WHAT MAKES A GOOD GYMNASTICS SEQUENCE
Just as in the area of games, children learn basic skills first. When learning to play baseball, a player has to learn to bat, field, and throw. In tennis, a player has to learn to serve and hit forehand and backhand strokes. Learning basic skills, however, doesn't hold their attention for too long. They want to play a game. The same thing holds true in gymnastics. Children soon want to combine skills and put them into a sequence or routine. Therein lies the fun.
So, what factors or concepts do you as a teacher need to focus on to help children understand what it takes to build a good sequence?
- FALL WITHIN THE GUIDELINES OF SEQUENCE REQUIREMENTS
All sequences should have specified requirements. Beginning sequences may have only two or three requirements. As children develop as gymnasts, sequences may become as complex as the children can handle. Sequences should focus on an intended unit of work or a final way for children to demonstrate what they have learned. For example, if the unit of work has been on linking balance positions with rolling actions, that is what you should see. If a child uses travelling actions such as hop or jump, those actions should be refocused according to the nature or intent of the task. If the unit of work involves a child using a piece of equipment such as a box or bench to approach, mount, balance on, and dismount, that is what you should see. If a child's work is beside the piece of equpment or entirely on the piece of equipment without a mount or dismount, those actions should be refocused according to the nature or intent of the task.
You can remind the children about the requirements of the sequence or you can provide them with written checklists of what should be in the sequence.
- FORMAL WAY TO BEGIN AND END
As stated previously, sequences must have a good beginning and ending position or shape. While this may be an erect (alert) standing position, it may also be a balance pose. The intent is to say, "I am ready to start", or "I am finished".
The beginning or ending may be a travelling action, static pose, or rotation. For example, children mist use a run to initiate a vault. They can use any number of balance poses to signal the start or end of a sequence. Likewise, they can use a rotary action such as a sit-spin or roll could to start or end a sequence. Whatever choices the children make, the movements must be done with control, intent and precision.
If a skill involves a partner or a piece of equipment, the beginning or ending may be a mount or dismount. For example, one partner may go from an erect standing position into a leaning handstand supported by the assisting partner. Or, a child may cartwheel or jump with a quarter, half, or full rotation while dismounting off a bench. In either case, the beginning or ending should be controlled and practiced to perfection. No matter what, the beginning or ending should not contain any extraneous movement. No wobbling, extra steps, staring off into space, fixing hair, adjusting clothing, or wandering off. The beginning and ending should be focused and done with intent.
- STILL POSES HELD LONG ENOUGH TO SHOW CONTROL
No one would ever expect a gymnast to hold a position for a long time. Many held poses require a tremendous amount of strength. For example, standing on one leg in what is commonly called a stork stand ir a balance with a small base of support. Similarly, a tip-up, headstand, and handstand are difficult to hold for a long time. Many balances on equipment or even partner balances are also difficult to hold for any duration. However, that is not the point of gymnastics. The point is for gymnasts to show that they have mastered the skills and have control. Then, they need to move on in their sequence. In general, holding a pose for three to five seconds is enough to show control. So a gymnast should move smoothly into the chosen balance pose, hold it for a short time, and then move smoothly out of the balance into the next move.
What is not desired is a child attempting a balance and doing it poorly wobbling all over the place or taking extra steps. Often this leads to stumbling or falling over, this creating an unsafe situation. When this happens, encourage a child to leave that move out of the sequence at this time and substitute it with another balance that she has mastered. Also encourage the child to continue working on the more difficult skills and provide her with help and spotting. Then, at a later time when she has mastered the difficult skill, she can include that skill in a future sequence.
- SMOOTH TRANSITIONS
In developing sequence work, the big question is how to get from here to there in the smoothest, most logical way without any unnecessary movement. The answer often depends on the starting position. If the first position is a tall, upright position, the next move might involve sinking the body by bending at the knees and hips and smoothly going into a forward, backward, or sideways rocking or rolling action to lead into the next balance. It could involve dropping forward into a front support or using a steplike wheeling action to end up on a knee and foot. If a child starts in a balance on the floor on one of a number of bases of support, the most logical transition move may be a rocking, rolling, or sliding action into the next position. Here are the big questions to ask: " Where am i now?", "Where do i want to go?", "How can i smoothly and logically get there?"
