Friday, April 1, 2011

April Questions and Comments

As always, please post your questions, comments, updates, and especially TOPIC REQUESTS here. :) Happy April!

25 comments:

  1. hi! i just got my fhs over the vault ( like not an archy no block one. one with an actual good block off and no bridges over the table! ;*) it finally just clicked after four weeks of working on them. i was so excited! earlier today i got my standing bhs. i did it like 9294854 times. its a little under cutted, but i think that can be expected right? shes been ready to let them do by myself for awhile now, but i just got over the fear..like REALLY today. i started doing doc ali head games excersises ( two minute turn around ! etc.) and i noticed more confidences each time i went to practice. i starting doing them on wednesday. omgg, i really didnt expect it to work but it did! now i just need to get my back tuck, clear hip and flyaway for level six. do you think its possible to get these skills in three months..? i think the flyaway will be really easy since im good with moving skills ( like robhs i was NEVER afraid of.) and i dont think i'll be afraid of it too much. round off bt i think will be easy too, but then again. what do i know :/ but i hopee i can compete level six this fall!! :*

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  2. Wooo way to go, Callie! Congrats! What are Doc Al head games? I've never heard of that but I'm glad they helped ya :) Yes, I think it's possible to get those skills in 3 months. The one I think will take the longest will be the RO BHS BT, since you've just gotten comfortable with your handspring. The flyaway came quickly to me, and so did the free hip. As long as you have the upper-body strength, the bar stuff shouldn't be too bad. Just keep working really hard! I'm really excited for you!

    Also... Any particular gymnasts you'd like a bio for? I tried to find gymnasts born in April since I usually do gymnast of the month by birthday, but I couldn't find any, so now I'm just gonna make bios on gymnasts that you all like. :D

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  3. yeah! doc ali is like a sports therapist, she helps with fear and dealing with blocks. she has some GREAT articles and amazing excersises. www.headgames.ws << i found her on the chalk bucket through a few back tumbling fear threads, and noticed alot of people recommended her so i thought i'd give it a go and see what happens. well, it worked!
    and yeah umm! i always wondered about Kristal Uzelac! can you do a skill thingy on back tucks and improving casts? :)

    - callie ; sorry to lazy to put my name ;* have a nice day <3333

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  4. Hi! (: I don't know if you do, but do you know anything about trampoline and tumbling (T&T)? I saw something about it and thought it looked interesting, but I wondered how the levels were grouped. I don't think I'd do it, because I really love gymnastics, but I feel like I could make it further in that sport than in gymnastics. I mean, it still has the tumbling part of gymnastics, plus the double mini tramp which is somewhat like vault, and trampoline. And I'm not a huge fan of beam or bars...haha. There's only one gym around me that offers it though and its half an hour away :/ so I really don't think I'd do it, but now I'm curious about it. If you know anything about it, that'd be awesome:) But if not, its ok. haha
    Thanks!
    -gymnastics4ever

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  5. Heyo!! So I started level 5 this weeek!!! 3 days a week for 3 hours a night!! I've been crazy tired this whole week!!! anywayy! Been doing good on beam(: except the whole vertical handstand split on top...not the best at that...vault is good...but i have a whole underarm swing issue along with looking at my hands and blocking...but it'll get better(: bars is goodd(: I've got all the skills except the long hang..:/ any advice for that? and how about a straight arm kip?? I've got my kip consistantly it's just not straight armed..floor is not going well..:/ my front handspring is amazing(: as is my bwo(: but my dive roll is weird...? any advice for that? and my back extension isn't going well...i can't get up to handstand:/ any advice? and my ro bhs is horendous...I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO! I'm getting so frustrated and embarrassed..I want to cry cause I'm so frustrated..I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING WRONG !!!!)": maybe it's my roundoff? I don't know! but I almost always end up on my knees!! My coach is getting so mad at me!!! I think i'm going to high up? maybe that's the problem..but any advice if you can??
    Thanks!!(:

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  6. hi! can you do a post on tops conditioning? lol! <3 not to but in or anything, but youre robhs issues are probably with the roundoff. maybe not snapping down enough and also not keeping youre chest up, and butt tucked in. ( which would make you go high) lol sorry for butting it, but i couldn't keep my mouth closed! anywayy!!! i really want to go to texas dreams in texas.. lol. any ideas on how to convince youre parents to move there......haha!

