Warm Up Room at Competition

The 2010 competition season is well underway with major competitions just around the corner. As coaches we place so much emphasis on the actual 2 minutes of 30 seconds of competition, but sometimes we fail to recognize the importance of the work done beforehand to prepare us for our time on the mat.

Specifically, I am referring to the warm up prior to competition and the ways in can be used to maximize your athletes performance, mental preparedness and physical readiness.

First, lets consider the actual purpose of a pre-competing warm up. For most events, teams are given a standard "stretching" mat, performance surface and tumbling strip. Times vary between events - but what are you actually supposed to do with that time?

Having coached teams at the scholastic, all-star and collegiate level we believe that this time is critical for athlete - but not in the ways many coaches think.

The purpose of warm up is to:

1. Warm up skills
2. Stretch
3. Mental Preparedness
4. Unify team
5. Get in the right mindframe to compete

Based on the stations given, and the time necessary to meet each of these objectives here are our recommendations:

BEFORE YOU GET INTO THE WARM UP GYM:
1. Stretch (this does not have to take place inside warm up)
2. Ensure that your athletes are in uniform and ready to go
3. Make sure that all unnecessary items are left behind (Jewellry, wallet, etc)
4. Remove jewellry
5. Go to bathroom/prepare hair/make up in advance.

WARM UP MAT:
Focus - Warming up team skills
1. Warm up individual stunts and tosses.
Optimal use of time: Warm up as a team to counts

MAIN FLOOR:
Focus - Performance and Spacing
1. Hard mark routine
2. Full out expressions/artistic elements/jumps/etc.

TUMBLING STRIP:
Focus: Warm up all routine tumbling
1. Standing Tumbling
2. Running Tumbling
3. Tumbling with Jump combinations

We have found this warm up to be the most effective and least tiring for athletes because:
1. It allows for maximum recovery time
2. It does not exhaust athletes before performance
3. If you need to "work on" something in the warm up gym - it should not be in the routine.
4. Priority must be keeping athletes in a positive mental attitude before performance.

Many coaches like to run full out run-throughs in the warm up gym and while that can certainly be effective for many teams - it can also be exhausting, risk injury and if the run is poor - it can impact the athletes mental preparedness right before they are on the floor.

Regardless of how you warm up, making sure that all aspects of the routine are ready and that athletes are excited to step out on the floor is the BEST POSSIBLE objective for any competition warm up!

GOOD LUCK!

Cleaning a Routine

With the competition season now underway, many coaches and teams are looking at ways to improve their score and better their competition placings.

Some teams will change their choreography, add new skills or make sweeping changes in order to dominate the competition - but the reality is many of these measures are often unncessary or unrealistic.

In most cases, simply CLEANING the material you have and ensuring that your team looks sharp and confidant on the floor is the BEST way to improve your overall impression and scores!

But how do we clean a routine? Why is is that some sections are so much easier than others? Why does it seem like some athletes will never be tight or hit that stunt as sharp as they could? We never said it would be easy -- but with a little work, some patience and attention your routines can look ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS :):)

Here are some of our best tips:

1. Pay attention to detail
2. Every count COUNTS
3. Synchronize your movements
4. Consider your angles/levels/motion placements
5. Limit unncessary movement
6. Make sure that your transitions are seamless
7. Coordinate stunting approaches
8. Strive for symmetry and balance with routine flow/design
9. Tumble the SAME! Timing counts too! not just form : )
10. PERFORM! PERFORM! PERFORM!

Always remember that you score points for doing the same thing, the same time with as many people doing the same thing. Its important that your athletes recognize that they might have to change THEIR WAY to do what is best for the ENTIRE team. Standardization is key.

As a coach you need to be firm when taking out skills or routine parts that are imperfect or just not hitting consistantly. Don't settle for higher difficulty if it is not PERFECT. Set a higher standard of excellence!

When running routines it is important that you do different kinds of runs: Artistic (motions, dance, jumps, facials), Technical (stunts, tosses and pyramids) Tumbling (standing, running and Jumps) and Full out.

Balance these different routine runs to maximize efficientcy and to work your skills without tiring athletes.

Remember, a clean well performed routine will ALWAYS outscore a routine with higher difficulty performed sloppily!

Good luck! AND REMEMBER... cleaning is never easy or fun - but it is a necessity of our sport!

The Handstand before the Handspring!

As we travel all over the world it has always surprised us when athletes complain about not being able to do a backhandspring without having fully mastered the handstand.

When you really think about it, a backhandspring occurs when you jump violently backwards into a handstand and then snap down. If an athlete is not able to support their body weight on their own in a handstand position, it would make sense that performing that skill even with backwards moving momentum would be rather difficult, if not impossible.

The first step for any new tumbler wanting to succeed with cartwheels, round offs or handsprings is without a doubt the handstand! It can be broken down into 3 easy steps:

1. Start in a lunge with your arms by your ears!

2. Push off your forward leg, leaning forward to the ground until your hands are supporting your body on the ground, both legs are in the air - together...with your body in a vertical hollow body position. It is important that your head is neutral (looking towards the back wall) and that you are NOT arched!

3. To come down from the handstand - return back to your lunge position with your arms by your ears!

Remember- don't fall over!!!! It takes just as much energy to hurl your body forwards into the ground as it does to squeeze and return back to your starting position.

GOOD HANDSTAND DRILLS:

1. Handstand up a wall (walk up - good for younger athletes)

2. Handstand against a wall (kick up to handstand and squeeze!)

3. Handstand up an incline

4. Handstand snapdown on block

5. Handstand flatbed (to keep hollow)