Women Q for coaches about learning giants

[LJL07]

Is it a normal coaching practice to put an 8-year old child in a neck brace to learn giants on the strap bars so she doesn't throw her head out? My daughter has really never done them before and is just getting introduced to them. I guess I was thinking maybe she would be spotted on them first. My daughter said the neck brace was really uncomfortable, but I guess that's the point.

 

[Mommyo2az]

My dd wore the neck brace learning giants on strap and for fly always. She is always sticking her head out when she shouldn’t! . I don’t know if anything is “normal” in gymnastics but the neck brace is common in our gym.

 

[CanAmGymMum]

The neck brace is a common training aid.

 

[LJL07]

My dd wore the neck brace learning giants on strap and for fly always. She is always sticking her head out when she shouldn’t! . I don’t know if anything is “normal” in gymnastics but the neck brace is common in our gym.

I think I would be less concerned if this were an older child. This is a child who just made 8 and is really small? I have seen it used with the older girls and didn't think it was a huge deal.

 

[Mommyo2az]

I think I would be less concerned if this were an older child. This is a child who just made 8 and is really small? I have seen it used with the older girls and didn't think it was a huge deal.

I don’t think age makes a big difference? My DD was 9. Was it comfortable? - probably not. Does she stick her head out on giants? - nope!!

 

[justkeepswimming]

My daughter had to wear a neck brace for many things, and she is also a small 8 year old. She was spotted for her giants though until she could get around by herself. I lost her brace or she would probably still be using it

 

[LJL07]

My daughter had to wear a neck brace for many things, and she is also a small 8 year old. She was spotted for her giants though until she could get around by herself. I lost her brace or she would probably still be using it

This was sort of my point. She has never even been spotted on them. I have never heard of putting someone in a neck brace and putting them on straps to just sort of figure out giants on her own. I have an older gymnast, and that is not how she was taught her giants. If she had been working on giants for a while and had a habit of sticking her neck out, I can even understand using the neck brace. But this was the first time ever attempting them from tap swings. And no spot but immediately put in a neck brace? Giants take longer than one afternoon to learn. I am at least very glad to hear though that this is commonly used. That does make me feel a little better.

 

[sce]

I have never seen a neck braces use on anyone in the gyms my kids have attended.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

I've never seen that done at dd's gym either. My dd and her teammates are all learning giants right now and they have never used a neck brace. They also rarely use the strap bar for giants as their coach prefers to teach them on the pit bar with spots.

 

[John]

Never a neck brace but strap bar giants galore. It was common to do 100 strap bar giants a day. Surprisingly it didn' t take long to get the 100. Giants on put bar as well.

 

[raenndrops]

This was sort of my point. She has never even been spotted on them. I have never heard of putting someone in a neck brace and putting them on straps to just sort of figure out giants on her own. I have an older gymnast, and that is not how she was taught her giants. If she had been working on giants for a while and had a habit of sticking her neck out, I can even understand using the neck brace. But this was the first time ever attempting them from tap swings. And no spot but immediately put in a neck brace? Giants take longer than one afternoon to learn. I am at least very glad to hear though that this is commonly used. That does make me feel a little better.

I've never seen it before... but maybe their thinking is if they keep them from throwing their heads back from the beginning, they wont have to "unlearn" that habit down the road when it has become part of their muscle memory???

 

[skschlag]

I have never seen a neck brace used, boys/girls at either gym we have been at. Interesting practice.....

 

[MILgymFAM]

My DD had to wear a neck brace on back handsprings at one gym. It was traumatic for me because I’d never seen it done before and I walked in at the end of practice and thought she was hurt. Once that gym kicked her out we never saw anyone use neck braces again. I agree with the post above that maybe they’re trying to prevent bad habits, if your DD sticks her head out on other skills.. I also agree that it’s a strange practice, and beginning giants should be spotted.

 

[coachmolly]

I have never seen that used anywhere. I guess it doesn't hurt, just seems strange to me. If I have a kid who has problems sticking her head out I stick a piece of foam under her chin, it's not fool proof, but works well enough. But I could see some of my kids thinking it's funny, just like they think squeezing foam between their feet for casts is funny.
And I agree with spotting on giants. I learned strap bar giants unspotted and learned a ton of bad habits and had a pretty nasty crash.

 

[gymdog]

Some coaches and gyms do. It is fairly common now. the reason they don't use a piece of foam under the chin is because it pulls their head down rather than keeping it neutral where the shoulders can be engaged in a straight, strong position. I don't use a neck brace but they do tap swings on strap bar trying to get to handstand by themselves. I do spot them a few times to make sure they know how to fall forward out of the straps and not twist. I personally wouldn't be concerned about what you described BUT if your daughter is uncomfortable in a bad way then that should be expressed to the coaches.

 

[LJL07]

Some coaches and gyms do. It is fairly common now. the reason they don't use a piece of foam under the chin is because it pulls their head down rather than keeping it neutral where the shoulders can be engaged in a straight, strong position. I don't use a neck brace but they do tap swings on strap bar trying to get to handstand by themselves. I do spot them a few times to make sure they know how to fall forward out of the straps and not twist. I personally wouldn't be concerned about what you described BUT if your daughter is uncomfortable in a bad way then that should be expressed to the coaches.

She was not comfortable with it. She said she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She nevertheless did what they asked and wore it. I’ve never seen her throw her head out on other skills. She’s a very strong level 4. I think giants are brand new to her, and she just might need a little time. She had spent very minimal time on straps prior to yesterday.

 

[John]

I think giants are one of those skills that define gymnastics. DD is 11 some of her longtime friends don't have giants after 1.5 years of trying. Encourage her to speak to her coach about the neck brace. Possibly they can come up with a compromise.

 

[jenjean70]

That is an interesting idea! My son has been doing giants since he was 8 but when he was 9 he developed a really bad habit of throwing his head out. Now, at 12, it is so much better but there are days when he goes back to his bad habit. I almost wish they had done this with him so he never would have started throwing his head out in the first place.

 

[LJL07]

Ok, for clarification, I have asked around a bit, and the consensus is that a soft foam C collar is definitely ok to be used for this purpose. Our gym is using a hard plastic collar, and this is not recommended.

 

[stillhoping]

I thought that you were referring to a soft collar. I have seen that. I wouldn't think that a hard neck brace would be a good idea at all.