Coaches Poor Form on Cast Handstands

[Gymsanity]

Aero:
I think you are doing a really good job with her and she looks great. Love her arms and courage and your spot. She is a work in progress, but who isn't? When I spot in that situation, I put my hand on the back of her head as she casts to keep her from poking her head out and I use my other hand on her ribs to help keep them in. After that, I would remind her to straddle with her legs closer to the bar (the drag your feet up the block to a pike drill works good for that), and presto magic you have a beautiful cast handstand! Great job, and continued good luck with her!
Palm Tree:
If it's a fear of falling on the bar, I put a bar pad between where their hands go, and then I put Tkachev pads on the outside of where their hands go so there is no exposed bar other than where their hands go. Also, if they can do it on the floor bar, just start slowly raising it. It may take a little time, but as I recall 'Rome wasn't built in a day.' Good luck, and keep at it!

 

[gymjunkie]

I have never done the drill in the video. To get them ready for handstands, I always have stalder presses against the wall as a side station on bars. Any arching/ribs out is corrected at this station, before it ever makes it to a bar. We start this in developmentals, but it helps at any stage.

To correct the fear issues, I stand behind the bar and hold their hips. First they do the cast-straddle-on the bar to a hop to straddle up handstand. From there they go to a spotted cast handstand. They are not afraid to lean if you are behind the bar, because they are leaning towards their spotter. This time around, I only had one kid stick out her head and ribs (like in Aero's video). She used to have the same problem on the presses against the wall, but I wasn't always there to spot her to correct it. I had her do a tucked planche on a floor bar and spotted her through a press handstand that went from tucked planche to a straight bodied handstand (very difficult & I would love this to be a daily station, but it needs a full-time spotter and that's not always possible). I made sure her head was neutral and didn't let her continue to go up any further if her ribs came out. She quickly transferred this to the straddle CHS. HTH

 

[gymdog]

Tuck planches will help, and also press ups on a block. Make sure they use straight arms.

 

[Aero]

Aero:
I think you are doing a really good job with her and she looks great. Love her arms and courage and your spot. She is a work in progress, but who isn't? When I spot in that situation, I put my hand on the back of her head as she casts to keep her from poking her head out and I use my other hand on her ribs to help keep them in. After that, I would remind her to straddle with her legs closer to the bar (the drag your feet up the block to a pike drill works good for that), and presto magic you have a beautiful cast handstand! Great job, and continued good luck with her!
Palm Tree:
If it's a fear of falling on the bar, I put a bar pad between where their hands go, and then I put Tkachev pads on the outside of where their hands go so there is no exposed bar other than where their hands go. Also, if they can do it on the floor bar, just start slowly raising it. It may take a little time, but as I recall 'Rome wasn't built in a day.' Good luck, and keep at it!

@Gymsanity | Thank you for the kind words. It is exciting teaching this skill for the first time. Finally going beyond the realm of rec coaching is awesome and I've found I really enjoy coaching all the details and form. It's much more intensive, and as a result, more satisfying and engaging.

She is certainly a work in progress. In a way, she's kind of like my guinea pig, haha. I try all my ideas on her, and so far they have really seemed to help her. Her tucked planche is really great and she's starting to untuck one leg at a time working on lengthening the lever. As for spotting, I certainly need to practice my spotting for this skill since this is the first time I've been able to actually teach it. The spot I'm doing in the video is just to catch her when she dumps over. I wanted a video of her trying it completely unaided. She has yet to find the sweet spot of perfect vertical above the bar. When you spot, I assume you are standing on a block or mat? At what height is the surface? And regards to keeping the ribs in, what muscles are used in that contraction? How do you like to teach the technique of "pulling the ribs in?"

 

[Aero]

@PalmTree | Any updates or videos on your girls?

 

[coachmolly]

Aero- Your little one looks great! Very impressive for an early try on her own. Our best Xcel silvers/golds are casting to horizontal, most are some degree below that. As for spotting cast handstands, I like to stand on a rectangular spotting block, I think my knees are usually at bar level (but that is for girls about my height, lower would likely work for shorter girls). Most of what I do is keep their shoulders over the bar and hold/correct the handstand shape at the top. As for keeping the ribs in, lots of work on floor/floor bar handstands to feel the position (the JAO video has great ideas for shaping cast handstands). It's a really hard concept for my younger girls, so I do lots of hand spotting, poking, and reminding. I really wish we spent more time on casting, but this thread has given me some great ideas if we get the chance.
PalmTree- I had a girl (high school age) who drove me nuts with leaning over the bar but on a squat on rather than a cast handstand. She could do all the drills and separate pieces, just couldn't (or in my perspective, wouldn't) but it all together. Ultimately it came down to me giving her a talk that she needed to want it more than she was scared of it (which she fought, because she "wasn't scared of it") and trying to back off of her and just let her do her own thing so I wouldn't get worked up and eventually she got it. I know it's a totally different skill, but perhaps some insight to your girls. Skill resistance bugs the heck outta me!

 

[Gymsanity]

@Gymsanity | Thank you for the kind words. It is exciting teaching this skill for the first time. Finally going beyond the realm of rec coaching is awesome and I've found I really enjoy coaching all the details and form. It's much more intensive, and as a result, more satisfying and engaging.

She is certainly a work in progress. In a way, she's kind of like my guinea pig, haha. I try all my ideas on her, and so far they have really seemed to help her. Her tucked planche is really great and she's starting to untuck one leg at a time working on lengthening the lever. As for spotting, I certainly need to practice my spotting for this skill since this is the first time I've been able to actually teach it. The spot I'm doing in the video is just to catch her when she dumps over. I wanted a video of her trying it completely unaided. She has yet to find the sweet spot of perfect vertical above the bar. When you spot, I assume you are standing on a block or mat? At what height is the surface? And regards to keeping the ribs in, what muscles are used in that contraction? How do you like to teach the technique of "pulling the ribs in?"

Yes, I spot on a block on the front side of the bar (0pposite of you). The only suggestion I might make is after she is in HS, teach her how to twist off the bar, as opposed to learning it as a FHS or fall to her back. Can't wait to see how she looks down the road.