Coaches Teaching tight body/form to young children

[FormFreak]

Hey everyone! It's been quite a while since I have been on here, but I could use some major help.

I teach young kids, around the ages of 5 up to about 8. I have some beginner kids and some advanced kids combined into one class. The advanced class is my normal group and I do perfectly fine with them. My problem comes with the beginners who don't understand their body yet at all.

I'm ashamed to say I haven't figured the trick out yet after about 5 years of teaching gymnastics. With the beginners, I have trouble teaching kids how to stay tight. Here are some examples:

1) When walking on beam, they wobble all over the place walking across the beam. I had my girls stand on the low beam, JUST STAND, and hold stretch position. They couldn't even stand on their 2 flat feet on the floor beam without falling off, let alone going into stretch position and holding that was a fail.

2) When doing kicks (I have them do front kick, side kick, back kick on beam), they can't keep their knees locked and straight, especially on the back kicks. They just completely lose focus of their form. This happens also on bars when they do casts, etc.

3) Point their toes.... this is so difficult for me to understand why kids can do this sometimes and not others. They know how to point them, I ask them to sit in pike on floor and point their toes they do fine, as soon as I add a skill, they flex their feet or curl their toes rather than pointing their whole foot. i.e. when doing kicks or jumps (straddle, tuck, pike) they can't get the concept of lifting their legs up in the air and pointing their feet at the same time.

PLEASE help me. I struggle with these 3 issues the most, & quite honestly it's getting me very frustrated that I can't figure out where I'm going wrong in my communication. I'm not sure if it's the mental capability of the beginner group, because like I said I have no issues getting through to my advanced girls who may be a year older or so if that.

Thanks!

 

[lilgymmie7]

I do not coach, but I am a teacher. With little ones, you have to be extra patient and model for them eactly what you want them to do.
My DD is seven, and I am so amazed at how much polish she has gained since being at her new gym. Her coaches all 'form' and 'shape' her body exactly the way they want her body to be. That I believe is the key with little ones. DD has always been a pleaser at the gym. You tell her to jump once, she'll jump twice, etc. But no mater what her old coaches 'told' her to do, it rarely made any sense to her. I could see how they believed she didn't listen. Little ones need to be "Shown" exactly what we expect of them. Maybe a more 'polished' gymnasts could model, and you can maneuver/manipulate their bodies, etc.

 

[10.0]

I think some of it comes with age and time in gymnastics. Kids sometimes have a hard time controlling their bodies period, plus they don't have the muscle tone yet that comes with gymnastic experience.

All I can say is you need to physically PUT them into the shape you want and do only one thing at a time. For instance if they can achieve kicking with a straight knee I promise their arms will be crazy at first.

For tightness on beam, do walks over and over, each time pick one body part to squeeze, watch carefully and if they are not doing it stop them and correct it. Also start this on a line on the floor taking away the added issue of being 4 feet above the ground trying to stay tight.

For toes I take them kids and we sit in a circle, I have them make "barbie" feet (heals pointed) then point all the way through the toes, I actually hold their feet this way then ask them to keep holding them like that, then we move onto standing up doing a coupe that way.

For tight knees I do the same circle thing, I show them loose knees and tight knees and then ask them to show me theirs, then we stand up and show a kick on the floor holding onto a beam with tight straight knees.

Basically it takes a lot of time and reputition and it does get frustrating as adults we seem to thinkt the concept is simple to grasp but for most kids it just isn't.

 

[Coacharella]

Until the afe of about 6, my girls do everything on beam with hands on hips. Once they show strong capability of squeezing their knees and legs, we add in the arms. They are young so can only handle a few things to concentrate at a time. Like 2 maximum.

As for toes, reinforce it positively. I like how ______ always remembers to point her toes. Then BOOM, 8 sets of toes start pointing. But stick to your guns and do this OFTEN. It takes a while to kick in but positive emphasis does wonders.

Also, consider creating a warm up based around body positions. This way every class they do it, til its drilled in their head. test their body positions - pull legs apart in pike sits, push arms down in presentations, poke knees in splits, etc. Its so normal that its frustrating, but remember, you're an adult, with 5 years experience. They're 5-8, WAY newer to the sport, and eager to learn and please.

 

[coachmolly]

Most of what I would suggest has already been mentioned- patience, lots of practice, constant reminders, and having them demonstrate tight body in the simple things (stretches, just sitting on the floor), and helping them get into the correct shape. It really is amazing how some kids just do not get it, yet putting them in the right position or offering an explanation in slightly different words can make a world of difference. If a specific child (or class) is really not getting it, no matter what the correction, I will often ask "does that make sense?" or "are you sure you understand?" Sometimes little ones are scared to admit they don't understand and just say okay to be agreeable and to avoid getting in trouble. If they do admit they don't quite understand, I'll offer a new explanation, demonstrate myself or ask another child to demonstrate, shape their body into the correct position, or go back to simpler drills to try to drive the point home in a way that they will understand.
for beginners, I really stress pointed toes and tight knees during stretches and the "easy" stuff. I joke about just recording myself saying "tight knees" or "pointed toes" so I don't have to say it so much! But if they can't keep tight doing the basics, chances are slim they will be able to show correct positions on a higher beam or when doing tougher skills. I let another coach lead the stretches and I constantly walk around correcting shapes, point out bent legs, show them how to point toes, etc. And some kids pick it up much quicker than others.
I'll also have them lie on their backs on the floor and squeeze as tight as they can, the goal is for me to be able to lift them up by their feet and have them stay in a straight line like a board. We'll keep trying until they figure it out, with reminders to squeeze their legs, butt, tummy, wherever the problem area seems to be. I'll do the same thing with front supports on bars- just trying to pull their legs apart and encouraging them to squeeze and other basic skills.
It can be really frustrating, and some kids seem to take forever to get control of their bodies, but don't give up!
And like Coacharella mentioned, positive reinforcement! When a girl remembers to keep straight legs or point her toes on her own, I make a BIG deal about! Something like- "Oh my goodness, look at those great pointed toes!" Seems kind of silly, but can really help with the younger ones.

