Performing Seat Drops Correctly
Trampolining Technique to Improve your Performance.
© Kim Ford
Jul 19, 2009
Along with front drops and back drops, seat drops involve a large area of the trampolinists’ body making contact with the bed therefore proper technique is required to avoid injury.
Once the seat drop has been perfected the trampolinist can progress to a seat drop half twist out, half twist in to seat drop, seat drop full twist out, full twist in to seat drop, swivel hips (seat drop, half twist, seat drop) or a roller (seat drop, full twist, seat drop).
Seat drops can also be paired with front drops and the two can be performed one after the other, front to seat or seat to front. Seat drops are rarely linked to back drops as the angle between them is too small to make the link worthwhile or look impressive.
Seat Drop Position
When teaching seat drops to a beginner the coach will often ask them to sit on the bed with their bottom on the cross. They will then be asked to stretch their legs out in front keeping their knees straight, legs together and toes pointed.
The pupils’ hands should be placed palms down on the bed slightly behind their hips. The fingers should face forwards and the back kept straight. The eyes should look either forwards towards the end of the trampoline or downwards towards the toes.
The trampolinist should remember this static position as they will need to recreate it when they land on the bed a little later on.
Movement Required for Seat Drops
The movement required to take the trampolinist in to their seat drop comes from the hips. If a trampolinist pushes their hips forward during their upwards bounce their feet will automatically come forward allowing them to land in the seat drop position.
If the feet are lifted too much or too high the result will be an uneven landing. The natural reaction to the hip movement is all that is required.
Both hands must be brought down and placed on the bed to protect the trampolinists back on landing. The trampolinist can then push off with their hands to return to their standing position.
Polishing a Seat Drop
A trampolinist should aim to land all seat drops with their bottom over the cross and feet pointing towards the end of the trampoline.
To make a seat drop look professional the arms should be stretched above the head on take off, placed on the bed on impact and then stretched above the head again on the returning bounce upwards thus creating an up-down-up-down movement.
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