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  7. @gymnastics4ever - I don't know much about T&T, unfortunately, but it seems cool! Definitely something worth looking into.

    @gymnasticsluver - What Callie said! lol. She's probably right, it most likely has to do with not getting your feet under you enough coming out of your roundoff. Keep working at it! Practice the snap-down off panel mats whenever you get a chance. It definitely could be stemming from another problem, it's hard for me to know without seeing it in person, but that would be my best guess.

    @callie - Yes, I will definitely do a post on TOPs! Good idea. And my old coach works at Texas Dreams! :) It's a great gym. But your gym sounds cool too!

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  8. HEy! My round off my coach says is perfect...but...my coach says it may be cause I don't have good shoulder flexibilty but I always go up really high..I don't know what to do...and long hang kip...any advice...when I jump from the high bar i have so much power i go to fast to where i cant even begin to kip..and whenever i do it right i cant get up..could it be cause of my wrists? or is there something else that's common for long hangs? THANKS!(:

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  9. It definitely could be an issue of shoulder flexibility, in which case you're not able to open your shoulders enough to reach back with your hands, and to compensate for that you're jumping really high. So I would keep working on shoulder stretches and "proper" bridges. I feel like you're either born with shoulder/back flexibility or you're not, but regardless, it can be improved. So keep working at it! :)

    For the long hang kip, try to control your jump and don't forget to keep your feet behind you as you begin the swing just to slow things down a little bit.

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  10. i had a meet yesterday. 9.3 on floor and 9.45 on beam..7.7 on vault, i fell on both vaults! D: how much is it a deduction if you fall on fhs vault? didnt compete bars..:3 was suppose to, but ended up not because we never got to working on the dismount and i have yet to do a full routine x:

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  11. Great scores, Callie!! I forget how big of a deduction a fall is worth. I'm thinking it's .5. 85% sure.

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  12. Hi!

    I had my first meet this weekend I got a 9.5 on floor, 8.3/8.5 on vault, 6.1 on beam , and 5.5 on bars. I've always been afraid of this cartwheel on beam unless I'm forced to do it like at my meet I got both feet on but fell. Do you have any tips on getting over this fear? I've had this fear for about a year and six months and its getting old :( and I've also been having trouble on my squat on I fell on it the first time at my meet but made it the second time. And I always get shaky and nervous on beam any tips?

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  13. Hi Lilprincess :) Wow, what a score on floor! I was the same way with the cartwheel on beam, and with beam in general. Keep practicing on the floor beam until you've done it so many times that you're incredibly bored of it. Move it up to high beam with mats stacked under it until you get used to the feel of being up high. As for beam in general, there's not a whole lot you can do but take deep breaths and focus on the move you're doing at the time. Sometimes I would try talking myself through the move in my head. That would get me focused on what I was doing that second and now how my dismount was gonna go or whatever. Give that a try, maybe. Good luck!

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  14. Hey! I'm going to try all the advice thank you so much. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one out there with this crazy fear of cartwheels.Do you have any tips for a squat on? Lately I've been developing this block of doing them unless I'm under pressure like the cartwheel :/ I also sall that you were telling Callie about major deductions on vault epically falling. I fell on my butt the first one aswell but I still got a 8.3? And do you have any tips for tour jete's mine is terrible and I just can't get the kick and then turn and then switch your legs in fast motion or with any power and my coaches are getting really pissed at me.

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  15. Hey Lilprincess :) If you got an 8.3 on vault with fall on the landing, that means the vault itself was very well executed! It would've been somewhere around an 8.8 without the fall, if I remember the deductions correctly.

    It's hard to say about the tour jete or squat on without seeing them in person and pin pointing the problem. In general, for the tour jete, I would just say focus on exploding off your bottom leg and really trying to get the height that will allow you more time to switch your legs. Use your kicking leg to help you get height, as well. It's not ballet so it doesn't have to be perfect. I like to think of it is a gymnast's version of a tour jete, being more about power than grace.

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  16. heyo! I got my long hang today for the first time(: YAY!(: my bars is now complete(: yay! it's getting a lot tougher too..got any advice for level 5 at all? thank yah!

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  17. Congrats!! :) That's great! Only advice for level 5 is to continue making specific, attainable goals for yourself and reaching for them.

