Hitting foot on bar

[momof5]

DD has had her shoot thru for about 9 months now and she is still hitting the bar with her foot everytime she brings her leg though. Bars is by far her worst event and I am trying to help her get every extra tenth she can get before the season starts in a month. Why is she always hitting the bar and what can she do to stop doing it?

 

[gymdog]

I would guess she's not pushing up enough through her shoulders or bringing her knee close enough to her chest. It's hard to work on this one at home and I honestly haven't come up with a whole lot of super helpful drills for it at the gym, except to have them practice it a lot. If she needs work on some other bar skills as well, this is one situation where I think a private, even a 1/2 hour one, might help if you can get one scheduled. Of course not all gyms offer them...I'd just talk to the coach about the possibility and see what they think about it. I probably wouldn't do it just for the one skill, but if there are several areas that need to be addressed, it might help to have some undivided attention.

 

[ryantroop]

A shoot through?

Like a jam? Or like how you get into one of those split leg circles.. I forget their name.


Could someone clarify for me?

Thanks,

Ryan

 

[kiwiflyer]

Is she getting her hips high enough and are her shoulders over the bar? I find that these are the two most common problems that my gymnasts have. I usually start by getting them to put their hands on a low beam/bar and jumping to put their leg through between their hands. It helps them get their hips up and feel where their body is supposed to be to get their leg through. They don't mind this drill because there's little risk of them smacking their shin on the beam/bar or face planting off the bar. I had a kid on Monday who has been working on this for 2 years (in a rec class) and still hadn't got it. I set the bar just above her waist height and then got her to jump on a springboard to get her hips up and get her shoulders in the right place and then put her leg through. She did this a few times and then I got her to do it with a cast and she did it several times without her foot touching the bar or fulling off. Hope this helps.

 

[CoachGoofy]

For shoot throughs I have my preteam girls use a floor bar (it's about 3-4 inches off the floor) and practice. They hold themselves in a pushup position-this is their front support-and jump one leg through over the bar, just like a shoot through. That gives them an idea of how high they need to pull their knee and how high they're going to need to cast to do it.

This may or may not work without the bar, since it sounds like she's basically tripping on the bar. Without seeing it, it's hard to know if she isn't casting high enough, or isn't pulling her leg in enough.

 

[momof5]

Yes its how to get into the split leg postions over the bar.

 

[gymdog]

I set the bar just above her waist height and then got her to jump on a springboard to get her hips up and get her shoulders in the right place and then put her leg through. She did this a few times and then I got her to do it with a cast and she did it several times without her foot touching the bar or fulling off. Hope this helps.

This is a good drill. Although you have to spot their shoulders if they're unreliable.

Shoot through is one of the things I dislike teaching, although I think that it incorporates some important "concepts" if you will.

 

[goodhuel]

Foot hitting bar

What is your daughter's build. While it is very possible that her technique is the challenge, I have also seen it where the child's build is not conducive to this skill (short arms, long legs, etc.)