From the Tumbl Trak email newsletter:
… Below are some of my reasons for minimal spotting and the value I believe it brings to our young athletes.Â
Minimal Spotting Approach – Rationale
Using a teaching approach to gymnastics skills that relies minimally on spotting results in:
1. Independence: children learn by finding out what they can do by themselves, not what an adult/teacher can do for them; dependence on a spotter is diminished, or doesn’t occur.
2. Confidence: when children accomplish a skill and can do it alone, this builds their confidence.
3. Saftey: children learn how to fall and not get hurt; children who learn what they can do by themselves do not have a false sense of security. For example, a child knows she needs to grip the bar in order not to fall.
4. Body Control: children learn what it takes to move body parts (trunk, legs, arms, shoulders) and hold a position (straight, arch, hollow). Teachers may move parts not in position, then see if a child can “find” it again…
5. Teacher Observation: when spotting a skill, the teacher is often too close to see what the child is doing; when the teacher stands back and observes, attempts at a teaching station, she or he can analyze body positions, timing, etc. to provide corrective feedback.
CRITICAL: in order to teach with minimal spotting, the right equipment is necessary, as well as knowledgeable teachers. The equipment is only as good as the teacher who can create appropriate stations with it.
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Thanks Doug.
Good advice.
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5 comments ↓
I don’t quite agree. foam pits, spotting belts, and manual spotting all have a similar skill learning benefit. I do agree that heavy spotting by a coach on each turn for known skills is bad. But for learning, it can be crucial.
I think that it’s imperative to spot the kids a lot when they’re younger on the foundational skills for the purpose of constant reinforcement of the proper body shapes and optimal technique. These are the skills that are essentially the fundamental building blocks of bigger gymnastics skills. So, precision and perfection of these skills is critical and will enable you to utilize your equipment set-ups to teach skills in the future with minimal spotting.
Unfortunately, few coaches spend the time on this critical component. They adhere to the philosophy of “get it now and fix it later.” Well, “later” is too late and you end up with a technical mess that’s often next to impossible to fix and clean-up. Why 99% of coaches out there cannot seem to grasp this simple, common-sense idea continues to baffle me. But, out of the multiple gyms that I’ve worked in or visited, I could count the people who really get it on one hand. That’s pretty sad.
I agree Chris. I coach compulsory girls. And the teams that I have had the most success with are the ones I have spotted the most.
With spotting, you have to be careful that you are not putting the kids through the skills, but just molding and shaping as they go through it. Especially on bars.
I think there are two forms of spotting… the “coach does it for you” and the “body moulding”.
I don’t think this guy is saying DON’T “body mould”.
I use the term SPOTTING when I am referring to the “coach does it for you” style. That I don’t do, or only do very seldomly (like my kid’s first tkatchev drill or first standing back tuck).
However I body mould all the time! Poking, bending, moving and adjusting kids into that “perfect” position.
As an adult gymnast trying to learn the sport, I would have enjoyed way more spotting to help with tricky fundamentals (e.g. backhandsprings too short) or with fear factor problems (dismounts on PB, HB, giants, etc.). That said, it is easier to spot a smaller, lighter person. Also if they fall they bounce better…also there is just more of that going on at the young levels, with assumptions that adults have fundamentals and will work on big tricks.
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