Coaches Pull Around and Back Hip Circles

[hollyvh]

I am currently teaching a group of seven girls, and the two skills they are struggling most on is their chin up pull arounds and back hip circles.
Only one person out of the group can successully pull around with good shape.

One girl can do both the skills, but with terrible shape. Her back hip circle is just her whipping around the bar, and it is not consistent at all. She goes into an arch. In her oull around she does the same- flinging her head back and arching.

Two girls do not have very much strength at all. One of them does not try, while the other is quite young but does try her hardest, so I am not as worried about her (close to pull around). Each session they have 15 minutes of strength, but one girl just will not try.

The other girls in the group aren't miles away from a pull around, and hopefully they are getting better.

If anyone has any advice on what to do with the girls it would be very much appreciated.
Also back hip circle drills (preferably with little to no spotting involved) are needed as I cannot seem to find any anywhere online. Thank you!

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

We have had succes with therabands.

Around 2:50

That video has great drills too

For pullovers I'd let them do candle hangs on the bar. If they can, pull up to candle. Or put a block to walk on.

Take a look at that video for more ideas.

Good luck!

 

[coachmolly]

Is this a class preparing for competitive gymnastics? Or is it a recreational class? That makes a little bit of a difference. Recreational kids very often struggle with the strength necessary for a pullover with feet together and correct form and, given their limited time in the gym, it can take a long time to get to the point they are doing it themselves. They often become frustrated with the lack of progress and don't give their best effort, in those cases I am willing to sacrifice a little bit of form to let them feel success with the skill. Then when they get to the point of getting up on the bar successfully, I worry about fixing the details.
For kids on a competitive track, I try very hard to teach it correctly from the beginning as these children are often those who have shown a good amount of strength and are capable of performing the skill correctly. We do lots of strength- holding chin over bar, tuck & L-hangs, modified pull-ups (hang from bar with heels on a block in a pike position)- as they get stronger they try to lift chin over bar as well as lifting up heels from the block. We do tons of spotted pullovers. I also do pullovers in a row- start first one from the floor and finish in front support, do a controlled roll back over the bar and finish in a hang with chin up over the bar and lift back into a 2nd and 3rd pullover. I spot quite a bit in the beginning but then work down to as needed as they get better at the skill (jumping back in if form gets yucky).

For back hips, I do lots of shaping on the floor together as a group at first and then as side stations as the kids become able to do the stations on their own. Holding a cast position with feet up on a block or exercise ball, lying on their back with feed slightly elevated pushing hips up and a hollow chest (shown in one of the videos Jard posted)- when they get good at that I will sometimes have them try on a stability ball. Hollow holds. On the bar, I will just have them start in front support and put my hand behind their back telling them to lean into my hand. Usually kids want to cast and pull their feet under the bar to whip around the circle rather than falling back with their shoulders. So we do lots of leaning. Then move to slow motion spotted back hips stopping on the lean, the bottom candle, and then back to front support. Then a little faster. As soon as they start losing their shape we take a step back. Then we add the cast. Sometimes slightly older kids or kids with better body awareness don't need as much hands on spotting and figure it out pretty quickly with the drills. Sometimes they get frustrated over not being able to do it themselves (because they can get around the bar so they think they have the skill) so sometimes I'll let them give it a go after a bunch of rounds of drills to give them the thrill and see progress.

 

[hollyvh]

We have had succes with therabands.

Around 2:50

That video has great drills too

For pullovers I'd let them do candle hangs on the bar. If they can, pull up to candle. Or put a block to walk on.

Take a look at that video for more ideas.

Good luck!

Thank you so much! I will definitely be using many of those drills.

 

[hollyvh]

Is this a class preparing for competitive gymnastics? Or is it a recreational class? That makes a little bit of a difference. Recreational kids very often struggle with the strength necessary for a pullover with feet together and correct form and, given their limited time in the gym, it can take a long time to get to the point they are doing it themselves. They often become frustrated with the lack of progress and don't give their best effort, in those cases I am willing to sacrifice a little bit of form to let them feel success with the skill. Then when they get to the point of getting up on the bar successfully, I worry about fixing the details.
For kids on a competitive track, I try very hard to teach it correctly from the beginning as these children are often those who have shown a good amount of strength and are capable of performing the skill correctly. We do lots of strength- holding chin over bar, tuck & L-hangs, modified pull-ups (hang from bar with heels on a block in a pike position)- as they get stronger they try to lift chin over bar as well as lifting up heels from the block. We do tons of spotted pullovers. I also do pullovers in a row- start first one from the floor and finish in front support, do a controlled roll back over the bar and finish in a hang with chin up over the bar and lift back into a 2nd and 3rd pullover. I spot quite a bit in the beginning but then work down to as needed as they get better at the skill (jumping back in if form gets yucky).

For back hips, I do lots of shaping on the floor together as a group at first and then as side stations as the kids become able to do the stations on their own. Holding a cast position with feet up on a block or exercise ball, lying on their back with feed slightly elevated pushing hips up and a hollow chest (shown in one of the videos Jard posted)- when they get good at that I will sometimes have them try on a stability ball. Hollow holds. On the bar, I will just have them start in front support and put my hand behind their back telling them to lean into my hand. Usually kids want to cast and pull their feet under the bar to whip around the circle rather than falling back with their shoulders. So we do lots of leaning. Then move to slow motion spotted back hips stopping on the lean, the bottom candle, and then back to front support. Then a little faster. As soon as they start losing their shape we take a step back. Then we add the cast. Sometimes slightly older kids or kids with better body awareness don't need as much hands on spotting and figure it out pretty quickly with the drills. Sometimes they get frustrated over not being able to do it themselves (because they can get around the bar so they think they have the skill) so sometimes I'll let them give it a go after a bunch of rounds of drills to give them the thrill and see progress.

This class is a recreation class, however it is more that they did not have the skills to move up. They do have a competition later in the year, and will possibly be on the competing team in the near future. I also see a lot of potential in these girls, and want them to do just as well as they can. Thank you for all the drills, I will most definitely be using them. This is my first time teaching a class like this by myself, and its just been quite different, so your tips have been really helpful. Thank you so much!