WAG Need Help on Bars ...

[Bumblebee462]

I have a kid that is a level 8 ... but struggles on bars with a "Cast" she can't cast to handstand to save her life. She's been on straddle cast since May and is still inconsistent. I've spotted, set up a zillion drills, everything. She definitely can't do a straight body cast. She can do a low cast into a Perfect freehip handstand. Her Giants are beautiful, but I can't get her to straddle cast to hand. She pulls her shoulders back to early, I tell her over and over, then I spot and set drills. Is there a way to build a level 8 bar routine without the cast handstand ::laughs:: I need help ... really stressed.

* p.s this particular girl I would NOT give a straddle back in placed of the pirouette. Long story but it would not work with her.

 

[iwannacoach]

Don't laugh at this until you try it, and don't try it if you don't have the equipment or feel uncomfortable with it......

Set up a canyon that reaches the height of the low bar. I've use spotting blocks for this and stack a few mats on top until I can adjust the bar down to the top of the canyon. Next take a fold up mat and open it so its equal thickness on each side of the fold. Use it as a bridge to span from one side of the canyon to the other leaving very little gap between the bridge and the bar.......

Have her do a moderate effort cast that flows into a forward roll on the bridge. Spot these at first with your bar side hand between her shoulder and neck, and your away side hand between mid and upper thigh.....

The way this works is is forces them to accept a shoulder orientation that is completely foreign to her as much as it's completely the opposite of the mistake she's making. Neither shoulder placement is correct, but once she finds out she can be on the wrong side of balanced, both front and back, she'll accept that she can make adjustments as they are needed.

Be careful with this because I can't tell you what can go wrong as this came about as the result of the kids having a good time during a sleep over and they figured it out and made changes as they felt were needed..... since nobody I've done them with has ever humpty dumptied I can't tell you what to look out for.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Here is a level 8 routine with no cast handstands:
kip/cast/clear-hip pirouette/kip/squat on
kip/cast/clear hip/giant/giant/flyaway

 

[htimcj]

In level 8 would all of those casts have to reach vertical in order to not be deducted?

 

[htimcj]

This is an interesting thread for my DD since she also struggles with the cast handstand. Actually it is kip/cast handstand. She will NOT do a straddle cast, not sure why, but she just says she doesn't like the way they look and her coaches don't seem to mind which the gymnasts do. She says that she knows that she doesn't get her shoulders over the bar consistantly but has trouble actually accomplishing the corrections on a regular basis.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

no cast handstand=inodevelopfurther

 

[iwannacoach]

no cast handstand=inodevelopfurther

Geez dunno. That's gotta be one of your worst posts ever.....

no cast handstand=inodevelopfurther!!!

Now, with proper punctuation, it looks so much better.

 

[wandrewsjr]

no cast handstand=inodevelopfurther

Agreed. But do think the routine is perfectly acceptable for, say, a 15/16/17 year old gymnast who is a full level 8 on all other events and would like to see a Regionals before moving on from gym.

 

[BarCoach]

Have her do an uprise into her clear hip on high. Then she can do her giants from there. If she really can't cast enough to pirouette out, I guess you'll have to let her clear hip into it and just take the deduction for the small cast.

 

[Bumblebee462]

Thanks guys ...