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  18. okay(: thanks!! I'm happy(: but dance is my enemy! I look like an elephant..it sucks. and it's so hard!! and I'm also struggling with getting my handstand all the way to vertical and keeping my legs together.. :/ blahh..

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  19. gah! helloo :) whyyy is everything so inconsistant? its making me frustrated. it seems as soon as i get a skill, i loose it. i had my round off bhs three months ago, now i dont. my kip was getting so freakin consistant and straight arms all the way and then today i only made one. my vault was good for a day, then turned to crap again...my bhs was getting there, then i lost it again. gah. im getting so frustrated lately its unbelivable. im so annoyed with gymnastics right now. on the bright side, i almost have a cast handstand.. its 75 percent there, lol.. but seriously.. i just want to get my skills and move the hell on. but it feels like gymnastics is doing everything to hold me back... i mean my floor routine is getting there, but it'll get heavily deducted in USAG without a robhs, nevermind a robhsbhs. sometimes i wish my coach would of just told me to finish off the season in level four. i can't stand not getting highscores! i legit break down every level five meet i've had so far because the scores are so disappointing. i don't like 7 or 8.5s. i want 9s, all nines. maybe a high 8 will do. but ugh, im so competitive. i can't handle loosing well at all. i love gymnastics, don't get me wrong. but lately, its been so stressful and frustrating. I just feel like im not accomplishing anything anymore..? sorry, i really needed to vent..:/

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  20. Hey Callie. I know it gets frustrating sometimes. That's probably the most difficult part of gymnastics, continuing to push through when it feels like you'll never get it. The mental part is more challenging than the physical a lot of the time, which is saying a lot. But the fact that you keep on going is a success in itself! 7s and 8s really are strong scores for someone in your situation. Another thing to remember: they say that the judging in level 4 is just the same as level 5+ but it's really not. Judges go easy on level 4s. Level 5 is real scoring, so to get the same scores you got in level 4 is uncommon. Also remember that I won a national meet with two 8s and two 9s... so sometimes scoring is just funky, and you can't let your scores define you. You have to look at the small improvements and celebrate them. Phew, sorry for the really long pep-talk. The point is that going through all this frustration and figuring out how to be okay with lower scores is part of the sport and will help you tremendously in the rest of your life. You're doing a great job, and you can only ask of yourself that you do the best you can. :) You'll figure out the skills with more practice. Great job on the almost cast handstand, by the way!! Fun skill, huh?

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  21. Hi! No idea if you will see this since its the last day of April, but I'll post it today anyways. :)

    So, I was looking at summer camps at this other gym for the summer, and saw they recently added some new teams. I knew they never used to have a USAG team and recently added one, and saw they had something about prep optionals. I know I've heard of it before, but I never really looked into it. What is the difference between USAG and prep op? Would there be more lower level people my age in prep op?

    Oh, and also! I haven't been to gymnastics in about 2 weeks because of being out of town and being sick. :/ But while I was gone, my friend on the club team I wanted to be on said she asked my coach, and she said I could practice with them if I wanted. Should I do this? I would have more practice time a week, but all the girls have way more skills than me, and I'd have to constantly be asking to be spotted. There's not many girls on the team though, so I'm sure it won't be too much of a problem. But, should I take the advantage and practice with them?

    Thank you so much! :)
    -gymnastics4ever

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  22. Hey gymnastics4ever!

    I don't know too much about prep op (they're calling it "Xcel" now) either. All I really know is that it's a program for girls who like gymnastics but don't want to put in all the hours that JO girls put in. I believe prep op teams have competitions with each other, it's just more laid back than the JO system. The requirements vary from state to state. Here's a link to the USAG website with more info...

    http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/pages/women/pages/prepop.html

    As for the second part of your question, you'd have to talk to your coach personally as well as the other team's coach to make sure that would really be okay. I'm not totally sure what you mean. You can't be on two teams at once, technically, since you need to be registered with one team to compete.

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  23. Thanks! And oh, sorry. I'm in rec classes right now, so I'm not on a team. The coach of my rec class also coaches the team I want to be on, along with another coach. So my friend asked her when I was gone if I could practice with them until I get enough skills to compete.
    -gymnastics4ever

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  24. Oooh okay, I get it! You'll probably want to have your parents talk to the coach and figure everything out. If it's okay with both the coaches and your parents (cost will go way up), I think it would be a great opportunity if you want to eventually compete!

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