Why We Stand Between the Rails on Tap Swings

Nine years ago I read this blogpost (I think written by either Jason Mortimer or Troy Wright):

https://thegymcoach.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/girls-peeling-off-the-bar-on-a-tap-swing/

And started standing between the bars for compulsory tap swings. I thought it was a good article. Some interesting comments as well.

Looks like the code was updated several years ago as well for the current cycle so that on bars, coaches can stand in there, "just in case", without incurring a deduction:

http://gymnasticscoaching.com/new/2012/11/safety-spotting-on-bars/

Bar peels happen infrequently enough that’s it’s easy to grow complacent, thinking it won’t happen on your watch. And then when they do occur, it sometimes doesn’t result in injury. However, they happen often enough and with severe enough injuries that coaches should consider the wisdom of standing between the bars as often as possible, “just in case”.

Our girls rarely peel. And yet at a recent meet last month, Coach Arielle caught one of her level 4 kids during warm-ups (keeping her from landing on her head) who peeled coming off a massive backhip circle underswing; and the same day, caught an excel silver kid who peeled off during warm-ups on her counterswing. If Coach Arielle hadn’t taken the issue seriously and elected to be there, those two athletes of ours could have injured themselves anywhere from slight to severe.

Obviously cover safety falls and rolls with your gymnasts; and periodically revisit and review and practice how to fall. Tap swings are tough because of the unpredictability in forces at work upon the moment of peel. Teach them to protect the neck/head; protect the limbs. Obviously, teach them how to tap swing with amplitude and also how to avoid the likelihood of peeling off the bar in the back of the swing.

Where children’s lives are at stake, don’t give into complacency, thinking it will not happen on your watch.

A save by Jason Mortimer:

https://youtu.be/19EH5HQsR14

https://www.facebook.com/TroyWright120/posts/10156572828094988

Another save by Jason Ross:

https://youtu.be/76w7opD02Tk

Apologies for freebooting videos off the 'net without proper credit and source attributions.

Please share your experiences and perspective with us and the community.

-Coach Michael

[Not] Stretching the Truth

In light of an apparent recent study supporting older studies (Hat tip:  JAG), here's a reprint of something I posted on my "hidden" blog (set up for my old gym, moreso than for the general public) over 2 years ago:


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Safety Slams

Situational Awareness!

Hat tip:  Ganba Gymnastics.

I almost killed this kid... #fail #ftw #gymnastics #almostdead #turnen #highbar #crash #lucky #luckykid #veiligsportklimaat #vsk #tickettoheaven

A video posted by Boudewijn de Vries - Gymnast (@bejdevries) on Dec 23, 2015 at 4:34am PST

Related: Near Collisions in gymnastics 

I'm pretty sure I've seen another post on this topic by Rick.  Just can't track down the link. 

Unsafe Bridging

*UPDATE* 9/12/2015

I decided to look up who this kid is.  Looks like it's Arat.  Also here.  Backheadspring at 2 years old.  Limbering.

*END UPDATE*


nd of mine yesterday morning linked to this video.  My friend was a former gymnast/teammate when I was young; and I think even started coaching again.  But I cringed when I saw it.  And now my own gym posted the video up.  Ugh!

Some community education:

Bridging in Preschoolers

Safe Bridging - Beth Gardner

preschoolers should not do back bridge

walking in ‘bridge’

 Bridges – How to spare the back…

 Bridge Mobility: Why Your Gymnasts May Be Struggling: Possible Injury Prevention For The Lower Back and Tips To Help

Community Discussions (Chalkbucket Forums):

Preschoolers and Backbends/Bridges

bridges

I will continue to update this post with more links as I find them.

Beth Gardner comment from 2008 worth reposting:

The current industry standard for bridging recommends that children do not start bridging until age 5. The industry standard USED to be based on the concept of "developmentally correct" in which the child was allowed to do a bridge if they could place themselves into the bridge position on their own. This, however, is no longer the standard. The standards can be found in the old USAG KAT book, and it remains the standard within the Preschool Fundamentals and HOT courses.

Here's a little background on the issue..

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Improvising Wrist Supports

Ban and a Hex on W Sitting

Kill it wherever you see it:

I had a patient recently ask me if it is okay for her thirteen-month-old daughter to be W-sitting during playtime. The short answer is: absolutely NOT! 
It is never ok to be sitting like this for a prolonged period of time, and should be stopped immediately whenever you see it. There are a few postural and developmental reasons for this, and I'll go into some detail on all of them:

• Hip Distortion

• Knee and Foot Distortion

• Poor Development of Core Muscles

• Lack of Cross-Body Coordination

Read on...

Get a Grip!

