Beam Hesitation

[Mikkie]

Hello All,
My DD is level 8 and on the beam she has 2 BH's and layout for the dismount. Her coach is telling her she is getting deductions for her hesitation before her 2 BHs which she is connecting and she is getting deductions for her hesitation before her layout. Does anyone know how long your allowed to stand there before deductions are considered? Also, her coach has told her she could easily get 9.7 / 9.8 if she would just speed up.

Thanks,
Concerned Gym Mom

[KBT]

Generally if a gymnast stands there for more than a second or two I'll take a tenth. It's mostly because the hesitation is interrupting the flow of the routine or a gymnast is standing there doing some nervous behavior. Watch the routine - there's an amount of time that looks normal to stand there and prep but any longer I start getting nervous and wondering if a kid's throwing a trick for the first time or if she's worried about falling on her head. This also gives a bad impression and I'm more likely to take more execution deductions. Have your daughter practice starting her mental prep while she's doing the choreography before the move and once her arms go up she counts to one and goes.

[Mikkie]

KBT, Thanks for the information....I had my DD read your response and she ended up with a 9.725 on beam this weekend. Thanks again.

[KBT]

Awesome! Tell your daughter congrats on the 9.725!