Boy, was I ever wrong!!!

[Shawn]

Gymjourneymom- yes the coach ordered grips for the whole team. The other girls are all using theirs but there are several that "don't like" them. However, the other girls are all a couple years older than my DD and, for the most part, bigger than her too. I think if DD were older, she'd be better able to understand how to make the grips "work". But, the grips are really big on her, too. We've ordered smaller ones and when we get them, she'll start working with them, at least a little bit. She knows she's going to need grips sooner or later and she knows that sooner is better. But she's still so young, I'm trying to work within her comfort level.

[gymjourneymom]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn Gymjourneymom- yes the coach ordered grips for the whole team. The other girls are all using theirs but there are several that "don't like" them. However, the other girls are all a couple years older than my DD and, for the most part, bigger than her too. I think if DD were older, she'd be better able to understand how to make the grips "work". But, the grips are really big on her, too. We've ordered smaller ones and when we get them, she'll start working with them, at least a little bit. She knows she's going to need grips sooner or later and she knows that sooner is better. But she's still so young, I'm trying to work within her comfort level.

I think the smaller(narrower)grips will be a better "fit" for your DD. But they will still feel odd to her. "Smaller" isn't a magic answer...they will still be a big adjustment for her. My DD has always been the smallest of her team(13yrs old now often mistaken for 8 or 9yrs. old). Our girls all started out with the smaller/narrower grips(Gibson Just Right). Even those are what my DD "didn't like" back then. They are what she trying to get used to now b/c she knows she 'has to'. She has them broken in by swinging. But she still isn't used to them enough to do any bigger skills in them. That, I think, will take all summer & into the fall at this point. Putting her way behind her teammates once the competition season starts She may not be able to compete level 7 bars in the fall b/c of this whole 'grip transition'Her teammates have grown & many are on their 2nd sets of grips, some have moved on to the wider ones. They are pros at grip wearing! All are getting their level 7 skill much quicker then my DD. My DD is being 'lost in their dust' all b/c of not switching to the dowel grips with the rest of the team All of this pressure & stress is much worse to deal with now...she admits she wishes she would have switch to the dowel grips back at level 5, with "everyone else". I know it's a difficult situation you are in. Have her keep swinging in the narrower grips once she gets them. Don't let her give up & pack them away...my DD REALLY regrets doing that. Best of luck to you & your DD as she progresses in her gymjourney

[gymdog]

In the moment the pressure and stress is a lot to deal with but you have to have faith that it will be okay in the long run and this is just another step in what will be a continuous challenges. Eventually you look back at one particular challenge and it will seem funny by then because you've moved on so far from that one. I had a horrible time with the bar transition from 5 to 6 to 7, but by the end of level 7 and all of level 8 I did better on bars than I ever could have imagined and didn't score below a 9 unless I fell. Now I don't really think about most of level 7, but at the time I know I was devastated when I was scratched from bars and failing almost repeatedly every day at what I thought I could do. There was a point in time somewhere along the line of those rough times where I just made up mind and then there was no going back. I had similar things happen with other skills...probably the biggest other one is when I randomly lost my back tuck on beam the summer after level 8, just wouldn't do it...somehow that became something like the end of the world at the time, but I got it back really in less than a month or whatever and I've rarely thought about it since. Certainly, I've done about a million back tucks on beam since then and then some. Then it was something else, but the giant months and back tuck months were the big ones.

When you try to keep it all in perspective, you have to really realize that by the time you hit optionals the field has been narrowed (this is true also for the lower competitive levels, from "class" levels). The girls who reach that point had something that generally made learning the easier skills, well, easier. But the skills get harder and the learning curve is steeper. Virtually no one is going to pass through optional levels "unscathed" without real trouble from certain skills, and for many or most it will be whole events. There will probably be an entire event where you might find you have to work harder, take more hits, encounter more frustration than others just to stay competitive in the AA, not even to be best at that event. It's okay to have trouble with these skills. It doesn't mean you've hit an insurmountable wall. It gets better. Even though there seems to be a moment where it "clicks", you also have to remember training day to day you are making imperceptible progress that enables the eventual "click." This, I think, is the hard thing for many gymnasts and families to deal with especially during big transitions like early competitive or early optional. If you keep working, it's happening, even when progress seems slow. Even losses or setbacks offer a chance to eventually make a skill and confidence better in the long run. What is the quote, there are no problems, only opportunities? Like that.

