passe, 1/2 turns

[jes.the.gymnast]

my level 2's cant grasp the concept of a passe half turn i dont know what i can do to get them to pull up and spill fast while still holding the correct shape
if anyone has drills it would a great help
thanks
jes

 

[Aussie_coach]

It is a tricky concept for level 2's to grasp. Practise the passe position just in standing without the turn. They can also practise holding the side of the beam and turning from facing one way to the other. Make sure they know to just touch their toe to their knee not rest their foot on their leg.

 

[Invisible Duck]

Is this for floor or beam??

on beam they actually do their turn on two feet at level 2.....

 

[jes.the.gymnast]

yeah its for floor.

they are also having big problems with stride leaps :S

thanks

 

[Invisible Duck]

you could try doing lots of calf raises both on two feet and on one foot (also in passe) to get them used to the idea of going up on to their toes and keeping good posture etc, and as Aussiecoach said get them going through the motions of the turn but without actually turning.
i.e. 1 = stand up tall, toe on knee
2 = knee out to the side
3= bring knee back to front
4= stand up tall on ball of foot
5 = back to flat foot
6 = finishing position - or something along those lines depending on how you teach the turn to look!

regarding stride leaps - they are awful to teach.... but persevere!! my level 3's had shocking ones at the start of the year but I kept making them practice! between hoops, over boxes, onto boxes, simply doing hundreds on the floor... and now they look pretty good (if I may say so ). they are nice and smooth and most actually have pretty near to a full split!

are you doing the 6.00 start value on floor? because the 5.00 start value just need a stride jump/split jump not leaps....

 

[Gym-Nice-tics]

I've found the best method is to work heel snap turns with beginner turners. We have access to a dance gym with a bar so we do lots of drills there first. The assume the position, raise to high toe, and use their hands on the bar to turn. Then they are maintaining the correct position. Once They've got that, I teach the heel snap without a bar, and then I teach a preparation approach. They seem to catch on really fast.


If their upper body is an issue once the bar is gone I make them do turns holding playground balls in their arms to keep the idea of the circular arms and it makes them hold them up.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I'm with you on the stride leaps. It seems crazy that the level 2's have to perform a 135 degree stride leap in their floor routine. It is probably the skill that gives our girls the most trouble. Try getting them to hang from a bar and lift their legs to split get them to notice how they lift both their front and back leg up to make the split. Also try having them perform stride leaps over objects on the floor.

Another great drill is to have two people standing on either side of the gymnast and each holds one of the gymnasts arms as the gymnast goes into their stride leap they lift the gymnast off the ground to give them more air time to get their legs into the split position.