In working with a piece of equipment or with a partner, the questions are the same, but the solutions are more challenging. A child must consider the direction of approch to the equipment, the distance away from the equipment, how one partner can assist or stabilize and support the other, how one partner can assume or release the partial or complete weight of the other partner, and how to synchronize movement with a partner. Think smooth, logical, no extra or unnecessary steps or movement.
- CHALLENGING WORK AT AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL OF EXPERTISE
Unlike sequence or routine work in Olympic gymnastics where everyone is held to the same standard of performance, sequence work in educational gymnastics should encourage children to develop their individual, unique work based on their level of ability. As long as students meet the requirements of a stated routine (verbal or written), they can get a high score and feel a sense of accomplishment.
Let's face it: In any given class of children, there may be some who are at a low level of skill and strength, some at a middle level, and perhaps a few who have the potential to be high-level performers. The trick is to challenge students in the development of their sequences to work at their level. If you see some students putting together a sequence that is above their ability level, work with them and offer suggestions for alternative moves. For example, a shoulder roll could be used in place of a forward or backward roll. Or, a balance on two hands and one foot with the free leg extended could be substituted for an inverted three-point balance. In other instances you may see students at medium or higher levels of ability who are not challenging themselves. You know the level of work that they are capable of. Don't let them be lazy. Challenge them accordingly to work at their level of ability. They will take great pride and have a sense of accomplishment when they achievee an appropriate goal.
- NOVELTY AND CONTRAST
When given a sequence to develop and perform, encourage children to think for themselves. Encourage them to try novel ideas. They can try to balance in a new way, move in or out of a balance in a new way, approach a piece of equipment from a different direction, or perform a partner balance that is unique. While what they are doing may not be truly new or novel, it is new to them. Thus they feel a sense of ownership and pride in their accomplishments.
In educational gymnastics, it is acceptable for each child to come up with his or her unique way to solve a problem. Encourage children to try several ways to complete their gymnastics sequences. Try one way. Try another. Which way works best? Which feels best? Encourage them to challenge themselves and not look around to see what a friend or an adjacent gymnast is doing.
Depending on the nature of the sequence, contrast is also an important concept to focus on. Most often, sequence work will involve comparing a minimum of two options: body shapes, bases of support, levels, directions, symmetry and asymmetry, dimensions, time, relationship to a partner or piece of equipment. Whatever the nature of the sequence, make sure that the children show contrast in their work. For example, a child could create an upright balance, then an inverted balance. In a different sequence, a child could move out of one balance quickly, then out of the next balance slowly.
For both the perform and the observer, moving in novel ways makes the experience interesting. Likewise, including contrast in a sequence makes the experience more fun to perform and to watch.
- COMPLETE BODY AWARENESS
Regardless of whether a child is performing an individual skill or a complete gymnastics sequence, the child must have complete body awareness at all times. From head to toe, the child must be in complete control. Anything less than that may look sloppy, which can also compromise safety. For example, what is the head doing? Is the child tucking the chin to initiate a roll? Did he turn the head to begin a spinning action? Where are the eyes focused -forward, to the side, behind? It makes a difference when holding a balance or performing a rotation action. With respect to the torso, is the child concentrating on the best straight, curved, or bent body shape possible? What are the arms and legs doing? Are they straight with extensions out through the fingers and toes? Are they bent at specific angles or curved with an intended purpose?
When working with a piece of equipment or a partner, it is even more important to have complete body awareness at all times. Children must make conscious decisions of where they place their bodyweight partially or completely on the equipment or partner. In general, weight should be supported from positions of strength. For example, placing shoulders over arms with elbows locked, knees over feet or hips over feet while on equipment and placing weight on a partner over the knees or shoulders rather than in the middle of a back or front are good principles to follow. The point is that children must be conscious of making decisions that will affect the quality of their performance and make them safe at all times.
Excerpt from Teaching Children Gymnastics (3rd Edition) Peter Werner, Lori Williams, Tina Hall
