Women Starting Flyaways

[Caitlyn.gymanst]

Hey everyone,

I'm an older gymnast and a lower level than most gymnasts my age (Xcel gold). I am at the platinum level on every event other than bars, but I'm just starting to work on back tuck flyaways to try to move up a level. The coaches say I would be able to do the flyaway since it's easier than a back tuck on floor which I have, but I want to work on drills first. I've never done one before but I've done the "dead cow" drills and tap swings landing flat back on a soft mat stack. The only problem now is that my gym doesn't have a foam pit making the tucking step a lot harder to learn. Any tips on how to start working on the actual flip/any great drill ideas? Thanks in advance!

 

[GymOwl]

Does your gym have any bungee cord type ropes? Not too common among gyms but they help a lot with spotting things on bars and other things (release moves, flyaways, back tucks, etc)
If not, I've seen gyms stack soft landing mats and have a coach or 2 spot through every step of the flyaway (letting go, rotation, landing) and since you've never done the "flip" portion in the pit it wouldn't be the safest idea to do the skill all together since flyaways are commonly known to give gymnasts mental blocks. (and although some may say a back tuck on floor is easier skill wise, it may not be mental wise)

 

[HopeShantz]

Hey everyone,

I'm an older gymnast and a lower level than most gymnasts my age (Xcel gold). I am at the platinum level on every event other than bars, but I'm just starting to work on back tuck flyaways to try to move up a level. The coaches say I would be able to do the flyaway since it's easier than a back tuck on floor which I have, but I want to work on drills first. I've never done one before but I've done the "dead cow" drills and tap swings landing flat back on a soft mat stack. The only problem now is that my gym doesn't have a foam pit making the tucking step a lot harder to learn. Any tips on how to start working on the actual flip/any great drill ideas? Thanks in advance!

How I learned mine was to have a stack of mats underneath the high bars so the floor is close then have somebody spot you. Each time you get it by your self safely remove a mat, when you remove a mat have someone spot you so you don't overrotate, just work down to a stingray mat or something! Hope this helps!!!

 

[AyaEngelEXCELGOLD]

I am an excel gold training platinum, and we learned our flyaways by doing tap swings into a slow, spotted candle with a flip. then we tried it by ourselves, but 7/12 of the girls had a HUGE mental block of hitting their feet on the bar, but that usually only happens when you don't extend into the candle quick enough.

I hope this helped a little bit!
- AyaEngelEXCELGOLD