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) University of Utah gymnast Georgia Dabritz doesn't wear grips, resulting in large callouses on her hands. Thursday February 6, 2014 in Salt Lake City.

 Dabritz:

Gymnasts typically use grips on the bars to protect their hands and improve their hold. But Dabritz, who is just 5-foot-1, couldn’t fit her hands into the grips when she was first learning her gymnastics skills.

She tried them again a few years ago and it was a disaster.

"I peeled right off the bar," she said. "After that, I wasn’t dying to try and use them again. I didn’t want to have to relearn all my skills."

Instead, she took the unconventional route and built up callouses on her hands through hours of practicing. There have been plenty of rips and tears through skin, but neither she nor her coaches would have it any other way.

"I don’t know of anyone else who does it," Utah coach Greg Marsden said. "It works for her, so we aren’t going to mess with a good thing."

 Of course, "traditionally", Romanian, Russian, and Chinese gymnasts at varying points have been reputed to not wear grips.  The explanation that seems to be commonly told is that when they are young, they cannot afford the grips; and as they get older and make it onto the international scene by which time you'd think their federation could get them grips, the gymnasts simply aren't used to them and decide to do without.

Video description, posted February 2009:

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The Sweet Taste of Gripping the Bars

Gymnasts' hands sweat as they swing. A mixture of chalk and a drop of honey, syrup or molasses helps some maintain their grip. Geoffrey A. Fowler/The Wall Street Journal

Everyone seems to have their own favorite recipe/mixture/ingredients:

There's a recipe to winning an Olympic medal on the parallel bars, and the key ingredient is sticky fingers.

Gymnasts' hands sweat as they swing, putting them in danger of losing grip of the bar. They dust their hands with gym chalk to abate moisture. But as gymnasts attempt ever-larger swings, they are on the constant hunt for a little extra help holding on to those slippery wooden bars.

That is how the gymnast's arsenal has come to include honey, molasses, Lyle's Golden Syrup or pretty much any other substance one might serve over pancakes.

~~~

most male Americans in the gymnastic competition, which begins Saturday in London, say they are honey men. Competitors from other countries favor sticky stuff ranging from Karo syrup to Coca-Cola.

U.S. gymnast Danell Leyva recalls a competition in France in which a gymnast used a beer-and-sugar concoction. "I smelled it and said, 'Dude what is that'?" says Mr. Leyva. "All right, whatever works for you."

Japanese gymnasts mix sweet and savory. Takehiro Kashima, a member of Japan's men's gymnastics teams in the 2004 and 2008 Games, says he experimented with his personal brew by adjusting proportions of sugar and water, then moved on to saltwater. He settled on a smear of honey spritzed with saltwater topped with chalk.

"It's odd, right?" he says. "But as you perform, you get this feeling of 'gu gu gu' like something is tugging on your hands," he says, using a Japanese onomatopoeia that denotes a sticking sensation.

Former U.S. national-team member Trent Wells melted gummy bears for competition in the mid-'90s. He says the idea came to a teammate who noticed the candies would stick to things if moistened and then shot out of a slingshot.

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Gymnastics....Outside....in Winter....What could possibly go wrong?

When I first saw the thumbnail and read the title, I thought I was in for something cool...

There's a lesson there.

Somewhere.


And as my friend Wade put it:  "At least he landed on his head."

Gymnast Care

A Strapping Idea

Sometimes coaches use a belt harness when spotting certain skills on bars so that they don't get pulled off balance in the middle of spotting.  Since I never liked having one of these cut into my gut, and when we didn't have any such belt, a couple of years ago I began improvising straps that were strung together into a belt I could loop around my leg and hook onto the bar.




Here is Nick Blanton offering up some other ideas for the non-orthodox usage of straps:

Landing Technique and Safety

I caught a few minutes of this (and have not had time yet to study the whole thing) from National Congress when it was live-streaming on Saturday morning.  I couldn't watch it at the time, due to heading off for work.  Glad it is made available:



In addition, you can get the lecture notes here (you'll be required to provide an email address).  And also view more on landing and jumping technique for gymnasts on Dr. Eldridge's website.  Don't forget to also go here:  Beginning Core, Landing, and Jumping Technique for Gymnasts

Wade used to talk about landing with toes slightly turned in with the knees knocked together as one stable unit; I believe he made mention that the landing technique he favored was pooled from aerial ski jumpers- who have to have fantastic landing technique.

But from what I saw of the video lecture, current thinking seems to suggest that this technique appears to be harsh on the knees.  Shoulder width apart with toes facing forward is encouraged.

From Dr. Eldridge's lecture overview at National Congress

Quite simply put:  Men and women are built differently:

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Stupid is, as stupid does

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity. 

-Robert Heinlein