WAG most effective drills for learning front handspring

[CuriousCate]

Have you as parents or coaches seen better/quicker results with front limber drills or front headspring drills?

My DD's coach is doing front limbers with them and then progressing straight to the FHS. My DD has her limber pretty consistently but seems to be missing something in translation when trying a spotted FHS. She told me that she doesn't "get" what she is supposed to do in the air.

Meanwhile, when the coach was away at a meet and the xcel coach was filling in, she had the girls who had not yet gotten the FHS doing head springs and my DD seemed to get that rather easily and the xcel coach told her that she was super close. Then, she went back to limbers when her coach returned and seems back in the same rut.

Not that I plan to say anything to the coaches about their chosen method, but I am curious about which method, if either, you've all seen have "better" results. Maybe my DD can be brave and mention it to her coach!

 

[CLgym]

It took my DD quite a long time to pick up the front handspring with proper body shape. (Frankly it is still not perfected -- one arm just refuses to stick to her ear!) I do not recall her coaches relying on either front limbers or head-springs as a primary training tool (although the girls do front limbers in floor warm-up). Instead there were lots of drills that broke the skill down (hurdle drills, starting front handspring from folded panel mat, etc.). There was also a huge focused on body shape, sometimes hands-on to show the girls. Some of the drills done at our gym are similar to those you can find on youtube if you google. I specifically recall one where the girls would fall forward after the handspring onto a pile of soft mats while maintaining the arched body position. They did this drill A LOT, and still go back to it from time to time.

In any event, it seemed like the front handspring was never gonna come for my DD.... and then it did. It will for your DD too

Good luck!

 

[raenndrops]

We do fhs over the pac-man mat (aka the handspring trainer) with the round side up. Once they get good at that, then they move on to where we turn an 8 inch mat sideways and have them do their handsprings over that (take off on one side, hands on mat, feet on other side). We also have them do them off stacked panel mats.

 

[sce]

It does come easier for some kids than others. Not sure how limbers are helping though, as they don't teach the proper body position.

Is your dd a visual learner? She might benefit form watching some youtube videos on doing a front handspring.




Not just any video though, lots of home videos don't teach proper technique

 

[sce]

One more:

 

[CoachMeg]

One of the biggest problems I see with kids learning front-handsprings is that they are bringing their feet together too early. A prerequisite to learning a front-handspring should be a front-walkover, not necessarily a front limber. We teach front-handsprings by doing front-walkovers, then fast front-walkovers, then front-handspring step-out. We don't let our kids actually bring their feet together until months of practice with this. The gymnast's focus should be on their hands at ALL times and there really needs to be an emphasis on keeping the legs apart for as long as possible - bringing them together too early is going to cut off all their power.

I am not a fan of headsprings OR front-limbers as a method of teaching front-handsprings. But that's just my opinion. Like all things, there's a million ways to get to the end product, and some people have different ways of getting there.

How do the front-handsprings look of other kids on your team that are currently competing them? Are they squatty or do they look clean with good technique? If they look good and the kids are doing well, I would just trust your coach's process. It takes a long time to master a good front-handspring.

 

[CuriousCate]

How do the front-handsprings look of other kids on your team that are currently competing them? Are they squatty or do they look clean with good technique? If they look good and the kids are doing well, I would just trust your coach's process. It takes a long time to master a good front-handspring.

Thanks for this information! Yes, she is definitely trying to get her legs together very early, like in a handstand. So, they are all training lvl4 but haven't tested so no one has competed this yet. The girls that are doing them alone or with minimal spot look pretty good to my uneducated eye. I think they taught the limbers to teach them to keep their hips open and head/chin up, but you are right, that really does teach them to pull the legs together quickly. Thank you!

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Yes, this is a good drill

 

[aeja]

I would say personally as a gymnast I learned my front handspring quicker from front limber drills as well barrel drills too! I work on those with some of my older kids and they seem to like it

 

[eucoach]

This would actually be an interesting discussion on the coaching forum.

I would say - don't worry about it - there's really nothing you can do even if the coach's approach is not very good. She will get it at some point.

IMO a front walkover is not necessary at all to learn a good fhs. I have kids with limited shoulder and upper spine mobility who I don't even teach a front walkover and spend very limited time on front limbers. They still have good enough fhs that lead to higher level tumbling.

A fhs-stepout also doesn't have that much in common with a a front walkover and I often see fhs stepouts that are really just very fast walkovers with barely any repulsion.

Personally I like to teach a fhs on the trampoline first (bounder type) while simultaneously working headsprings.

 

[ayyyrial]

Front limbers help to work on the feeling of pushing the hips forward and keeping the eyes back on the hands. But other than that they're very different skills so it isn't an easy transition from one to the other. (Front limbers also rely on back and shoulder flexibility a lot, so I know gymnasts who have great front handsprings and terrible limbers.)

Front headsprings can help with the feeling of bringing the feet over fast in a forward direction but I don't like them much. They're a fun, random skill and it's worth it to try once in a while in case it is what makes that "click" for a particular kid.

Other drills will also be important. Front handspring off of a panel mat when they are first learning, making sure to learn how to keep the hip angle and shoulder angle open and the head back. Cartwheels, FHS, and handstand blocks with the lunging foot up on a panel mat to help build that strong push through the first leg. Front layouts (on tramp, tumble trak, etc) also can help with the feeling of pushing the feet forward and staying open as you rotate forward. Long FHS over an 8 incher placed sideways to help develop that long reach that will help generate power.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

it's important to note that these are drills, there isn't just one way to teach all kids. So a number of drills should cover most athletes.

 

[penelope20_1999]

*****my quotes are in blue....

This would actually be an interesting discussion on the coaching forum.

I would say - don't worry about it - there's really nothing you can do even if the coach's approach is not very good. She will get it at some point.

IMO a front walkover is not necessary at all to learn a good fhs. I have kids with limited shoulder and upper spine mobility who I don't even teach a front walkover and spend very limited time on front limbers. They still have good enough fhs that lead to higher level tumbling. **** Absolutely true... I competed a good front handspring step out in level 5 in the 90s, but didn't have my front walkover yet (it was in level 6). i did have my front limber and got it at end of season once i learned to flex through shoulders).

A fhs-stepout also doesn't have that much in common with a a front walkover and I often see fhs stepouts that are really just very fast walkovers with barely any repulsion. ******Exactly!*******

Personally I like to teach a fhs on the trampoline first (bounder type) while simultaneously working headsprings.

*** that's awesome. i personally feel fly springs are much harder and entered into differently. so, that is definitely advantageous !


******...the headspring helps you feel popping off the floor, but its a different type of pushing/blocking . it is an asset to some gymnasts if bent arms don't carry over. imho.

*******... AND the front limbers help the gymnast learn not to whip their heads up and strengthen the arch.