Gymnastics

Gymnastics in St Patrick’s De La Salle

The PE strand of gymnastics is well catered for in St. Patrick’s De La Salle. Pupils from all class levels are offered lessons.

The pupils learn some of the fundamentals of gymnastics for example, floor and tumbling. A roll is the most basic fundamental skill in gymnastics class. Many different rolls are covered for example sideways roll/pencil roll, egg roll, forward roll, backwards roll. They learn basic shapes eg straight, tuck and pike or L-Shape. These are the building blocks of gymnastics. Each skill will require the gymnast to change their body into a number of shapes.

Pupils are shown how to strengthen their core and upper body in order to demonstrate a half handstand and sometimes progressing to a full handstand. Cartwheels and headstands are also covered during these classes as the pupils’ core strength increases.

The pupils learn balancing techniques such as bunny hops and army crawls. These exercises are great for coordination and agility too. The pupils learn about body tension and how important it is.

Each class begins with a proper warm up to prepare the body for the muscle stretching and exertion required to complete gymnastics skills.

Each lesson concludes with a proper cool down session. This is vital in order to return the body and muscles to a resting state after the workout and to avoid any injuries which may occur afterwards.