skipping level 6?

[hammy]

I think you're right to question this, and when in doubt talk to the coach about how you're feeling and what not. Also, talk to your daughter about it. As others have said, there is no real big difference between 6 and 7, so generally what I would recommend is doing compete 6 but train 7 skills then skip over level 7 and compete level 8. If the bar skills and backhandspring aren't there then I wouldn't skip level 6. The compulsory levels are meant to train and prepare them for optionals, and they can be skipped as necessary if the gymnast i able to successfully and correctly do the skills.

Long story short, talk to the coach and your daughter--she's only 8 and it sounds like she's doing great. Maybe she can compete 6, train 7 and 8 skills then skip right to level 8.

[CoachL]

Quote:
Originally Posted by gymdog I'm always surprised when I hear on message boards about how many gyms skip L6 or think L6 to 7 is no big deal. None of the gyms around me skip 6 as a rule (i.e. they only do it with exceptional gymnasts) and I perceive L7 to be very competitive, perhaps one of the most competitive levels here. Many girls have very polished routines particularly on bars and it's difficult to compete at states unless you have a free hip handstand and good giants. This was true even when I was a L7. My gym did not really (and still doesn't) "allow" L7s to compete two free hips below HS so the extra year in compulsories is usually used to work on getting a cast HS and a free hip HS, both of which can be incorporated in the L6 bar routine, and beginning giants. I can think of one girl who skipped 6 and had a really difficult time. She was frustrated with the success gap between her L5 performance and her L7 performance. In the long run this did not help her. Elite is one story but most of the girls I know doing NCAA gymnastics (even with scholarships) in fact did both L5 and 6. It's not necessary to skip L6 if NCAA is the goal.

It really depends on how you train your gymnasts to be honest. We always have a our kids do one level 6 meet to get the qualifying score then they bump immediatley to 7. My girls as levels 4's are in the straps learning giants, casting to hs everyday as warm-up, low bar straps working free hips etc. I strongly believe in training up on every event at least 2 levels, even if its the basic drills. It is a requirement for our 7's to be able to free hip to handstand, giants through to layout, and have a BHS on high beam.

I guess it really comes down to what the goal for your program is, we try to get the kids out of compulsory and into optionals as fast as possible. And we gear that from our level 1 rec kids all the way to our elites.

[gymdog]

Quote:
Originally Posted by CoachL It really depends on how you train your gymnasts to be honest. We always have a our kids do one level 6 meet to get the qualifying score then they bump immediatley to 7. My girls as levels 4's are in the straps learning giants, casting to hs everyday as warm-up, low bar straps working free hips etc. I strongly believe in training up on every event at least 2 levels, even if its the basic drills. It is a requirement for our 7's to be able to free hip to handstand, giants through to layout, and have a BHS on high beam.

That's true, but I feel like a lot of gyms aren't doing that. For example I would consider level 4s doing cast to HSs as a daily warm up to be performing pretty exceptionally at that level. But that doesn't seem to be the case to me when people are saying they skip L6 because "L7 is basically the same thing." I don't think L7 is the same thing. Maybe I am wildly misinterpreting it. To me, a (competitive) L7 bar routine is kip cast hand, good free hip well above horizontal, and giants (possibly connected to the free hip). That is, to me, not really the same thing at all as the L6 bar routine. So I don't really understand the school of thought that skipping 6 is no big deal because L7 only has one more requirement. If you do the bare minimum, and I would probably move a "bare minimum" older girl up maybe, but in general I wouldn't want to be setting a kid up for failure in an extremely competitive level doing two horizontal free hips when they are under 10 years old and L6 is not extremely easy for them.

I am not saying this is the case with the OP's child as there is no way I could possibly evaluate that, I am just confused by some statements that if you want to do L10, NCAA, you should skip compulsories. It can work many different ways and different programs go through different ways of getting there, but in general I just feel like the level program is not so wildly off track as to require skipping some of it in order to progress to the end of it as a general rule.

[lannamavity]

Quote:
Originally Posted by gymdog That's true, but I feel like a lot of gyms aren't doing that. For example I would consider level 4s doing cast to HSs as a daily warm up to be performing pretty exceptionally at that level. But that doesn't seem to be the case to me when people are saying they skip L6 because "L7 is basically the same thing." I don't think L7 is the same thing. Maybe I am wildly misinterpreting it. To me, a (competitive) L7 bar routine is kip cast hand, good free hip well above horizontal, and giants (possibly connected to the free hip). That is, to me, not really the same thing at all as the L6 bar routine. So I don't really understand the school of thought that skipping 6 is no big deal because L7 only has one more requirement. If you do the bare minimum, and I would probably move a "bare minimum" older girl up maybe, but in general I wouldn't want to be setting a kid up for failure in an extremely competitive level doing two horizontal free hips when they are under 10 years old and L6 is not extremely easy for them. I am not saying this is the case with the OP's child as there is no way I could possibly evaluate that, I am just confused by some statements that if you want to do L10, NCAA, you should skip compulsories. It can work many different ways and different programs go through different ways of getting there, but in general I just feel like the level program is not so wildly off track as to require skipping some of it in order to progress to the end of it as a general rule.

I'm right there with you. If a coach is so great, and and an athlete is so great, why would they have to "skip" things? Why not "do" things and train up as well? There are gyms who can do both compulsory and optional training through L6 and 7, and more and more, I think they have the right idea in the long run.