Coaches Hours for level four, per event.

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Joined
Nov 21, 2022
Messages
41
Reaction score
20
I figure that many level four groups have about 12 hours a week. My question is how much time do they get per event per night? Do they attempt to get to four events plus flex/conditioning /warmup, or do they just do two events? Asking the question because in the past, with level four I have had a very small group, with four hours a night three times a week, and by myself. I was able to get a lot done, especially in corrections and shaping and varied conditioning. I'm not a fan of overuse injuries, , hence the varied conditioning. Upcoming year I will have a large group. With one-two extra coaches, but as far as I can tell, very little actual time on an event. I do not see this working out. ie getting enough done...Maybe, and hopefully, I am wrong.
 
I’m not sure what you’d consider to be large vs small groups. I’m used to working with a 1:8 ratio, but for a chunk of last year I had between 10-14 kids with a second coach, which feels like a lot more. It actually ended up working really well - we had a second pair of eyes and hands which meant more feedback and spotting/individual attention, each of us had our own strengths as coaches which we used.
Two coaches with a larger group also meant we did more stations and could both watch smaller groups for some things, which was helpful in the case of, for example one group starting on a general beam complex and the other half starting on skill specific drills.

The only apparatus where turns were a bit limited and we were unable to spread out would be the tumbling into pit, or trampoline type stations (just based on the space in our gym)


Timing wise we had warm-up, a half hour on each apparatus and strength, and it worked fine. I think this kind of situation is maybe not ideal, however is manageable and can be effective and productive if you plan appropriately, and have capable coaches that you trust working with you
 
In a perfect world, I'd want to do it like this:

-45 minutes of warm-up, handstand work (holds, press progressions, pirouettes, rolls, etc), and dance/beam basics
-45 minutes of tumbling/trampoline basics
-45 minutes of conditioning/bars basics
-30 minutes on one event
-15 minutes stretching
 
I coach a level similar to level 4 in my country, we do 9 hours a week (3 hr 3 times a week) and that's what we do (my current ratio is 1:8)
1 hour warm up, conditioning and active flexibility
45 min bars
2 events of 30 min (we end up having 2 sessions of 30 min a week of each of VT, FX and BB)
15 min stretching
 
I coach a level similar to level 4 in my country, we do 9 hours a week (3 hr 3 times a week) and that's what we do (my current ratio is 1:8)
1 hour warm up, conditioning and active flexibility
45 min bars
2 events of 30 min (we end up having 2 sessions of 30 min a week of each of VT, FX and BB)
15 min stretching
Bars is my sticking point....LOL... It takes them so long to set up, stations etc, although I do not believe in using grips at this stage some already do, so that takes more time. By the time they get on bars they have like 20 minutes max... with 10 plus kids.
 
When I was a gymnast, we had larger groups, limited hours, and limited equipment. One thing that our coaches did to use our time efficiently was to set up conditioning stations at each event for us to complete between turns. That way, we were never just standing in line and we did not need to set aside dedicated time for conditioning. With extra assistant coaches, you could send 1/2 the group to work on strength, conditioning and flexibility far 1/2 the rotation while the other half the gymnasts are doing the event and then switch.
 

New Posts

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

College Gym News

New Posts

Back