mill circle bad habit

[mayestra12]

I just need to vent about my dd's mill circle. She taught herself the bad habit of switching her hand grip to get to the top of the bar back in February when she was trying to get the skill before her first L3 meet. She's still doing it now and it's become a bad habit. She knows she needs to fix it but I don't think she's trying as she just wants to get back around to the top of the bar. Ugh.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I wouldn't stress about mill circles too much. They have very little developmental value. If she can't break this habit, it'll cost her a few tenths at level 3 and 4, but that's it -- no permanent damage done.

 

[BlairBob]

Here's an idea I never though of before. Strap her in to bar. I'm not saying do this on a strap bar but use some straps on the lower UB.

It's an idea, probably one that should best be tried by a coach spotting her through it at first. I've never tried it but maybe I will one day.

 

[mayestra12]

She's still competing L3 and hopefully will do L4 next year so she has lots of mill circles left to do! I don't watch her practice so I don't know what the coach does as far as correction. She can't make the skill without the hand switch. She has a home bar which at first contributed to the bad habit but I haven't let her do any mill circles on it in months (she doesn't use the bar a lot anyway). I certainly would never try to correct it at home I was just venting about the bad habit. Glad to hear it's not a very useful skill. Bars have always been her favorite!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

mill circles= stupid dog tricks

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

mill circles= stupid dog tricks

Pretty much.

The mill circle is just a filler. The casts, the back hip circles, the glide swings, the tap swings.... these are compulsory skills which are important to learn flawlessly, because they are important steps on the way to many upper-level skills.

But a mill circle? Don't stress about it. It's developmentally unimportant. It doesn't -- in any way that I can see -- aid in the training of any higher-level skills. (Perhaps an argument could be made for the importance of the shoot-thru preparing kids for a squat-on, but even that's a bit of a stretch).

 

[JBS]

I love it when I hear that the mill circle is the key to develop front circling skills...it must remain in the routine....hahahahahaha! Has anyone ever told USAG that they forgot to include the tap swing???

How about a 2 part routine like boys pommel horse? Show the playground tricks...dismount...lift them to the high bar and show some spotted tap swings with a required 8" mat under the bar...dismount. But that obviously wouldn't develop the front circling skills.

Boys all do front giants...we all learn by doing mill circles???...NOT!

Anyways...back to the topic. Listen to BlairBob...strap bar. Or use a double spot to spot the arms and not allow them to switch back.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

lololol! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[JBS]

Yah...I figured I might as well since this is the "vent" forum.

 

[Pickle's Mom]

And even if she does learn it correctly, she will forget how to do it within months of finishing L4. Pickle's L6 team was having a "fun-end-of-summer" workout with the new L4s and not a single L6 could still do a mill circle.

The L4s loved that they could do something the "big girls" couldn't. Of course, then the L6s started doing clear hips and flyaways.