 

[Wally]

Dear Form Freak
Apart from loose body causing wobbles on beam, I found where the eyes focussed helped stability. With beginners I mark the ends of the beam with bright chalk & have girls focus totally on that spot at all times. It keeps head still and attention still as well resulting in less wobbles.
Straight knees when doing kicks on beam with beginners might be rectified by smaller ones first so that idea of quality is preferred to quantity in your program. Eager to please youngies will want to prove how great they are and kick higher than their developing flexibility will allow. Also do you do these exercises on floor & on barre first to get it right before adding the 4 inch scare factor.
Pointed toes... patience,Positive, persistence and paying consistent attention. or steel rods inserted under skin also helps. My girls know if I say "flippers" then it means toes need pointing. Not taking it too seriously, it'll happen I guess.

 

[cngaedk]

Hello, I'm not sure what age group you are talking about, but one activity my kids and I love to do to teach tightening their muscles is the soldier. I do it two different ways. 1. I have all of the kids lay on the floor with their arms to their sides. And I go by their head and tell them don't bend, and then I lift them to standing by their shoulders. I tell them to squeeze their bottoms in order to not bend. And then I bring them back to the ground without them bending (hopefully ) 2. I have them lay the same way and I pick up their feet and again tell them to not bend. when they have the straight body I kind of wiggle them slowly up and down side to side trying to get them to be as straight as possible. That gets them at least understanding what "tight" feels like. It helps me with teaching handstands, walks on beam, hollow body, and really just about everything. I hope this helps.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Hey everyone! It's been quite a while since I have been on here, but I could use some major help.

I teach young kids, around the ages of 5 up to about 8. I have some beginner kids and some advanced kids combined into one class. The advanced class is my normal group and I do perfectly fine with them. My problem comes with the beginners who don't understand their body yet at all.

I'm ashamed to say I haven't figured the trick out yet after about 5 years of teaching gymnastics. With the beginners, I have trouble teaching kids how to stay tight. Here are some examples:

1) When walking on beam, they wobble all over the place walking across the beam. I had my girls stand on the low beam, JUST STAND, and hold stretch position. They couldn't even stand on their 2 flat feet on the floor beam without falling off, let alone going into stretch position and holding that was a fail.

2) When doing kicks (I have them do front kick, side kick, back kick on beam), they can't keep their knees locked and straight, especially on the back kicks. They just completely lose focus of their form. This happens also on bars when they do casts, etc.

3) Point their toes.... this is so difficult for me to understand why kids can do this sometimes and not others. They know how to point them, I ask them to sit in pike on floor and point their toes they do fine, as soon as I add a skill, they flex their feet or curl their toes rather than pointing their whole foot. i.e. when doing kicks or jumps (straddle, tuck, pike) they can't get the concept of lifting their legs up in the air and pointing their feet at the same time.

PLEASE help me. I struggle with these 3 issues the most, & quite honestly it's getting me very frustrated that I can't figure out where I'm going wrong in my communication. I'm not sure if it's the mental capability of the beginner group, because like I said I have no issues getting through to my advanced girls who may be a year older or so if that.

Thanks!

conditioning, conditioning, conditioning...

 

[iluvgym]

Agreed. Conditioning and their warmup (warmup and stretching done with perfect form - then it will carry over). Until they can do that it won't happen on a beam, or any other event.

 

[akozy89]

Hello, I'm not sure what age group you are talking about, but one activity my kids and I love to do to teach tightening their muscles is the soldier. I do it two different ways. 1. I have all of the kids lay on the floor with their arms to their sides. And I go by their head and tell them don't bend, and then I lift them to standing by their shoulders. I tell them to squeeze their bottoms in order to not bend. And then I bring them back to the ground without them bending (hopefully ) 2. I have them lay the same way and I pick up their feet and again tell them to not bend. when they have the straight body I kind of wiggle them slowly up and down side to side trying to get them to be as straight as possible. That gets them at least understanding what "tight" feels like. It helps me with teaching handstands, walks on beam, hollow body, and really just about everything. I hope this helps.

I always do this, particularly with my beginner girls who don't have a lot of body awareness. I also like to have them lay on the ground and focus on squeezing different muscles at different times. If they can focus on only having to make their legs tight, they learn what it feels like without having to worry about anything else.

 

[CoachGoofy]

I like the soldier thing too.

Since I have access to trampolines, another one I do once they in theory understand squeezing is log-bounces: Have them lay on the X in the middle, make sure they're tight while laying there (check that they're pulling their arms in tight, squeezing their legs together) & then I bounce them up so I can catch them. If they can't squeeze on the ground there's just no way, but it tests if they can be tight while not laying down. They really like it!

 

[AmandaLynn]

^^ I like that game. We call it "Elevator". I bounce them with little bounces and count to three, then on the big "pop", we say "Going UP!"

It's very good for teaching not only body awareness/tightness in the air, but also for building trust, as they rely on you to catch them.