This week I accomplished...

[nikki27926]

Well, I just got back from class! We got through half of the Level 5 compulsory floor routine. We also worked on the trampoline for a while. I think my biggest accomplishment this week was learning the floor routine without loosing my mind! Also impressing my coach with my trampoline skills. Haha!

 

[kgymn]

Nothing big this week, I was exhausted from my weekend so all I did was warmups, a few dive cartwheels, and 2 run throughs of the portion of my floor routine that is finished. I did manage to do it without hurting myself at all though for the first time! Probably because I was doing it without the music, and the music is pretty fast so I need to get it solid without the music before I sleep it up a tad to fo with the music

So yeah this week I accomplished "not getting hurt"

yet was still sore the next day and I don't honestly know why!!

~Katy

 

[GikiGirl]

This week I accomplished getting my bhs on low beam with no mats on the sides solid, and also doing all my planned tumbling passes in my floor routine (front handspring front pike, ro bhs layout, and ro bhs tuck). I had been struggling with doing a front pike in the context of the routine I have which has fast music, but its going well. I am doing better at sticking more skills in my beam routine too, which includes a roundoff. Kip casts up high, on bars, not so much. They have sucked this week

 

[kyliesmith1]

I guess this week I'd say I most of what I accomplished was getting my skills better and more consistent. My ro bhs backtucks were nice and high on the floor and I did another set of 5 ro bhs backfulls off tumbletrack and landed most of my backwalkovers on beam. I also tried my cast handstands on bars for the first time without any spot and realized I'm closer then I thought. So overall, except the terrible full turns on beam I'm feeling pretty good about everything this week.

 

[CoachGoofy]

I tumbled out of a whipback for the first time in...a long time, on the real floor. It was easier and less scary than expected. That skill gave me FITS when I learned it the first time around too!

 

[LittleLady]

Congrats to everyone making progress this past week. My accomplishment isn't as exciting as all of yours are but I was happy! (My hubby was even blinking back the tears) After over a year off, I finally got my standing backbend and up again. It took a month of stretching and conditioning to get it, so it's a big step forward for me. My next goal is to do my back walkover and front walkover by the end of next week. I'll feel much better about myself once I get those back.

 

[nicci1999]

Go LittleLady!! I have not attempted those yet, my backbends, I have the back flexibility, but I am afraid of the strength not being there yet, maybe I will give a shot this week with a spotter....

 

[nicci1999]

Had a good practice tonight, and my major accomplishment was talking to the coaches about prep op. You're turn Kylie Although I had very little spot on my pull over, maybe by the end of THIS month I will have them!

 

[kgymn]

Today I connected a front hip circle to a back hip circle. It was a messy front hip, followed by a weak back hip, but I was proud. I did a really awesome full turn on beam, like perfect. And I STUCK a front tuck off the mini tramp, was doing well off the spring board, and had one I landed REALLY low off the rod floor onto an 8 incher. I am soooo close I can taste it! This will be the first brand new skill for me since high school, I am pumped!!

And to think I was so tired with a sore muscle in my back I almost didn't go, and even when I finished warming up thought I wasn't going to work on tumbling. Boy will it hurt tomorrow but WOW will it be worth it!!!

~Katy

 

[kyliesmith1]

Last Saturday, I decided to work on punch fronts on floor too. I tumble off the floor into a resi pit and then decided to bring them onto the floor with a 8" mat too. The thing I've noticed about them is that its kind of like vault. If you get your run right & your hurdle punch right its perfect but that only seems to happen for me a few times out of like 20. I can so tell the difference too. One I stood up perfectly and then did like 15 into low squat way too far forward on the matt so I know I was going forward instead of up. Anyway, I was just proud of myself for attempting on the floor for the first time. I hope my ratio of good to bad starts increasing. Anyway, I can definitely feel myself getting more solid on beam. I got through most of my routine on beam without wobbling too much. My main issue is I realize when I'm nervous I really start shaking, which is horrible for beam. I think its my adrenaline which usually seems to make my vaults good in competition and my beam horrible. Any suggestions? Anyway, planning on going to an open gym on saturday, hopefully to do more tumbling and beam and little bars if my leg and hand will allow it. The gym I go to is closed for spring break this week & my coach is off so I won't have any structured practice unfortunately but I'll do my best on my own saturday. They probably have team practice anyway this week but since I still haven't had the nerve to ask to be on it I can't go.

 

[nikki27926]

I got to try RO BHS today! With a spot of course, but I had never done that before so I was so happy! Also, I didn't kill myself or anyone else, so that's huge!

