Question...Can someone help me?!

[gymtumblerjess]

I've been tumbling for over 6 years now and I guess you could say I'm pretty good at it. I'm a powerful tumbler, very strong, and mostly confidence is the only thing that has enabled me to get some tricks. By the way I do it for fun, I don't compete. But I still challenge myself and work hard to get tricks. I do learn a routine every year for the one gym I go to and there is a show where we perform.

Anyway. What I'm working on now, many things obviously, but what I'm trying to get now is a roundoff-backhandspring-back layout. Just the layout part- I always end up doing a whip back and it's definitely not close to a layout. It's like my body thinks I should be doing a backhandspring with no hands, or at least that's what it feels like I'm doing. I don't know what I'm doing wrong...My coach said I don't push off my feet after the backhandspring and that prevents me from getting any height. Any opinions/suggestions/ideas?? What am I doing wrong? When you first did it, how did it go. When I do them on the tramp. they feel and look really good, so I don't know....

Another thing I should add, I get a lot of power into my tricks, but they're kind of slow (the roundoff-backhandspring part I mean)...Perhaps it's because of this that I can't do it??

Help!! Please! :)

[kitemastel]

Hello-

I have been a gymnast since I was 3! I did everything with gymnastics from competing to going all over to gyms, it was my life. I am now 24 and still try to keep up with it and want to find places and classes so I can teach. My dream is to be an assistant gymnastics coach someday.

I guess, my advice to you with the roundoff backhandspring backlayout is yes, you probably do need to push off more with your feet, but are you getting enough height/power with the rest of your roundoff and backhandsrping, so you have the power to go back into a layout? I know it is very hard to just whip back and not do a layout. I always use to have the same problem. Practice is a major key and I know just what you want to hear, push off with your feet more and practice. Maybe also practice just the round off, backhandspring with a rebound arch! Hope you have good luck. I knw you will get it, keep practicing.