ET Gymnastics Coaching

In gymnastics it’s very common for us coaches to get a little impatient with our athletes when it comes to achieving skills.  Especially we feel this at the developmental levels and is not rare at high levels either.  When this happens our level of stress rises and so does the athlete, which usually carries it home.  Some parents start sensing and noticing this stress or “unhappiness”.  All of the sudden all three corners of the triangle are stressed out or involved in a tense situation.

I’ve always been on the opinion that in order to go fast in the development of a gymnast, we need to go SLOW.  Coaches need to make the athletes and parents understand that Gymnastics is a long term sport, especially if seeking to reach a high level of competition.  Strong basics and fundamentals are key to the success of any athlete in any sport.

The tap swings(on Uneven Bars) are a perfect example of something we need to take a LONG time on.  It doesn’t matter if a gymnast already has the correct body shape in the transfer between the hollow-arch-hollow….. it needs to be repeated many times so it can be strengthen and “recorded” in the brain.  This “recording” will be used infinite times during their careers on Uneven Bars.  So if the “recording” is weak or incorrect, then the gymnast automatically will recur to an incorrect or modified tap swing when learning giants, releases and especially when going into dismounts.

I lived an experience when I was an athlete that taught me a good lesson related to this topic.  One of my coaches made me do thousands of circles on the Pommel horse (without pommels)…walking it back and forth for a couple of years.  We did nothing  else.  The first two years after I learned a circle, thats all we did.  It really payed off, because when I was strong and technically ready, I learned most of the skills needed in less than a year !!!  It made a huge difference and I fell in love with Pommel horse.

We need to be very PATIENT and have clear communication with athletes and parents about the process of development and the importance of not rushing through.