Simple Guide to Deconstruct Any Gymnastics Skill

If you are anything like me, I’m thinking about gym the minute I leave the chalk-filled air. My mind is always running with thoughts on how I can improve the ways I teach a certain skill or how to make my girls better, faster and stronger.

While it’s quite easy to just hit up youtube for the latest drill, remember, it comes down to the basics and the fundamentals of the skill if you want to make any improvements. Not only does skill deconstruction have some attractive reasons to implement into your lesson planning, it is also the best way to get down to each element of a gymnastics skill.

Supplies Needed:

• ·      Good ol’ pen or pencil
• ·      Downloadable Template or any paper will do

Estimated time:

10-15 mins

How to deconstruct the skill:

Think of all the possible ways to break down a skill and write them down into the 14 different categories:

1. Body Positions and Alignment: Some gymnastics skills may have many elements in one. For example, a cartwheel has  a lunge, lever, split straddle, split and opposite lever and another opposite lunge.

2. Balance: What is the balance requirement? Do they need a significant amount?

3. Weight Transference: How many are there in the skill? What kinds? i.e. hand to hand, foot to hand, foot to foot.

4. Hand placement: What direction do you need their hands to be? How far apart are they? For bars, is it in over-grip, under-grip, mixed grip, eagle grip?

5. Direction of movement: Not all movements are natural. For example, backwards movement takes time to learn.

6. Eye placement: Where do you want them to look in the beginning, during the skill and at completion?

7. Supports: Arm, Leg, Torso, etc.

8. Lead in skills: What are they going to do prior to the skill? Keep in mind where they are coming from, what body positions they will be in prior to the skill or movements they will be moving through.

9. What is the skill after?

10. Flexibility requirements: Don't forget shoulders, Legs, hip flexors, and back

11. Strength elements: arms, core, legs

12. Action of a movement: When do they need to do the certain movement? How can you build this awareness for when to initiate a certain movement?

13. Position of a movement

14. Motions and Movements: Forwards, sideways, backwards, bilateral movement, opposable movement 

I’ve gone a step further and made a FREE downloadable template for you to deconstruct any skill. Anything from rolls to the most advanced gymnastics skill can be deconstructed with this time saving template. Gymnastics, Men’s Artistic Gymnastics, trampoline, tumbling’s, rhythmic gymnastics, aerobic gymnastics or Acro Gym.

In my next post, I will take a skill show you how I would deconstruct using the template. I will also explore possible drills using the template.