my dd's video

[littlegymchampsmom]

hopefully this link works... here are a couple of videos of my dd, they are a few months old (dec and jan) I am hoping to get some more footage soon and update - now that I am more video savvy . Sorry about the quality of the montage, it ran much nicer on my windows movie player, here goes....

http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=984589&t=222


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYe-MyeLkVo

Your daughter appears to work very hard, but it is obvious she is going to have alot of problems as she ages.

The coaches should try teaching her the basics before teaching her to throw herself around, for example- they should teach her to do a handstand in a decent shape, before teaching her to push up a bent armed, scruffy legged, bendy backed straddle press to handstand.

She is using incorrect technique and performing things in a way which will damage her joints and hinder her future career in gymnastics

For example - she has her arms far too wide in her floor and bar skills, this builds up muscle in the wrong place and encourages incorrect technique and will lead to increased risk of injury. She is also tumbling with her hands turned out - the male way of doing it - which leads to hyper extension and puts extreme pressure on the elbow joints

She is throwing backflips with her knees rolling in and on a hard surface - this is extremely hard on the growing joints of a fove year old girl and could cause many problems

Your daughter must focus on perfecting the basics if she wants to go anywhere in gymnastics, without basics, advanced skills wont work with the correct technique.

P.S im not trying to sound harsh or anything! Im simply telling you what will more than likely happen if these problem areas aren't adressed

All the best.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

She's adorable!

And is she really just 5? Her skills and her technique are extremely impressive, especially considering her age.

Lasswade, I think you are grossly exaggerating her lapses in technique. She has, for the most part, beautiful form and technique. Her handstands are indeed a bit archy, but that's a common problem and I expect it will be fixed in time, and I think it's a safe assumption that the coaches are and will continue to strive to correct her technique. Judging from this video, they've done a pretty good job of it so far.

[medic3188]

I think she looks great also. She is only 5 and is doing amazing. I do not think this video was meant for people to critique her technique, that is what her parents are paying her coaches to do.

[hammy]

As a coach and gymnast I agree with Geoffrey and Lasswadecoach. Although technique is learned over time it is important to stress proper technique from the very beginning. Lasswadecoach is correct when it comes to the technique that your daughter is using. I don't mean to sound harsh, I just don't want to see her get hurt and I want her to be as successful as possible!

I tell my girls that I'd rather see them do it correctly and fall or not complete the skill than do it improperly, slopply, etc and make it. As long as they try to use the proper technique. When I started working with the group of level 4s that I work with now, they had been moved up too quickly and they were not ready for competitive level 4. They could not do handstands without arching, or straight arm handstand forward rolls; they didn't even walk down the beam with straight legs.

It is VITAL to perfect the basics before moving on to harder skills. The harder the gymnast works at perfect technique on the basics the eaiser the harder skills will come.

Personally, and I don't mean to sound harsh, but I think that if your daughter wants to compete soon, do well, and go far in gymnastics, that the coaches, and everyone involved in her gymnastics need to focus on correcting the improper technique and form. In order for more difficult skills to be done correctly and without injury the basics must first be perfected--even if the gymnast is 5.

With my girls I stress that they are not too young to be good gymnasts, all they have to do is learn how to focus and think about what they are doing.

It seems that your daughter is working hard and that she has a lot of potential! I suggest working on form and technique at home and maybe mentioning something to coach...as to why your daugther may still have bent arms and legs on her backhandsprings when she's been doing them for a while (something to that extent).

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I think both of you are exxagerating the extent of her lapses in technique. If my gym was full of kids who looked like this when they were 5, I'd be thrilled.

The only potentially major issues I see here are wide arms in her backhandsprings and an arch in her handstands. Both of these are typical with younger kids, and kids who haven't been doing the sport for very long. Both are things that any decent coach will do their best to correct, and I'd be willing to bet her coaches are already doing their best to do so.

I wouldn't be particularly worried about it. I, for one, am very impressed that somebody her age could reach the level she seems to be at.

I would be very happy too, but its the fact that this young girl is throwing a backhandspring, when she cannot do a handstand!!!!

It annoys me that the coaches have taken her onto harder skills rather than perfecting the basic, most important moves.

I do not think i am exagerating the problem areas, if they are not fixed at a young age, the growth plates will set and the gymnast will not be able to change her problems, they will develop and worsen.

[littlegymchampsmom]

geeez, lol, i did not read all of the comments yet , but breezed through a little, I actually agree with a few of the statements. The arch bothered me at first as well but she has really learned the proper muscles to use and has corrected it with time... these video clips I pulled from 5 months ago and she had only been with her current coaches from about 3 weeks to 6 weeks, a great deal has changed since then...

and as far as the back handsprings she would have done them at home if she did not have a gym to go to, trust me she is much safer being in the gym... the montage I really did just make for family and friends... I knew some would be harsh, but decided to share with all, not for criticism, just to share....

[hammy]

How do her skills look now? I'm sure they have improved quite a bit since then...that's the nice thing about be younger--they try things a little more than older girls do. If her skills were not looking any better, then i would be worried, but it sounds like they are!

Geoffrey--at both my home gym and the gym i currently coach at we do not just push gymnasts through the system--if they are training to be on the team (which is the thinking that we train everyone with) then we expect things to be done correctly before moving on. We also have a lot of 5 year olds that can do skills correctly. I think all students can do the skills correctly if they are encouraged to. Why encourage/accept gymnasts to have incorrect form when you can encourage them to be the best they can be.

Just some food for thought that I was told once by a sports person: It takes roughly 400 correct turns to reverse one incorrect turn.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by hammy Geoffrey--at both my home gym and the gym i currently coach at we do not just push gymnasts through the system--if they are training to be on the team (which is the thinking that we train everyone with) then we expect things to be done correctly before moving on. We also have a lot of 5 year olds that can do skills correctly. I think all students can do the skills correctly if they are encouraged to. Why encourage/accept gymnasts to have incorrect form when you can encourage them to be the best they can be.

Don't misunderstand me: I don't mean to say that it is a good idea to "push kids through the system;" I'm merely saying that you two make it sound like this is a girl who is absolutely going to have to fix these problems right now or she'll destroy her joints and she will probably never be any good, when in fact these are completely typical problems, and this is a kid who seems to be doing far better than most at her age.