For all the skills listed in the 10.0 Beam Program or any other beam training progression system, there are the additional equipment progressions relating to beam height and padding.  All skills should be mastered on a line on the floor and progress eventually to the high beam.  Depending on the equipment available in the gym, there are a number of intermediate equipment progression levels.  They include:

 1.  Tape line on floor.
 2.  Ethafoam floor beam on mat.
 3.  Heavily padded floor beam.
 4.  Regulation floor beam with mats stacked even with beam.
 5.  Regulation floor beam.
 6.  Padded medium beam.
 7.  Regulation medium beam.
 8.  High beam with beam platform.
9. Padded high beam.
10. Regulation high beam with platform mats.
 11. Regulation high beam.
12. 6 - 8 foot high beam with 2 - 4 foot high matting underneath
(Platform beam)

Master Each Stage
 For safety and personal confidence, the best system is to require complete mastery at each equipment progression.  There are some coaches who do not like to include padded beams, especially padded high beams in their progression series, because it returns a crutch that has already been overcome at a lower level.  This seems to be generally sound advice except when a gymnast, perhaps, is unable to progress because of fear caused by a fall. 

Know and Overcome Danger Points
 Gymnasts should be trained and aware of the danger points of each skill that they are performing and concentrate on that first and foremost.  For example, when performing a back handspring on the beam, the most dangerous mistake would be to miss the hands and land on your head on the beam.  The second danger point is missing the first foot and possibly straddling the beam.   Once those danger points have been successfully negotiated, the worst that can happen on any beam is a controlled fall.

Continued Next Page
 
 

GymnasticsZone.com 321 West 13th Street Suite 4 Idaho Falls, ID 83402 (480) 264-1885 webmaster@GymnasticsZone.com

Copyright © GymnasticsZone, Inc. 2003