Parents Tips on crooked roundoff back handspring?

[GymratsMom]

My daughter had a meet last night and was really disappointed in her floor score. She got a 9 because the judges took off lots of points for her roundoff backhandspring going crooked.. EXTREMELY crooked. Her coach tried to tell her to sit back and look at her hands and when she does so it’s still crooked, it’s not coming from the roundoff because when she does her roundoff it’s straight, but it’s coming from when she’s jumping back into the back handspring, it’s like when she’s sits back she’s already leaning to the side and it makes the roundoff back handspring really bad and she is very frustrated, any tips for fixing it??

 

[CluelessGymMom]

Disclaimer: I am no expert! I am just a mom, so take what I say with a grain of salt!

First thing that comes to mind is time. My DD had the same problem at first, and so did many girls on her team, but it was due to the skill being new and a lack of confidence. Time and repetition cured all girls.

Second thing that comes to mind: power. Someone told me that going sideways is sometimes a subconscious "safety net" for a gymnast; they are protecting their head and neck or they are "looking over their shoulder" to spot the ground. Again, I don't know anything, I was told that, but it seems to track with what we saw with DD. Once DD realized she could use her insane power, but stay safe with a strong upper body, her confidence hit 100% and her handsprings got gorgeous; they score well too.

So time? Confidence? Power? Something else? Hopefully your daughter can avoid frustration. How long has she been doing backhandsprings?