The best of trampoline training for sports
Trampolines are widely used for training in various sports – some are pretty obvious that a trampoline is used, others you may not have ever considered.
Trampolining
This is the most obvious one. Sure most kids won’t get to have a competition-grade euro trampoline at home but a typical rectangle trampoline is able to assist kids with practicing many tricks at home. Less height will be achieved on a typical Gtamp which is what will limit the number of flips or routines that can be done at home compared to at class. If you are able to have a 10x17ft Olympic size trampoline at home you will at least have the same area to train in.
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a sport that is growing rapidly across Australia. Predominantly girls involved and a huge dedication in hours of training. Have a trampoline at home will save some travel for parents especially ones from a distance out of town. Athletes for this sport are after space and not so much height unless the girls also do gymnastics. Cheerleading is done on a spring floor and training on a trampoline with a low bounce is best. Our 14x16ft has been very popular with cheer girls as it replicates the spring floor pretty well and they can do big routines across the diagonal, keeping in mind it is huge and not really practical for the average backyard. A big round trampoline also gives a low bounce so many girls do have a 14ft or 15ft round.
Acrobatics/Circus tricks
Another growing sport or art and for this height is typically required. There is an even gender split on this one. We find these kids go for a rectangle trampoline and as they are often young kids the 8x12ft and 9x14ft are very popular for them.
Gymnastics
For gymnastics, there are many disciplines. Some do lots of tumble work so want space and not so much height, and others want all the height they can get. A trampoline is a safe place to practice new routines and entertains the kids for hours. A rectangle is often chosen for the quality of bounce and also for the length to perform tumbles. 9x14ft was made for the tweens/young teens who participate in gymnastics who are typically very light. (links to all our articles mentioning which trampoline for different aged and skilled gymnasts)
Parkour/free running
Safe to say close to 90% of participants are teenage boys. This is a highly physical recreational activity where the kids move from one place to another in the most direct manner or as the crow flies over and under objects, stairs, rails, park benches, walls, etc. Typically spending hours training on each small maneuver before moving on and incorporating into a routine. It is quite impressive to watch a fluid moving parkour dude. Lots of training is done on a trampoline where the landing is soft, before graduating to the ground with a mattress, followed by taking on man vs ground alone. A lot of these guys also train in the gym to build upper body strength. (more on parkour and trampoline choices these teens make)
Snowboarding/snow applied sports
In the offseason, kids are training with boards to keep up their skills or improve them before going back to the snow the following season. Thredbo now has a trampoline park with special features purely dedicated to training kids in all the snow applied sports. Often getting kids who are good at skateboarding or surfing to transition over to the snow sports. You can watch a video here.
Water skiing - a lot like snowboarding kids practice on a trampoline often a, round one as, low bounce is required. They strap on a skate deck or similar and hold on to a rope which is often anchored around a tree to pull themselves into their desired moves.
Diving
I am Ethan a Victorian Institute of Sports diving athlete. Training for approx 25 hours a week, there is an immense amount of stress put on my body. This is where a trampoline comes in, the ability to practice tricks with extremely little jarring impact is invaluable when trying to drill a certain aspect of a dive because I can do the move two or even three times as often compared to training in the pool. Training on the trampoline helps divers practice aerial awareness before they add on the difficult task of entering the water as straight as possible. Written by @ethan_underscore
Skateboarding /scootering
Often the best place for little kids to start practicing for basic balance and for doing skateboard flipping tricks. Vuly has a deck for this very reason that can be used safely on a trampoline fully coated in a wetsuit type material. Before taking a scooter onto the trampoline it needs to be taped up so no sharp edges will damage the trampoline mat.
Self-taught tramp flippers
Freestyle and a mix of all the sports together, they athletes watch youtube videos of a mix of street parkour guys, trampolining and gymnastics. They then take what they want and make it their own. A noncompetitive garden trampoline recreational sport, that has a huge and growing active community that encourages each other, and regularly host meetups for sharing, learning, and overall mateship.
Trampoline parks have really revived trampolines and brought a lot of creativity and got a lot of kids active. Rectangle trampolines are what feature in the parks as they tessellate well together but also because they have better bounce and last longer. A round cheap trampoline is a toy for little kids but for high using teenagers you are best to have a quality rectangle trampoline with a great bounce, and safety features that will last years.
If you believe I have not quoted your sport correctly please send me an email so I can rectify. I do not participate in any of the above trampoline sports only learned what I have from customers and then youtube. If I have neglected to mention a sport please feel free to send me a paragraph so I can include it. I will give credit to you for any contribution.
The introduction was written by @reef_cook_gtramp
If you would like to discuss which trampoline will best suit your kid and their sport, feel free to call us on (03) 5292 1100 or message us here.
Photo Credit - @lucashayde_