 

[dannolynn]

wow, that's awesome nikki. they are lots of fun. i don't have them on the floor by myself yet, either, but i can do them on the trampoline and from the floor into the resi pit by myself and i could do them all day!

 

[GikiGirl]

Danielle I am curious, do your feet land on the floor or in the resi pit for the end of the roundoff? Also do you know why you find the resi pit so much less scary? I know its a little bit softer but doesn't really seem that much softer to me...I actually find it scarier to land in the resi pit, because I hate the 'steps' issue.

 

[dannolynn]

my feet land into the resi pit. so this eliminates all the step issues, because i simply put my hands right on the white line at the end of the floor. i also only do a step hurdle into my round off. hmm i guess i find it less scary because there is more time between when my hands go down in my round off and when my feet hit the resi. i like having more time because then i can mentally prepare to jump back right when my feet hit the resi.

also, i haven't had any bad experiences doing them into the resi. i've always been able to get it, and feel like i'm doing it with good form and power. on the floor i have had a lot of bad experiences with crashing on my head and with coaches saying they are going to spot me and then backing away and letting me do it by myself and then i crash. with the floor i always have the fear it's going to hurt my wrists. don't know why!

before i practiced them on the floor with addie, i hadn't been able to do a ro bhs without hesitation on the floor because of that time in between was so short i felt like i wasn't ready. what addie did to help me is the second my hands hit in my round off she would say "go" and then it was like i was ready to do the BHS and once my feet hit i was able to go back. i was actually really close to getting it. addie and cori pretty much said i could do it on my own and they weren't helping me. i think i just need to do a lot of numbers of them with a spot to feel that i have the skill. i've only probably done 15-20 (30 at the most, but i don't really think so....) with a spot on the floor, and that's not very many! the good thing is (as far as the wrist fear goes) i don't think that i've ever actually hurt my wrist when i was doing them successfully with a spot.

 

[GikiGirl]

Kylie, I kinda know how you feel about asking. I was a level 8 and went off to college, to a team where I was told they never 'cut' a walk-on, you can always just practice with the team, even if you are not very good. Well, after being told that the coach decided to cut three of us for the first time ever. I was devestated, because I thought I had 4 years of gymnastics ahead of me, and it was gone.

I didn't even know if adults were allowed to compete at the time, but I wanted to ask my coach if I could come back to at least train (I was 18, and a freshman in college). I had taken off four months and wasn't in gymnastics shape. I had just been given the plaque the year before for 'graduating seniors' and my gym had a HUGE going away party for me that summer. My coach also would always say how gymnastics was really for young kids.

But, I missed gymnastics so much that I forced myself to act, and he was surprised at first and probably thought it was a fancy that wouldn't last, but he said of course you can (granted, I had a history w/ him, and was still only 18). At that point I wished I hadn't waited so long!

It was funny at meets because I looked younger than my age, and the girls would say, 'oh I am a sophomore, I am a junior' and I would say, 'I am a freshman...IN COLLEGE.' they were always very surprised, some didn't know it was allowed either...

Team is where you'll come along in your skills that much faster, so as long as the coaches see the potential they would probably rather have you start working with them sooner rather than later...

 

[GikiGirl]

Danielle,

OK, I get it, but the resi is less than an inch shorter than the floor, right? I mean the old way it was, was more like 3-4 inches, but not now. It is def. bouncier though without you having to jump as hard. I guess I am saying, if you are so confident on the resi the floor physically isn't that big a difference, so its probably more a mental thing of having the confidence, I was just curious on that. Sounds like you will be able to get it to the floor now that you have a good spotting situation.

 

[GikiGirl]

The 'go' thing is actually really good, because you are not supposed to like land and re-assess things before you jump for the bhs, so thats a good tip You need to know before your feet hit, that you are going to be going..I never thought of helping teach someone like that! I might try to use that myself somewhere...

 

[dannolynn]

gina,
i guess you're right, it's not a huge difference. i'm sure it is just mental! that is often my problem. i guess with the wrist thing, since the resi is softer, it eliminates that fear. i'm hoping that when i finally come back once i get the numbers in on the floor i will be able to get it!! it's always been my life goal to get a RO BHS on floor, and it's always been so elusive, part of me thinks i will never get it! i guess i just have to be patient.

 

[dannolynn]

yeah the go thing helped me tremendously!! along with cori's tips of making sure i look at my hands touching the floor in the round off and then concentrate on lifting my hips as i jump back. so it's been a combo. i pretty much need LOTS of tips and tricks and help and corrections before i am able to get anything

 

[nicci1999]

Well those tips and corrections were definitley helping you, because your RO BHS was coming along very nicely! You are a very good gymnast, you just need to get over that mental block you have