DrillsAndSkills.com

[Coach Blair]

First day I got to work with level 6 girls and the 7s and 8s and 9s. I've worked with 5s before and at this gym but not really the 6s.
I will admit I was nearly clueless on beam. But they were doing their own thing for the most part. Acro elements which I really don't know the values of. One of these days when I start to really tumble then...maybe I'll try tumbling on beam...hah. Bars and floor were interesting.
Working with the low level compulsories is a blast.
I've worked with compulsory and optional boys...but it's quite different with the girls...and new and different gym and all.

On a side note...when teaching arm movement during running- how do you go about it. While at younger ages and rec, I have often kept it simple with pumping the elbows close to the body ( I've been exposed a lot more to gymnasts " running like a girl " lately arms going almost side to side prancy like )
When I was a sprinter, we trained extend the arm backward, elbow bends forward, thumb and index finger coming up toward mouth. We used to call it sipping water and walked laps with it. In fact if anything...I like to just do primarily running drills a lot. It's a science to itself in gymnastics.
I find the elbows going back and forward ( while it looks cute in the lil ones since they look like lil chugga chugga choo choo trains ) it doesn't allow for a complete stride and keeping the arms fluid and in motion. While its great for xcountry since ya don't want to be wasting energy and moving the arms but rather just to keep the breath going.
So right now I'm going with it...though I do intend to teach gymnasts under my wings...especially boys...bent elbow forward, straight arm backward...no we do not run with straight arms at all. I haven't talked with the head boys coach on what he prefers.

[TipGuy]

Blair, definitely work on their running. A good sprint is sooo crucial to vault (unless one is doing Yurchenkos) and so many gymnasts lack in their running technique. Get them gymnasts running right!

Yeah, talk to Mike about the boys. He's a good guy. I haven't talked with him about running so I don't know what his approach is there either.
_________________
TipGuy
Webmaster DrillsAndSkills.com

[Coach Blair]

Yeah, I really like Mike...kind of one of the reasons I chose to come there. It was cool working with P.S. today, another of the reasons I chose to.
I'll generally with Mike on wednesdays and they work me in with some of their other guys.
Yeah, actually at one of their first gyms I was at, when I first got there I inadvertently really offended the girls team coaches with some sorta rude marks about their running. It was just sorta one of my niches in track and field especially as I had to be responsible for getting the girls on polevault to run correctly as they were former xcountry runners.
When I actually did vaulting I used to take it down a notch. Still do really, partially from the polevaulting run but also its just crazy to run that fast at the vault...but man the power I could get some of my boys to used to run was insane.