As you can imagine, I get questions about tumbling progressions almost every single day. While some athletes are in a unique situation where changing up the order of how things are done is beneficial, most of the time the answers I give out are standard.

By that I mean the progression that should come next follows a specific order which has been proven to work, and applies to both boys and girls of all ages. Think back walkover and back limbers before back handsprings etc.

But today, I’m going to answer a question I got from a reader about standing back tucks because it seems that many coaches and athletes misunderstand where this skill fits in the order of things.

So Here We Go…

“Hi, I was curious about the progression of tumbling skills. At our cheer gym, an athlete is able to do a round off back handspring back tuck with no problem. However, she cannot get her standing back tuck. She is close but not there. She has been working on the standing back tuck relentlessly for 3 months with no progress. She can get it, inconsistently, working on a 1 inch mat but when she moves to the spring floor she has a mental block and can’t throw it at all. The athlete feels that she can “skip” the back tuck skill and is ready to do work on 1/2 and full twist layouts. Is this true? If not, why not? Thanks for your input!” 

– Cheer Sally

Note: Names and details have been edited to protect the identity of the sender

My Response…

Great question, Cheer Sally!

When it comes to the standing tuck (on floor), you should know that it doesn’t have much to do with one that is coming out of a running pass, as it’s miles harder to pull off. I’d say 70% of the success of a GOOD standing tuck is dependant on the athlete’s conditioning. Specifically, their vertical jump. The other 30% is technique. That’s why guys or girls with strong legs can toss over “backflips” with ease. It’s also why the skill is so much easier to pull off on a Tumble Trak.

But as for the young lady you’re talking about, no one should be forcing her to get a standing tuck if she already has a good RO BHS Tuck. I mean it’s definitely valuable to work on, but she is most definitely ready to move on to pikes, followed by layouts, and then halfs etc.

She in fact isn’t “skipping” anything in terms of a logical progression when it comes to her running tumbling. You should also know that the 1-5 cheer level system is NOT a logical progression when it comes to tumbling. The jump from level to level is too high and sporadic.

So to address that issue, the way I coach is by splitting up tumbling into 12 tiers. Each tier has certain skills/passes that athletes need to have in order to move on. The progression is much smoother and logical. To see how all of this works, press the button below to see my complete video walkthrough.

Just remember that for some athletes, it can take months to master a good standing tuck. For others, it can take YEARS. So you have to be patient. More importantly, the athlete needs to know that patience is the name of the game, and that there isn’t an ungodly amount of pressure on her to get the skill. Just let the process take its natural course, and you’ll find that she’ll actually learn the skill a lot faster.

Sounds weird, but I’ve seen this happen over and over again,  year after year; when athletes are under too much pressure to get a skill, they usually don’t. Let them have fun and enjoy the journey of learning something new, and they’ll pick it up faster than you can say “full out!”

As for her mental block, I suggest taking her off floor, spending a few weeks on drills then letting her try it on a surface/setup she feels comfortable with such as from a spotting block. If you’re looking for drill ideas, be sure to read through my complete guide to standing back tucks right here. It’s got every drill you could possibly need from A to Z in order to master the skill.

Another resource you should read up on is the Mental Block Formula which you can find right here. This is the exact process I use when athletes come to me looking to get past their mental blocks. And should you help your athlete implement it properly by spending the necessary amount of effort, I can assure you it works every single time. 

Hope that helps, and good luck to you both!

As always, train hard, eat well and stay fierce!