I think sometimes we get so wrapped up being competitive that we forget one major factor of success: tumbling is supposed to be fun!

Yes I know we all want to win medals and trophies, and to do that you need to take your training seriously.

But no one I know can be 100% serious all the time.

Nor should they be!

Can you imagine the misery of taking everything seriously for every minute of every practice?

Sounds like a nightmare to me. Also sounds like a nice way to kill someone’s love for the sport.

That’s why I think the 80/20 rule is a good bet; keep it serious 80% of the time, while the other 20% is spent on doing other stuff.

“What other stuff?” You might ask?

Easy: play some tumbling games!

Below you’ll find five of my favorite ones. Not only are they immensely fun, but they can really help athletes develop mastery of their own skills.

Game #1: Stick It

While also the name of a great movie, “Stick It” is a classic game that I’m sure most of you are familiar with. But just in case you aren’t (or what to know how I personally run it), check out the details below.

How To Play

Decide on a skill or pass that athletes have to land and “stick”. A stick is confirmed only when the coach says “safe”. For example, if the chosen skill is a front tuck, the athlete has to do the skill, land, and wait till they hear “safe”. If they step, stumble, touch down or fall before the word is uttered, they get a letter (I usually write it on their arm with a non-toxic marker). Once they spell the word “S-T-I-C-K” they’re out, and have to condition on the side until the game is finished. Last man (or woman) standing, wins.

I’ve played this game with singular skills as mentioned above, but also with passes such as RO BHS Tuck. If you have very young or low level athletes,  you can still play this game with jumps (e.g Straddle jump, straight jump, jump half turn etc.)

Game #2: Backhandspring Races

Ever seen someone do a slow layout double twist? What about a slow double back tuck? Most likely not. Or if you have, then you know it probably didn’t end well for them.

That’s because tumbling can’t be done slowly. At least not on the surfaces that it is competed on (such as sprung floor or rod floor). But knowing this information isn’t enough — we must train our athletes to become faster and more powerful. And backhandspring races is one of my favorite ways to do so.

How To Play

Preselect the number of handsprings (I like 2-5) and the set a standardized starting parameter (power hurdle, 2 step hurdle, etc.) and do a round-robbin type tournament within the group. The athlete who completes their handsprings first is the winner of that race, and gets a point. The first athlete to get 7 points, is crowned the 1st place victor can go do another drill, station or simply take a break and cheer on their fellow teammates! I usually stop once I have my top 3 since by then everyone has done a significant number of passes.

If a race results in a “draw” then no one gets a point. If a tumbling pass is fast but sloppy, the coach can either refuse to hand out points or give 1 point to the slower athlete if their pass was clean. If an athlete doesn’t complete their pass (say they did only 2 handsprings when the requirement was 3) then they get -1.

Check out the video below of my athlete playing this game!

Game #3: Front Tuck High Jump

Do you have athletes that front tuck like they want to clear the length of a football field? If so, then chances are they’re having trouble converting their forward momentum into height. I wrote an entire guide on front tucks right here. This is where I go into more details about positive vs negative angle of impact and how it can help athletes get more height.

Once those angles are learned, you can use this game to help athletes master the height of their front tucks.

How To Play

I start by stacking 2 foam blocks and get the group to front tuck over it on to a crash mat. Most can make over this without a problem and acts as a warm up. The idea is simple — every time you successfully front tuck over a stack of foam blocks, you get to add another one on your next turn. After a predetermined amount of game time (say 5 minutes) the athlete who’s worked their way up to the highest number of blocks is the winner. As an added bonus, when the foam block stack starts to get high and challenging, I like to add 5 reps of conditioning per block that gets knocked over. So if an athlete is trying to front tuck over 5 blocks and knocks over 3, that’s 15 reps of an exercise of my choosing. When it comes to landings, I’m not very strict on how they do it as long as it’s not unsafe. So slight stumbles, falls, rolling out etc is fine. Remember, we want them to focus one thing here, and that’s height! So don’t cloud their brains with more than one criteria.

Game #4: Handstand Contest(s)

If there’s one shape that acts as a common denominator to all tumbling skills, it’s the handstand. Generally, the quality of one’s handstand will have a direct relation to the rest of their tumbling skills. This isn’t new information, but it does bear repeating. The problem is, doing generic handstands can get rather dull and boring. And a “contest” is a great way to spice it up.

How To Play

The main goal of each iteration of the game is to basically be the last person standing (on their hands, of course). But there are multiple ways to play depending on the skill of the athletes. Below are a few of my favorites.