[gymjourneymom]

Thanks gymdog for the encouragement So good to hear you "stuck with it" even in the tough times. You should be very proud My DD knows she's in this for "the long haul" & she's really trying hard to get used to the dowels. She knows to take it step by step & not push herself into unsafe situations(my main concern). This is why we are prepared to face the fact, that she may not be ready to compete bars by the fall. I have complete faith in her! She has come through so much already & she always amazes me I'm just hoping her "story" can save someone else from having to go through what she is at this point. That's what I love about CB!!!! You can learn from so many people!!!! In summary....I guess the point I hope people take from my post on this thread...if the rest of the girls on your DD's level are switching dowels grips( I didn't think it was a big deal back then b/c DD didn't "need" them)... have your DD do it too...even if she "doesn't like them"...have her at least swing in them...keep her progressing with her teammates or you & her may regret it later. Hope this advice helps someone out there! Gymnastics is a journey

[ex-gymnast]

Something that no one has mentioned. Different brands of grips fit differently and feel differently on the bar. I prefered a narrower grip that had buckles instead of valco. I encourged my gymnast to buy their own so they had what they wanted. (We have several types in the gym that were broken in. They could hang from the bar in it. Tap swings were okay but nothing more.)

I personally did not care if they wore grips before they started doing gaints.

[LemonLime]

Quote:
Originally Posted by LemonLime Yes, someone with new grips will have trouble when they first get them. That is the point of this thread, right? It is harder to peel with new dowel grips than new palm grips, but it certainly does happen. Adjusting to grips is an awful process, but sticking with it is important because a gymnast is only prolonging the inevitable. However, without question, a gymnast will peel more WITHOUT grips than WITH grips at the optional level of gymnastics.

Here is a good, professional explanation of how dowel grips help with circling skills, etc.

"Dowel grips can provide an advantage on circling skills (like front and back giants, stalders) on bars, especially for gymnasts whose hands are small and do not go all the way around the bar. The dowel provides a kind of clamp on the bar, which makes it easier for gymnasts to hold on to the bar. Dowel grips are designed with a wooden dowel positioned on the grips to help gymnasts have a better hold on the bar during circling skills and catching release moves."

[lannamavity]

Quote:
Originally Posted by LemonLime Here is a good, professional explanation of how dowel grips help with circling skills, etc. "Dowel grips can provide an advantage on circling skills (like front and back giants, stalders) on bars, especially for gymnasts whose hands are small and do not go all the way around the bar. The dowel provides a kind of clamp on the bar, which makes it easier for gymnasts to hold on to the bar. Dowel grips are designed with a wooden dowel positioned on the grips to help gymnasts have a better hold on the bar during circling skills and catching release moves."

Except that the dowels are made of graphite or plastic. I would highly suggest that no one buy grips with a wood dowel in this day and age. That description may have been from a few decades ago...but the rest applies.

[kvgymnast]

hi. i am a level 10 gymnast now and i didn't start wearing grips until my second year of level 8, when i was about 9 or 10 years old. and my hands hurt before that but my hands were so little that i couldn't grip the bar with grips! but eventually my hands grew and grips were necessary for level 9 so i think that your daughter can start using grips when she grows and gets comfortable with them....you don't wanna affect her bars!

[LemonLime]

Quote:
Originally Posted by lannamavity Except that the dowels are made of graphite or plastic. I would highly suggest that no one buy grips with a wood dowel in this day and age. That description may have been from a few decades ago...but the rest applies.

It's recent, but surely you are correct about the materials used in the grips. The description on how dowel grips was the relevant part, however.

Dowel Grips vs. Grips

[gymjourneymom]

Quote:
Originally Posted by kvgymnast hi. i am a level 10 gymnast now and i didn't start wearing grips until my second year of level 8, when i was about 9 or 10 years old. and my hands hurt before that but my hands were so little that i couldn't grip the bar with grips! but eventually my hands grew and grips were necessary for level 9 so i think that your daughter can start using grips when she grows and gets comfortable with them....you don't wanna affect her bars!

kvgymnast, How was your transition when you started wearing grips? Did you lose skills while getting used to them?