A THEORY: SPOTTING MEANS …

I. Aspects of the Subject Matter

Spotting and securing accompanies the child in gymnastics at all levels of the learning process, from learning a new skill, to continued practicing, to practical forms of application (see also Fig. B, here). When children assist each other, children’s gymnastics will be enriched for the little ones through an infinite number of new experiences. That is why partner-oriented assistance is to be understood equally as an experience and a learning field, next to learning the gymnastics movements and should be a permanent part of children’s gymnastics.

The teacher’s, and consequently the child’s, knowledge about spotting often leaves much to be desired. There are no theories that describe the inclusion of spotting for practice (except maybe the knowledge that a child can’t get up, attempt a pullover or something similar, and thus spotting becomes necessary), or a book that delivers explanations and illustrations about spotting, that make this huge system of actions more clear. Why and how will be shown in the following.

1 Definition of Terms: Spotting – Movement Accompaniment – Securing

In the general, linguistic-specific application, spotting and securing is named in one breath. In practice the teacher may place a “safety spotter“ behind the vault, but expects “active spotting“ from one person. Spotters will “assist“ during a high bar routine, but in gymnastics a little push here or there may suffice and requires “finger tip sensitivity“.

Thus, there is no need for forceful support, nor does the spotter have to stand around waiting. In order to competently learn and teach the complexity of the more or less, or the no longer needed spot, requires at first an explanation of the different actions through terminology definitions.

Spotting can be differentiated into three forms and can therefore be defined as follows:

Fig. A: Spotting – Movement Accompaniment/Guiding – Securing

The application of spotting as movement support and guidance, movement accompaniment and movement securing, is dependent upon the situation and the degree of skill ability of the gymnasts, as can be concluded from Fig. B, here.

2 Explanations and Practice Examples

From the definition it becomes clear that spotting has a prerequisite character for movement accompaniment and again for the ability to secure, which means that only experienced spotters can secure safely. This additionally means that qualified, reliable securing is needed at the highest ability level. This securing can be learned through the next lower ability level of movement accompaniment.

Here standards evolve as well as learning levels for spotting. Assisting in the original sense (accompanying and securing) is, with regard to the practical application, dependent upon the control of the gymnastics skill to be performed.

Also learning to assist and to secure (see chapter A III. 2) is always performed in connection with, and parallel to the learning of gymnastics-specific basics and skills. This coherence is exemplified in the next overview (Fig. B, here).

• Spotting: For new skills to be learned, assisting is a form of manual movement support in order to compensate for weaknesses in condition and coordination, as well as guiding the movement in order to correct the course of the movement and improving the visualization of the movement. Through this partner supported guidance the gymnast – and the assisting child – get to know the new movement to be learned.

Examples:

• Pullover on a bar: While the gymnast is standing still, the spotters already reach with both hands for the seat and direct the center of gravity on the shortest way to the bar. By carrying the body weight, the practicing gymnast is relieved and can repeatedly practice the pullover, despite a lack of holding strength in the hands, pull strength of the arms or abdominal strength (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Spotting a pullover

Fig. B: Simplified illustration of the standard and learning levels in the area of skills with the inclusion of spotting, manual movement accompaniment and securing

• Cast to handstand: Due to a lack of support strength the spotters guide the gymnast at the thighs into the vertical and lift him with a support grip on the thighs. Thus, the strength required from the gymnast for a front support is reduced, meaning the child carries significantly less of his body weight, depending on the amount of spotting.

• Accompanying: The transition from spotting to accompanying a movement is smooth. Movement guidance decreases steadily, the movement gets gentle support only in partial phases following the principle “as much as necessary, as little as possible“ (Fig. 2). This demands from all participants an evaluation of the entire situation and everything that’s part of the action (refer also to chapters B 3 on Prerequisites, here). How far is the gymnast ability-wise? How consistent is the gymnast’s efficiency? Where are the problems during the course of practice? How do I have to act in surprise situations . . .? Such questions are answered through experience.

  To reliably accompany a course of movement and especially routines is the result of long spotting experience. To accompany movements smoothly means to possess experience in spotting. The children thus need to be prepared long-term for the goal to achieve the ability to accompany a movement.

Examples:

• Pullover on bars: The spotters do not reach for the seat while the gymnast is still in preparation, but only when the gymnast has already reached an inverted position. Instead of using both hands, a slight pushing assistance is now given only with one hand, depending on the improved standard of the gymnast, by pushing the hips against the bar.
• Kick up to handstand: The spotters do not reach for the thighs while the gymnast is in preparation, but only when she/he has almost reached the vertical. In the vertical the spotter’s grip is loosened again and again to see if the gymnast can establish balance on her/his own. With increasing movement security the spotters accompany the up-swing and the holding of the handstand with their “fingertips“(Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

In the end the accompaniment of the movement leads to gymnastics without spotting during the course of a movement, and therefore it turns into securing.

• Securing: In order to secure the gymnast it’s assumed that the gymnast can execute the skill without movement accompaniment. The spotters’ hands do not accompany the body of the practicing gymnast. The course of the movement is observed attentively in an accompanying manner by the securing person.

If the securing persons assume that at one point during the course, or in a partial phase of the movement, the skill won’t work, they step in to save the gymnast. Therefore the securing person must know the characteristics of the movement, the problematic phases of the skill, and must also be able to use the necessary spotting grip.

Examples:

• For dismounts off the apparatus and for supported vaults we secure the landings by catching the gymnast at his back and front and “forking“ him in (Fig. 3). Increasingly the securing of the landing is only hinted at and a spotter merely remains ready to catch the gymnast in case of a fall.

  Additionally, securing is fundamentally applied

• when practicing the fine form of a movement,
• when applying the skills in connections,
• during movement creation,
• when incorporating the learned skills into game and competition formats.

Based on the above explanations the field of application has been divided into three standard levels. Spotting, movement accompaniment and securing can be learned step by step in each of these standard levels. Section A III. 2 (here) describes this extensively.

Fig. 3: Securing a landing

3 Prerequisites

3.1 Conditioning and Coordination Abilities

Good spotting and securing requires different prerequisites from the children. Through preparatory exercises (see section B I. 1, here) on the one hand basics for spotter actions are created, and on the other hand different abilities are trained and knowledge is gained through assisting and securing.

Conditioning and coordination abilities determine the degree of quality of the assistance. The following examples have been chosen for demonstrating conditioning and coordination abilities.

Condition: Strength and Quickness

Strength (power, force)

To move the body weight of a gymnast against gravity, in order to carry the body onto a bar, to lift over the hands into a handstand,...