• Rack up points: Just like in game #2, every time the group goes into a handstand, the last person standing gets one point while the rest of the group get none. Once an athlete rack up 5 points, they are deemed the 1st place winner and either go on to something else or become a spectator. This process keeps going till there’s a last person standing.
• Go the distance: Everyone starts their handstand at one end of the floor and they walk as far as possible. The athlete who walks the furthest gets to sit at the spot their handstand came down. They now become the “benchmark”. The rest of the group resets and goes again. If the benchmark gets beat, the original athlete that set the benchmark now has to go try again with the group. If a benchmark is not beaten within 3 tries, the athlete that set it is declared the winner of the game, and the whole game restarts so it keeps the group working.
• Inverted Trust Circle: Split the athletes up into two even groups (1 and 2). Ask them to make two circles with group 1 being the inner circle while the group 2 is the outer one. When you blow a whistle (or say “GO” really loudly), each member from group 1 goes into handstand while a member from group 2 holds them up (this is why even numbers are key to this game so you can have a 1:1 ratio). Then upon blowing the whistle again, each member from group 2 lets go of the person they’re holding, moves clockwise to the next athlete and holds them up again. Should any member from group 1 fall, they are out. Keep going till you have a single athlete from group 1 still in their handstand, as they’ll be declared the winner. Then switch the role of the groups. Then the winner from group 1 faces off against the winner of group 2 to be crowned the ultimate handstand champion, and gets all the bragging rights that go along with such a coveted title.

Game #5: Make It Up

Most of the time, athletes are given the passes they must do. Sometimes they like it, and some times they don’t. So why not let them choose for once? This game not only encourages mastery of skill, but grows their love for the sport by letting them be a little unconventional and step outside the boundaries of rules and score sheets.

How To Play

Pick a specific number of elements that should be in a pass. I like between 3-7 (example: A RO BHS BT is a 3 element pass). Then you give them 5 minutes to come up with a tumbling pass of their choosing. The only real rule besides sticking to the element number given, is that they must already be capable of doing the skill. So if they’re just learning back tucks and the landing is hit or miss, they cannot use that element.

After 5 minutes, a coach (or any other person playing the moderator) will judge the passes and give a score out of 10. The winner then gets to decide the number of elements for round two and so on.

What I love about this game, is that kids come up with really creative solutions to connect skills that have no business being connected. You’ll see aerials attached to front rolls, and dive rolls somehow going into back handsprings. It gets crazy and it more importantly, gets them smiling and having fun.

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Game #6: Spring To The Distance

While you always want back handsprings to be fast and powerful, you also need them to be loooong — especially when they are ready to be connected to an end skill. In fact, I always say to my athletes: “The longer and lower your BHS, the higher you’ll go for your tucks, layouts and fulls.” 

That’s because a long BHS allows you to get your feet behind your hips, allowing you to achieve the perfect block angle. And this game will really train your athletes to do that.

How To Play

First, make sure you create little sub-groups of athletes who are similarly sized, otherwise taller athletes will start at a clear (and unfair) advantage. You don’t have to do this — I’ve made my “midget class” youngins’ step up to the plate and take on my taller athletes before… and you know what? They did pretty well.

Still, not every youth girl will want to compete against a senior. Once you have your height groups set up, this game works similar to the “Go The Distance” variation of the handstand contest. Basically one athlete does a RO BHS from a predetermined entry (powerhurdle, 2 steps etc.) and start point. They then place a marker where he or she lands. I like using foam blocks. Then the next athlete has to try and beat it and so on. Once everyone in the group has had a turn, the athlete with the longest BHS wins and gets a point. You then reset and go again. Once an athlete accumulates 5 points, they’re declared the 1st place winner and can do something else or sit and cheer on their teammates.

Note: This game can also be played with front handsprings or whips.

Game #7: Add On

This is a classic that most of you have probably already played. But if not, below is my little spin on it.

How To Play

First, decide on the surface you’ll be playing this game. Generally it’s played on the trampoline, but you can also play it on a Tumble Trak or floor by doing passes. Next, create a list of skills that all athletes can do. For example, if everyone in the group can back tucks but only 2 people can layout, then layouts are banned. Skills can be repeated, but not consecutively (e.g you cannot do back drop > back drop, but back drop > seat drop > back drop, is legal). If you have beginner athletes, create a list of basic jumps and shapes they all know (if you’re using my tumbling system then you already have 12 shapes to work with).

Once all that is settled, let an athlete start the game by doing one skill of their choosing. The next athlete then has to perform the initial skill and “add on” to it by doing another skill from the list. Eventually you’ll end up with a long chain of skills that everyone has to memorize while also “adding on” to the chain. When an athlete forgets the sequence or performs the sequence in the wrong order, they are deemed “out” and sit for the remainder of the round till you have the last man/woman standing. You can then start again.

Game #8: Round Off High Jump

There are two major block angles an athlete needs to master when coming out of the round off. The first is by snapping their toes in front of their hips so it sends their momentum backwards, and the other is with their feet behind their hips so it sends their momentum upwards. This game is designed to teach them how to master the latter. So if your athletes are having trouble gaining height in their RO Tucks, Layouts or Fulls… play this game!

How To Play

Stack two regular crash mats, and let all the athletes in the group mark their RO with a specific entry (power hurdle, 2 steps etc.) Once everyone has their mark, ask them to do a RO rebound jump on to the stacked crash mats landing in a hollow position. Everyone in the group should be able to do this. The idea is to keep stacking on mats until you have the last man/woman standing. An athlete is deemed “out” if they cannot land their rebound jump on their back, or they land but fall off. A good indication of success is to see if they cleared their hips. Once you have a clear winner, you restart the game.

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