Beginning Vault Frustrations
by John Geddert on February 28, 2012 John Level 7 vault I feel am finally understanding what the judges want. They want the angle of repulsion by vertical, good block to hip rise and distance from hands on vault to where feet land. Two issues I have questions for you about is 1. I find that if the girl has a good angle of repulsion they tend to land on their butt. Why? Also what do you tell the girls to get a good block. I know in at 45 degrees off by vertical but what do they physically have to do? What cues can I give them? Thank you for your time. Ozzy. Good question Vault progressions seem to travel the road of trade off for return. Coaches with long term plans will stay the course even though frustrations and scoring issues tempt deviating from the plan. To answer your questions- if the athletes consistently under-rotates after a good block the issue stems from not establishing enough rotation from the board. As for the physical act of blocking that comes from perfect timing of thrusting the arms towards the horse and upon contact immediately, and explosively elevate through the shoulders (shoulder thrust). The perfect follow through would show extension through the wrists while maintaining body tension throughout. The situation that you describe is fairly common and is the result of several factors with the lack of rotations being the largest consideration. In your attempt to gain a vertical block the body must arrive on the table prior to vertical. A strong and efficient blocking action requires straight arms and and an powerful shoulder thrust. The combination of these factors severely slows the rotation established from the board (a longer body naturally rotates slower than a shorter one… straight arms makes the body longer and the purpose of blocking is to transfer rotation into lift, thus slowing rotation further). This is where the temptation to deviate from the long term objective of a GREAT handspring is seduced by short terms gains in score potential. Since you are experiencing under rotation you could deemphasize the blocking action (slight flex of the arms) which would in turn assist with maintaining sufficient rotation OR you could elect for a more vertical entry thus trading rotation for the ability to block off by vertical. These are short term fixes. Obviously coaches will want their athletes to score well in competition so short term trade offs are fine provided we keep striding for the long term objective. When obvious errors are consistently present, I always like to look at what preceded the problem. In the case of lack of rotation from the board, here are a few suggestions for drills to increase the ability to establish rotation.
Front layout on trampoline or tumble trak
Front layouts off of a launching device (vault board, mini tramp, tumble trak sweet spot)
Run up Front layouts on floor
Front layouts up onto an elevated surface Then there is always the physical preparation considerations. Perhaps
by John Geddert on February 28, 2012 John Level 7 vault I feel am finally understanding what the judges want. They want the angle of repulsion by vertical, good block to hip rise and distance from hands on vault to where feet land. Two issues I have questions for you about is 1. I find that if the girl has a good angle of repulsion they tend to land on their butt. Why? Also what do you tell the girls to get a good block. I know in at 45 degrees off by vertical but what do they physically have to do? What cues can I give them? Thank you for your time. Ozzy. Good question Vault progressions seem to travel the road of trade off for return. Coaches with long term plans will stay the course even though frustrations and scoring issues tempt deviating from the plan. To answer your questions- if the athletes consistently under-rotates after a good block the issue stems from not establishing enough rotation from the board. As for the physical act of blocking that comes from perfect timing of thrusting the arms towards the horse and upon contact immediately, and explosively elevate through the shoulders (shoulder thrust). The perfect follow through would show extension through the wrists while maintaining body tension throughout. The situation that you describe is fairly common and is the result of several factors with the lack of rotations being the largest consideration. In your attempt to gain a vertical block the body must arrive on the table prior to vertical. A strong and efficient blocking action requires straight arms and and an powerful shoulder thrust. The combination of these factors severely slows the rotation established from the board (a longer body naturally rotates slower than a shorter one… straight arms makes the body longer and the purpose of blocking is to transfer rotation into lift, thus slowing rotation further). This is where the temptation to deviate from the long term objective of a GREAT handspring is seduced by short terms gains in score potential. Since you are experiencing under rotation you could deemphasize the blocking action (slight flex of the arms) which would in turn assist with maintaining sufficient rotation OR you could elect for a more vertical entry thus trading rotation for the ability to block off by vertical. These are short term fixes. Obviously coaches will want their athletes to score well in competition so short term trade offs are fine provided we keep striding for the long term objective. When obvious errors are consistently present, I always like to look at what preceded the problem. In the case of lack of rotation from the board, here are a few suggestions for drills to increase the ability to establish rotation.
Front layout on trampoline or tumble trak
Front layouts off of a launching device (vault board, mini tramp, tumble trak sweet spot)
Run up Front layouts on floor
Front layouts up onto an elevated surface Then there is always the physical preparation considerations. Perhaps
