MAG Question on spotting

[progym]

Our son started competition a year ago, competed at level 5 and was very successful. Unfortunately he just got hurt yesterday, falling off the rings head first and dislocating his elbow. We are new to this and are not sure what to expect but we had been concerned that no one was spotting him on many occasions when he was at the rings or doing handstands on parallel bars. It seems that spotting being mandatory during competition it has to be a safety issue and a requirement. Could anyone comment/advise us?

 

[skschlag]

On many things, they are not spotted all the time. I know on our team, that would mean alot of standing around. Not sure what he was doing when he fell, but I know my son does a lot without spotting, especially past level 5. If it is a new skill, then he is spotted, but if it is conditioning or old skills, he is not.

So sorry to hear about his injury Hope he heals quickly!

 

[progym]

Thank you for the reply. This was only his second time using grips and he had just complained to me that they were slippery. I told him to ask his coach as I am no expert. His coach told him to put them back and put more chalk. Minutes later he was swinging his legs over his head when one of his hand slipped off. I am thinking letting his coach know he was uncomfortable and his hands were slipping off the rings would be a red flag?

 

[skschlag]

First, I am kinda surprised they have him in grips. That seems a bit unusual to me, at least by how our gym and those around us do ig. How old is he? And Level 5 doesn't usually use grips (and very few level6s do). Sounds like he was doing an inlocate, which used to be a level 5 skill. I would definitely talk to the coach about it, and see what he says.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

On rings? It depends on what he was doing. Often when a kid peels on an inlocate or dislocate, the time between something going visibly wrong and the gymnast hitting the floor is so brief that there's really nothing that a spotter can do.

 

[2G1B]

Is your son now training level 6? Was it a new skill that he was working on? My son is only training level 5; but there are times that he isn't spotted, especially if it is a skill he can normally do. Sometimes accidents just happen.

As for grips, I think that our gym normally says grips either for level 6 and/or when you have your kip.

 

[skschlag]

Yeah that is when our boys get high bar grips. Our coach waits on rings grips. Probably too save us money. D got those after he peeled in a back swing

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[BlairBob]

Many coaches skip L5 for grips due to the MU in the routine, specifically if they are doing it for bonus. Getting a false grip in grips is problematic IMO. I mean, a MU should be easier with the dowel but still not as easy compared to using a false grip.

Using ring grips for L6 is pretty common, IMO because by that time they are generally starting to really develop big swings besides the bail from shoulderstand.

Most boys will also be in HB grips in L6, especially with that 3/4 front giant or bonus giants. You don't really need the grips for L5 HB but you could put them in grips then as well.

 

[BlairBob]

Bare in mind, bar work with the guys vs the girls and grips is very different.

Many young girls still do not catch the bar in L5 correctly in the low bar kip. This isn't an issue with boys on HB since they start in a hang. The bar is also a more slender width than the women's rails.

 

[iwannacoach]

Spotting rings is, as Geoffrey said, is pretty futile because it's all over before you can step forward with a foot to have some balance and set yourself to catch an appreciable amount of weight. Usually the coach who is standing at the ready, reaches in catching some of the weight and then ends up falling on top of the kid.

 

[CoachTodd]

Spotting swinging skills on rings is very tricky as said in a few posts above. If he peels on the way down, he's hit the floor before the spotter can move. If the spotter is in position to catch him after he peels, he's in the way of the swing. The best the spotter can hope for in some situations is to slow the kid down or redirect him away from his head.

I hope he heals quickly.

 

[skschlag]

Keep us posted on how he is doing!! Injuries for these boys can be so tough to deal with!

And, Welcome to CB!

 

[profmom]

Our guys who just competed a year of L5 are primarily getting spotted on rings and Pbars when the coach is working on their swings with them, but they do a lot of swinging without spots on both events now. One of their frequent drills is swing to handstand several times in a row on Pbars, which they usually do unspotted. They learned the forward roll out of handstand last fall, and two of them executed it successfully in a meet after overbalancing a handstand. They have had their grips for a while now, but I don't remember the coach doing a lot of extra spotting after they'd had them for a week or so, even though some of them were still complaining about them.

I'm so sorry about your son's accident. That's a tough one. But unfortunately I think it is just something that comes with the territory. As I know from sad experience, some things on beam are also hard to spot and a child who's done a particular skill several times and missed it several times safely can have that really unlucky landing that puts her/him in the ER. I hope the dislocation isn't severe and that he heals up quickly. All good thoughts.

 

[progym]

Thank you! We saw a pedi ortho today and there is no fracture so that's good. He said it will take about 6 to 8 weeks before he can go back to gymnastics. Can anyone tell me how much of an impact it will have on his progress so far? He was practicing level 6 skills already but I am thinking he may have to stay in level 5?

 

[skschlag]

My ds has been out for over six weeks. He had been going to workout some and conditioning. He can now do Pommel, p bars and vault. We are still waiting but the skills he had before are coming back. He is training 7/8. His coaches keep telling me that if he heals and doesn't push and reinjure then he should come back fine.

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[2G1B]

Last year my son was out 5 weeks when he broke his finger at the growth plate (half a week in a splint before we got in with the hand specialist, 3 weeks in a cast, another two weeks before he was cleared for high bar, tumbling, rings, or p bars). He still went to practice for conditioning most of that time.

This year he broke his ankle and had I think it was 3 or 4 weeks in a boot and then another week of no tumbling and no dismounts. Again he went in for conditioning.

I guess that it is possible that he would be much further along than he is; but I kind of doubt it. There is a lot of time before competitions start, so there is plenty of time for him to recuperate and still get the skills.

 

[skschlag]

As everyone keeps telling D..if you had to get injured, now is the time. Doesn't really help much, but it does make sense in the grand scheme of things. Competitions are a long way off, and boys tend to bounce back quickly.

 

[BlairBob]

He has 6 months before his 1st competition season. While this will affect getting his L6 skills over the summer, he might still be able to pull it off.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Thank you! We saw a pedi ortho today and there is no fracture so that's good. He said it will take about 6 to 8 weeks before he can go back to gymnastics. Can anyone tell me how much of an impact it will have on his progress so far? He was practicing level 6 skills already but I am thinking he may have to stay in level 5?

none whatsoever. he'll be fine.