting pass or a return path to say work front layouts and if there is 1 or 2 coaches.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

I agree with Blairbob, spending all your vaulting time just doing the vault will not get the improvements you desire. If you have three vaulting sessions a week, spend one session vaulting and spot the majority putting them in the right positions. One session doing the saltos/layouts to mats (building the height), and the third session on the trampoline working basic trampoline skills with perfect body positions, especially straight jumps with your arm action for vault.

 

[coachmolly]

I'll just throw a monkey wrench into this equation by asking, what do you do when a trampoline is not available and the kids are too big to heavy spot a front layout off a springboard? I coach high school kids with little or no previous gym experience and while the HC usually takes care of VT, I'm in charge of event specific conditioning and supplemental drills and can use all the help I can get for improving their vaults (and readiness to vault, only a handful will actually go over). Thanks for all the great tips thus far!

 

[Jabba]

Blairbob and Pineapple, thanks so much! We started the "forget what you know" concept last night. I told them they had a new vault: they no longer do front handsprings, they are working on a front layout. We did a lot of board drills and flipping off the board over the trainer vault (front tucks, but getting them nice and high, goal is to make that front layouts next week). Seems to be helping and they really enjoyed it too! They were really focusing on the run, arm circle and hitting the board hard. Today we'll work more with tramp on layout positions. I have never thought about it like that before (and wasn't trained that way myself - perhaps why vault was my weakest event), but your statement about not using the real vault every day makes total sense! That was kind of a light bulb moment for me. THANK YOU!!! I am feeling much more positive finally about this event!