Has anyone had this happen?

Carmansunshine · 07-17-2007, 08:46 PM

Hi all,

I am a mom of 2 gymnasts. My oldest dd is 9 and is trying to earn her way on to the level 4 team at a new gym. She was on Pre team at her old gym and was supposed to move up to level 4 Jan 1,2007. The coach was horrible to her and embarressed her in front of the entire team several times and she wouldn't go back. (Not that I blame her!!) She took off for 6 months. I had pulled my other dd out of that gym too, and found another gym. My youngest dd is 5 and didn't take any time off, so now she is flying through skills.

My question is has anyone had a younger gymnast catch up to their older sybling? We are geting close to this point and I have no idea what to say to my older dd? She is working so hard but the way she was taught before left her with so many bad habits its taking her a long time to fix them all. I understand it is a process and really she is doing great and is making steady progress weekly.(yeah!) But the little one is being taught the correct form from the begining and is getting new skills by the day. I'm excited for her and at the same time I feel sad for my oldest dd. ( She is starting to notice how quickly my youngest is getting new stuff, and has started to internalize her feelings about it.) HELP!!!!!

Monkeygirlsmom · 07-17-2007, 08:52 PM

yes my 5 yr old is right behind or in the same classes as my 7 yr old!! the thing with them is they are soo close in age so it helps us!! (2 months shy of being 2 yrs apart) but I have noticed that my 7 yr old is noticing the diff!!

tho I have no ideas what to tell you other than I can kind of relate!!

Ingymmom · 07-17-2007, 09:05 PM

yep, I have definately seen this a couple of times as well.... my dd's bf (5) joined intermediate rec gym - in the same class as her big sis (9) - this year and promptly learned her bhs on the tramp while the sis had been working it for years, and you could tell the difference in their skills even before then too... also there are sisters in our class a 6 yr old & a 9 yr old exactly the same way... my dd's head coach says that there is no age in gymnastics LOL, and then he goes on to tell me how when he was six yrs old he trained xx hours, etc, etc.. it goes on a little longer then that, almost sounding like he had to walk uphill in the snow barefoot, sorry had to add that part...

xstitchcarina · 07-17-2007, 11:58 PM

I can imagine a bit how your oldest dd feels, I mean not for me personally. But I only have 1 daughter, but because she joined the selection team later than some 2 younger girls and 1 of the same year, she misses basics and wishes she could do the handsprings properly and a few other things. But I just tell her, you just concentrate at what you can do and take the time/chance to learn what the trainer is teaching and you will learn it too.

It doesn't really matter, tell her that as long as she loves what she is doing and that she knows she is doing well, it is good.

Megley · 07-18-2007, 08:58 AM

We have this same situation with a couple of families at our gym. I know that it is frustrating and discouraging for the older child in this situation and, in fact, both families at our gym are dealing with the older child wanting to quit all together. In one family, the 8 yo daughter cannot get her cartwheel on beam while the younger 5 yo can do them all day long. In both families, the younger daughter clearly is more talented. I wish I had words of advice on how to deal with this. I think you just have to support both of them and be excited for both of them equally.

Meg

purpleterah · 07-18-2007, 06:45 PM

I coach often and i see this quite often. The lil girls learn the skills quickly but generally dont always have the maturity one gets with a little age. Also there are 4 events in gymnastics. There must be an event your oldest daughter is stronger at? focus on that. I always find the sister's have different complimentray traits. We have two girls on team right now we call them beauty and the tank. One is petite elegant long lines and the other is built like a hummer strong and powerful. One is strong on beam and bars and her sister is vault and floor. We encourage each sister's strength so they come away feeling good about the things they do well. It is not about competing against each other but themselves. Long after there is no gym they will always be sisters. Also when my DD had gym problems I let her read the things we gym parents had to say and they made her feel alot better. Just the thought she is not alone is always comforting

**audra** · 07-18-2007, 06:58 PM

This is very common in gymnastics, and in most families with siblings. pt said it best make sure you focus on what the older child can do best, and also begin to explain that you have already learned this skills and now you are fixing them, once they are fixed you will learn lots of new skills. There are going to be times when your younger one seems to be catching up, and then something will click with your older daughter and she will advance and learn new things again. It is an ongoing cycle in gymnastics. Keep being supportive of both of them and encourage them to be happy for each other, if they support each other they are more likely to stick with it. Do not let them think they are competing with each other!

Carmansunshine · 07-18-2007, 09:14 PM


Quote:
Originally Posted by purpleterah I coach often and i see this quite often. The lil girls learn the skills quickly but generally dont always have the maturity one gets with a little age. Also there are 4 events in gymnastics. There must be an event your oldest daughter is stronger at? focus on that. I always find the sister's have different complimentray traits. We have two girls on team right now we call them beauty and the tank. One is petite elegant long lines and the other is built like a hummer strong and powerful. One is strong on beam and bars and her sister is vault and floor. We encourage each sister's strength so they come away feeling good about the things they do well. It is not about competing against each other but themselves. Long after there is no gym they will always be sisters. Also when my DD had gym problems I let her read the things we gym parents had to say and they made her feel alot better. Just the thought she is not alone is always comforting

That is very true of my dds one is long and lean and one does have great strength. The younger one is long and lean, and the older is very strong. The problem is the it seems in the lower levels the power my older dd has is not quite appreciated yet while all the events tend to favor the long lean graceful children.

That said, my youngest isn't flaunting her sucess, it's that the older one is noticing it (and of course she is my emotional rollercoaster anyway). She is starting the whole I stink at beam and bars thing. I keep trying t pump her up, but it feels like pushing.

I will definataly let her know what you all said about how often this happens, maybe it will help. It's not like the level 3 class she is in is 5 & 6 yr olds they are mostly 8 & 9. I could use that too.