Board with Drills?

After forwarding Rick Charles' post (reviewing this product by Norbert) to the staff at LASG, our gym went ahead and purchased one of these (comes in 3 sizes), back in September. I think the gym invested in the size small. A number of coaches seem to have never taken a liking to the Pack man trainer:

OK for Rec. But these mats have been criticized by many coaches. The technique is not ideal as the knees and hips are too bent.

I've always liked it as a secondary station, once beginners learn how to make it move on their own. Devices like this and the octagon can help emphasize body shapes; with the pac-man, a gymnast can learn to squeeze tight and has to work to lift the hips up into a tight arch from the seated position, whereas, on the octagon, the beginner doesn't have to work for it: the cylinder automatically shapes the body into the "bridge" shape, just by draping oneself onto it. Finding creative uses for any equipment can be fun. Here's a few ideas, other than the standard, typical use:


Here also is Al's handstand board: