Practicing straddle L to endo presses on beam is a good drill to develop balance, body control and strength. One of the gymnast's goals must be to show a good straddle L, and also move in and out of that position with as much compression as possible. If a gymnast is planning to use the straddle L press as a beam mount, they must remember to keep the chin up on the straddle before starting the press to enhance the skill's presentation.
When a gymnast performs this combination, some of the goals are to show the V with the legs pointing up close to vertical. Then continue to show a straddle press with straight arms and eventually a good handstand.
This is an interesting mount that can usually be accomplished without too much trouble. Starting on the spring board, the athlete jumps up and a little back, straddling the legs as much as possible and quickly placing the hands on the apparatus.
To perform this skill the gymnast must first be able to execute a front tuck from the board onto elevated soft surfaces as high as the beam. To develop the front tuck mount and to warm up the skill, the gymnast may practice runs to the spring board and perform a straight jump to land on the beam. The final goal is to perform the skill safely and consistently on the regular competition beam.
Here we include a few examples of an interesting beam mount with a C value in the international gymnastics federation difficulty ratings. The gymnast must strive to minimize wobbles during the split landing. Watch this final beautiful example of this side jump to split mount.
Here we have included some examples of a 360 degree pirouette, followed by piking down and bringing the legs through to a V position. It is important to remember to minimize the number of hands steps needed to complete the full pirouette.
