Required Tumbling Skills at Tryouts

You might be a program that requires a minimum level of tumbling skills, such as a back handspring or a back tuck.  Or, maybe you are considering requiring a back handspring for the first time, Requiring a minimum level of skills, will be the way you can take your program to the next level and weed out those who do not have the skills to for the team you are working to create. At the same time, you want to consider how requiring certain skills will impact the number athletes at your tryouts.  When and how you do this will make all the difference in your program.

Let’s work from requiring a back handspring.

Does at least half of your current team have a back handspring? Or, are over half of them close to a back handspring?  If not, requiring a back handspring may be overreaching. It is important to set the bar high, but you also want to find a balance and be realistic.

If you don’t have at least half your team with a back handspring, start with requiring a back walkover and a solid round-off with a strong rebound. You can build from these skills.  With regular tumbling classes, you can get the whole team to a back handspring by competition season.

If you are not even close to being able to require a back handspring, require something, even if it is a cartwheel. For the schools that do not make cuts, I recommend that you still make some sort of requirement for tumbling.  I will set a standard for what you expect out of your team.

If you are making a certain skill required by tryouts, then make sure you are giving the candidates ample opportunity and direction on how they can get those skills.  You can have a tumbling class regularly offered for your school at a local gym. This class can be one that is not associated with the school, but it can be a school cheer tumbling class your local all star gym or gymnastics gym offers.  So, even well before tryouts, when you have interested candidates, point them to the gym. If you are a high school or middle school coach, go to the middle school or elementary oldest grade level and promote the class there. You can also provide them with a list of open gym times in the area. They don’t need to be on the team yet, to get the skills they need to tryout. All you need to do is give them some guidance and point them in the right direction.

I am a big fan of setting a certain level of requirements to make the team, but I also encourage you to be realistic as well. Assess your program and then make the best decision for your program!