Boy, was I ever wrong!!!

[gymdog]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ingymmom I think these are the same as my dd's. They are the buckle 501-12 (also 0's like the OP). All of our girls wear them (coach required at our gyms pre-team level) and they seem to like them, no complaints - although our coach customizes some, and my gymmie has such tiny fingers the holes have to be taped. All of our gymnasts have great bars so guess they work for us

Oh yeah, they work fine (I've been using them for quite some time), but they don't break in as easy as some other brands in my experience. I had one pair from L5 (very rarely used though, until L6) to L8, and then I've had a pair from 8 until now. I don't know why the second pair has held up better, except in L7 we used to go to bars multiple times a practice and then I switched a kind of less competitive program the last two years so maybe I did end up doing less swinging overall. Once I switched back to my original gym I had worn the stitching off them real quick, although I think they'll last a little longer (I don't use them that much now).

[Ingymmom]

Quote:
Originally Posted by gymdog Oh yeah, they work fine (I've been using them for quite some time), but they don't break in as easy as some other brands in my experience. I had one pair from L5 (very rarely used though, until L6) to L8, and then I've had a pair from 8 until now. I don't know why the second pair has held up better, except in L7 we used to go to bars multiple times a practice and then I switched a kind of less competitive program the last two years so maybe I did end up doing less swinging overall. Once I switched back to my original gym I had worn the stitching off them real quick, although I think they'll last a little longer (I don't use them that much now).

My dd's took a good month to break in = lots of tap swings

[Shawn]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ingymmom I have never met a single coach from rec to competitive that was OK with this kind of practice at home. Very surprising.

Well, they've never told her not to and they've never told me that she's doing skills wrong or that it's messing up her practice. She's actually always been complimented on her terrific form, especially on bars and beam, both of which she practices at home. What it is doing is making her stronger, making her hands tougher and giving her tons of confidence at practice (when grips aren't involved, that is).

[lakshmi369]

I think absolutely "Yes"! At L4 most girls at clubs in our area do not use grips. In fact my DD is also one that just does not get rips and is working on some last L7 skills (including Giants) and has not had any problems with rips. She will eventually need to go to grips (maybe next Summer) to help her lock on to the bars when doing harder tricks. Confidence is so key in this sport! Good luck to your DD!

[Ingymmom]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn Well, they've never told her not to and they've never told me that she's doing skills wrong or that it's messing up her practice. She's actually always been complimented on her terrific form, especially on bars and beam, both of which she practices at home. What it is doing is making her stronger, making her hands tougher and giving her tons of confidence at practice (when grips aren't involved, that is).

Hey if her coaches are ok with it, then that is their policy , cool or whatever... I have just never heard of coaches being ok with it and it surprises me, because IMO parental intervention can only take a kid so far... you may be in for a bumpy ride the next few years if your dd is still involved in gymnastics.

[maddiekate]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tumblequeensmom If she just started training Level 4, why is she jumping to the high bar anyway? Are they uptraining already?

We started jumping to the high bar in pre-team.

[maddiekate]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ingymmom I have never met a single coach from rec to competitive that was OK with this kind of practice at home. Very surprising.

Our coach encouraged us to practice at home. 3 of the girls on my team have low beams at home that they bought through the gym. Sometimes our coach will give us a certain skill she wanted us to work on at home too.

[Ingymmom]

Quote:
Originally Posted by maddiekate Our coach encouraged us to practice at home. 3 of the girls on my team have low beams at home that they bought through the gym. Sometimes our coach will give us a certain skill she wanted us to work on at home too.

You are absolutely correct, & I agree maddiekate - practicing certain things at home can be very fun and great for a gymnast , but this child is such a young girl, & it is the following that concerns me..

"she's been practicing bars (a lot!) at home (we have a training bar) and has been jumping to catch the bar. We measured and set up her mats to simulate the jump to the high bar (by distance and height of jump but the bar is not actually "high") and she's done great. She's even started teaching herself to do a baby-giant"

this can be lot more dangerous then what many think without proper supervision & in the wrong environment, I am glad to hear that this child's coaches are aware & approve of this type of practice. I personally would not work with my dd on these skills, but I guess I don't have to , our coaches are great, and my dd seems to move along just fine with her assigned gym time

[Shawn]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ingymmom my dd seems to move along just fine with her assigned gym time

Does your daughter have no desire to practice at home? I cannot keep DD from practicing. She does leaps through the mall and pivot turns in line at Walmart. Nobody makes her practice at home. She does it because she loves it. There is never enough gym time. At dinner time or shower time or bed time it's always "can I do just one more [insert skill]? Please!!!"

[Takiah]

When i was level 3-4 we never trained with grips. In fact back then grips were only for elite gymnasts.

Now coming back to gym at 19 years old i found grips a must.

I completely understand how frustrating it is learning to use grips. I thought this might be important to post since the previous posts were just from on lookers and I have actually had this problem my self.

When I first started using grips i kept flinging off the bar and I was getting so angry because I thought my grips were "broken" but I kept at it for a while and now I love my grips.

The problem I was having was just that the grips were not moulded yet, now if your daughter is comfortable training without grips for the time being thats fine but she also needs to be training with grips or come the time that she does NEED to use them and she isnt used to the way the bar feels with them it could cause some strain on her training at a later date.