Comments on: Doug Davis on gymnastics spotting

By: apolytongp

apolytongp — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:09:12 +0000

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.

By: Katrina Burton

Katrina Burton — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:08:45 +0000

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.

By: Coach

Coach — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:21:38 +0000

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.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:59:22 +0000

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.

By: apolytongp

apolytongp — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:06:45 +0000

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.