Coaches How many side stations (for upper levels)?

[gymisforeveryone]

This question is for upper level coaches, but I'm happy to hear thoughts from compulsory level coaches too.

So, how many side stations do you usually set up for each event? Do you ALWAYS have side stations? Does it depend on the size of the group and coaches available?

What are your favorite side stations on each event? I don't want to just set up "busy work" stations, my girls are older and every side station needs to have a clear cut goal and purpose that they actually want to do them.

On bars our problem is that the group varies so much in level that setting up side stations that serve everyone is challenging. Some girls are never going to do pirouettes or anything like that and some should do drills for release moves. So it's a bit tricky, with only one set of bars and one "pit bar" without a pit under it. We have several floor bars though. And I feel like the girls are constantly chalking up, they would not have time to do more than one side station... But that may be just illusion.

On vault we have kids doing three different entry vaults (tsuk, yurchenko, FHS) with different flight phases. Again, challenging.

On floor it's a little bit easier - we usually have trampoline as a side station and sometimes we tumble up to mats. But I would love to find some easy to set up side stations that would focus on the fundamentals of front and back tumbling and twisting.

Beam is hard too - I struggle to find a good way to run the beam rotations effectively. We have two high beams, one cranky low beam, one soft and wide low beam and one short and wide floor beam. And of course everyone likes just one of the high beams. And they use different sets of mats on and under the beams and setting up takes always a minute or two. And of course they work on very different skills. Basics, leaps and turns are easy, because when we do those we just use all the beams and they just rotate and everyone does the same stuff.

I've put many of the drills that I want them to do in the warm ups and conditioning, but I feel like we could get more out of the events if we added some more side stations.

 

[Aussie_coach]

It's really not too hard to set up side stations for kids withngreatly varying levels, because the same side station can function in many ways, for different level kids.

On bars conditioning stations, particularly those based on shaping can be very useful, and no equipment is needed. Hollow rocks, V snaps, handstand holds, wall handstand shape holds, chin ups, chin up,pullovers, toes to bar hangs, inverted hangs, leg lifts, pile hang lifts, tight arch holds, hollow and tight arch rocks, front support holds etc. if you have varying levels, vary they number or difficulty of these exersizes.

Floor bars are great and no matter what the level working handstand shaping on the floor bars is invaluable. Handstand holds, knees to handstand, presses on the bar, handstand turns. Other skills can be worked squat ons, stoop ons, stoop through, basic drills for entry into the different circling skills and release moves.

Do you have any other apparatus near the bars you could add for stations like P bars, mushroom, pommel horse, stall bars, trampoline etc.

Depending on the size of your group it seems like if they are constantly chalking up they may not be using their time wisely. You could have a time limit at the chalk bucket and a consequence if they stay there too long.

You can do different things to keep them moving. Have a sheet at the side stations and they tick off when they complete it, usually they then don't want to have less ticks than everyone else. Have a goal for number of turns achieved by the group, ie tick off a tally sheet for every routine done and if they reach the goal they get to do something fun at the end of the session. Put each of them on a station and they stay on that station until you call change (eliminates talking). Give them a certain number of turns to complete and when done they get to move onto new skills.

Continued below .....

 

[Aussie_coach]

Vault is easy to set up different side stations for different levels. You might have a coach may and a board and you can have some doing block jumps, straight jumps all the way through to dive rolls, front handsprings, front tucks, front layouts, front twisting, round off back layouts for yurchenko entries, baranis to back to work tusks and so on and so on. Most vault drills can really be worked into different things for different levels.

Side stations for vault can work the different areas
1. Leg speed and strength
2. Running technique
3. Injury prevention for knees, ankles etc
4. Board entry
5. Rebound off toes
6. Pre flight
7. Handstand
8. Rebound off hands
9. Post flight
10. Landings
11. Body shaping
12. Aerial awareness

Working on drills form the different above catagories will enhance their vaulting, and there are just so many things you can do.

Again many stations can be set up for those areas without equipment, or without much equipment.

If you have access I find working with trampoline, tumble track, mini tramp etc very useful on vault.

If the kids are working things like yurchenko vaults, I would have everyone even the lower level kids doing lots of board entry stations, like round off back layouts, cartwheel snap ups up hill, round offs to back etc. this vault should be drilled early.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Floor - If you have kids tumbling from corners and sides, you can have drills in between the finishing point for one skill and the starting point for another.

I always like to have handstand stations of floor - handstand holds, presses, handstand turns, handstand walking. We do handstands with lots of different leg shapes or try to hold handstand on different apparatus, this is fun for the kids to try and they really develop total control on their handstand.

Standing skills - standing flics, flic step puts, back tucks, flic tucks, front tucks, aerials, back pikes, back layout step,puts, Arabians, onodis and so on are great side stations for enhancing tumbling.

Drilling parts of skills like courbuettes, skills up hill etc are good. Think of aspects of the Kislev the kids struggle with and invent a drill for it. Example say their are hurdling crooked, have them hurdle through the yurchenko collar and try not to knock it down.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Beam can be hard with limited stations, but it could be really beneficial to invest in some floor beams, sectional beams, laser beams. These are not expensive and will allow your kids to have more turns as well as a great starting station for new skills.

If all the set ups are taking time on beam and kids are preferring one beam. I would use the beam they don't prefer for set ups. Ie mats over beam, under beams etc and then keep the other one free form set ups so kids go to that beam when they feel ready to do the skill without set ups.

I also would not allow them to pick and choose which beam they use for skills. This is creating issues if all your gymnast want the same beam, and it's important for them to be able to use different beams because it won't always be the way they want at competitions. I would be saying "Susie, work your flics on that beam" etc.

Having boxes and mats near the beam are good side stations, as all beam tumbling b skills should be practiced up hill. Do you have some simple lines of the floor near the beam to use as side stations. It's great to have the kids working a skill up on each station. Example if they are doing flics on high beam, you can have them doing back walkover flic series on low beam, flic flic series on floor beams, flic back alyout step out series on a line on the floor and perhaps a triple series on the tumble track nearby.

You could make a game or competition of completing their work. Ie for each stuck skill they get a point, or you could give higher points depending where the stick it ie 1 point for floor beam, 3 points for low beam, 5 points for high beam and we get a winner at the end with the most points.