Yer killin' me!!! I could write and not know where to stop if you wanted detail, so I'll stick to the basics and see if anything I write provokes a response for more...... or different focus.
The finish of the bhs is what sets a kid up for a good layout. Sure, you can still make one out of a bhs that's slightly off square or alignment, but it gets a lot harder to do and make it look good. I have the kids work their bhs a little differently when building the basis for a bhs layout by having them land their bhs on their step down foot and place the trail foot about 15 to 18 inches farther behind them than their usual single bhs. I want them to lift the step down foot to knee height or higher and transfer their weight to the trail foot, and finish square and aligned with their arms in a stretched reach back position.
The deal with the the extra long distance to the trail foot landing position is I want them to have enough energy to travel through the layout. It's far better to get that energy from the bhs than to generate it while shifting from front foot to back foot for the layout's take off. Really, who needs one more thing to think about just before they elevate and flip. The other aspect of the extra 15-18 inches is it focuses energy in a straight line down the length of the beam. The greater that energy is, the harder it is to disrupt it........ It's kinda like riding slowly on a bike, balancing gets harder the slower you go. I don't know if everyone will agree with me, but the top kids don't tumble fast because they're soooo confident....... the reality is the speed of their skills makes the their value elements easier to do, and that helps their confidence.
If they can do that version of the bhs with great reliability, finished square and aligned, and always balanced, then the layout will go through their arm set as they start. When thy see the beam they should reach down as if setting their landing. They need to be aware of their arms and work on keeping their arms and shoulders square and aligned during the reach down, as focusing too early, or entirely, on landing the step down foot will take them out of square, or alignment, or both.
Pretty much....... if you don't give them specific directions about where their arms go, you'll see some good one, some bad ones, and some you hope never show up again. Balance beam skills are easy. The hard part is disciplining yourself to work exclusively in fundamentally sound positions until it's time to land.
A few other ideas......
Core tightness helps them identify what their core is doing because they can learn where the sensation of tightness is and keep that sensation centered over the beam. No sensation..... no staying centered.
Try having them focus (on a floor line first) on tumbling away from the end of their imaginary beam. If you think about it nobody goes to something because they need energy to move, and they get that energy from where they've been and where they are. If they're good beam workers they direct that energy..... and end up getting there every time. Well you can dream, can't you!?
sounds great .... they are driving me crazy pulling the layouts over looking like a pike. They jump back and the first thing they want to do is pull their feet. No matter what I say or what drill I set up they default back to the bad technique. UGH!
