Coaches Rec class ideas

[pamred4]

Ok so I have been working at my new gym since the start of the year and the rec program's are getting a little bit old eg. Every week we do a variation if swings on bars and monkey across the pit and fall in. Each week the stations change but even the head coach is running out of ideas. If you have any station ideas that beginner gymnasts aged 4-8 could do by themselves or with a spot could you please share eg. Seat drop on trampoline or tuck swings on the bar. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Sari]

Geez, I'm trying hard to remember what I typically do with my beginner class (currently ages 6-9). We're on summer break as of this week (the gym is closed and getting a much needed makeover) so for some reason all gym related knowledge has fled into the very back of my mind, haha!

Do you work towards skills at all? I always try to make the class fun, but have the girls learn something new they can show off at home or at school (at least that's what I say in order for them to get motivated on a bad day!). I let them do forward and backward rolls down a wedge mat (spotting the latter, because some kids really struggle with it), cartwheels on a line (or on hands and feet I draw and cut out, or draw on the floor with chalk) and inclined handstands against a wall (easy version: feet on floor, hands on wall; hard version: hands on floor, feet on wall).

- For fun, I sometimes let the girls hang on the bar, one at a time, and have them play goalkeeper. Aka, I throw a soft ball at them (another child could do this at well, if told beforehand not to throw too hard) and they try to block it using their body, mostly their feet. A lot of kids love it and don't even notice it's conditioning!
- Oh, and there's a nice drill for both the forward and backward roll that includes a ball as well. The kids form pairs and stand facing eachother, probably a good 15 inches apart, sort of depends on the size of the child. One of them is holding a ball. They then attempt to simultaneously roll onto their backs, come back up and transfer the ball to their partner. Repeat as often as you see fit. They could also start from a squatting position, if they aren't quite ready to roll back from standing.
- If the kids can hold a push up / full plank position, you can pair them up and have them try to catch the other child's arm(s) with their own and make them fall. Make sure they're on a soft surface though, and test their planking abilities before attempting this game. I once had a girl fall and start crying hysterically. No fun.
- Using a larger, medium high, solid mat, you can once again have them get into a push up position, feet on the mat, hands on the floor, and make them walk around the mat (if the younger ones can't quite hold the plank, allow them to rest their shins on the mat, makes it a little easier on them). This can also turn into a chase if you let the kids do it in pairs.
- Any kind of jump is always an easy option. A combination that's fun and challenging is straight jump, tuck jump, straddle jump, straight jump with full turn (or half turn, depending on the child's abilities).

Also, because I currently don't have any 4 or 5 year-olds in my class (youngest just turned 6), I can't guarantee you that all of these stations would work for that specific age group. Just a general warning, I don't want any injured children because of me

 

[catou]

I coach rec classes from 3 to 7-8 years old for the summer. Here's a quick list of what we do.

Beam:
- I you can do it with the beams you have, I love having one side higher than the other and have them walk on it
- We put cones or hula hoops on the beam and they have to walk/jump without touching them
- We do a lot of animal walks (bear, rabbit, giraffe, cat...). We also make them jump with proper arm placement

Floor:
- some body positions
- little square (we make them lie on their belly on a mat with their hands on the floor. Then they have to bring their hips above their shoulders and hands). Some beginners have trouble with this one... Some are just not strong enough to keep straight arms
-

Bars:
- I like to place a big mat under the low bar and have them get up on the bar and jump
- we do pullover drills
- squat on drills on the floor
- we make them try to do leg lifts

Trampoline:
- small routines like tuck jumps, straddle jump, pike jump
- rebound in a seated position, or on knees


Vault:
- different runs
- with a barrel, they have to roll on their belly to make a handstand flatback
- a lot of punch drill
- standing on the vault, have them fall on their back
- handstand flat back
- on their knees, hands on a tramp with a round back, have them rebound with their hands
- I like to make them jump on a board, on a trampoline, on a boss, so they learn to stay tight

Parallel bars:
- As our gym is pretty crowded, we have to use the parallel bars with girls. I do a lot of monkey swings, bear and crab walks
- Have fun putting the bars uneven

On different apparatus:
- I like to introduce them to squat on (leg together or not) on a floor bar, on a low beam, on a mat... anywhere! I've had too many gymnasts coming to team and being afraid of going forward