Switching gyms

Panda-girl's Mom · #1 03-14-2008, 09:13 PM

My daughter will compete her last meet tommorrow and do all around. This will be her second meet doing this. Eventhough the girls are finally doing all events, they are still very unhappy. They often cry before during and after gym. The coach is very impatient and not postive with them. I think her techniques are poor and she misses little details that could get them higher scores they only get high 7 low 8. I get a negative feeling when I take my daughter to gym. A couple months ago she wanted to quit but she really loves gymnastics. I took her to a trial class at a gym I heard really postive things about. She loved it I loved it. The class they would put her in for now would be invitational only 1 hour a week until she was ready for team. Their team starts at level 5. They also train up levels the level 5 are learning 6 and 7 skills. Her gym did not teach them level 4 skill until they were already on the team competing which is why the girls were so stressed and upset at not competeing in all the events. Anyway my gut feeling tells me to switch I am nervous that my daughter will lose her skills she currently trains 10hrs week. My daughter wants to switch and does not care if she is on the team yet( she just turned 8 ). If she stays at the current gym she will probally compete level5 in the fall but I am afraid she will be unhappy have a bad summer and quit gymnastics at her current gym. Any thoughts? Has anybody gone through this?

mariposamama · #2 03-14-2008, 09:33 PM

Sorry to hear you guys are in such a difficult and frustrating situation at your current gym. I can't imagine it being any fun to be in that position.

I think in the long run, being where she is happy is more important than competing. She will eventually work her way up to team at the new gym and hopefully it won't be too long. Maybe she could go to open gym to get a little more gym time each week and work on her skills? Its too bad they don't have a pre-team class that practices more each week.

I think that you are right about her possibly ending up wanting to quit something she loves because she is unhappy. Is she okay with the new gym's suggestion?

Aussie_coach · #3 03-14-2008, 09:37 PM

The best place for your child is the one where she will be happiest. Many coaches seem to forget that their competitive gymnasts are there mainly because they love the sport, it is a hobby and need to enjoy it. They will get the best results from their gymnasts when they are enjoying their gym. If your daughter is crying before, during and after training and feeling like a failure then she needs to be in a different environment.

It is also essential that she is being taught properly, poor training will not just mean that the girls get low scores at competitions. It can also mean they are learning to do skills when they are not ready and can seriously injure themselves aswell as stop themselves from being able to progress properly.

The idea of going from 10 hours a week to 1 hour a week is a bit of a concern though. It is quite likely her strength and flexibility levels will drop significantly and that she will lose skills and with the hope of progressing to level 5 she may go backwards instead of forwards. Not only that, the sort of kids who love gym and the very active ones who need to be busy and flipping about. She is likely to go a little crazy doing only an hour a week and feel like she has no outlet for her pent up energy.

Why not have a chat to the new gym owner and explain how much your daughter used to train and if there are any possibilities to increase her training while she is preparing for the team. Could she take a few recreational classes at a level 4/5 advanced level, are privates an option, even other sorts of classes that aim towards developing the skills she needs for WAG such as tumbling, dance, strength and strech.

gymmomntc2e6 · #4 03-15-2008, 07:00 AM

I agree w/ everything Aussie_Coach said above.

It really seems that switching gyms is the right choice, but I would also say talk to the owner / coach of new gym and explain. I think my dd would drive us crazy if she went back to 1 hour per week - she does 6 - 7.5 now and is still bouncing around the house (upside down of course - LOL )

I would also just like to thank all of the coaches for all the great input they give us parents. Sometimes we may not understand what is going through the coaches mind, and sometimes it is hard to ask - don't want them to feel like we think we do not know what they are doing or that they are not right - we just don't know what they know. It is appreciated. You have a hard job.

gym law mom · #5 03-15-2008, 08:32 AM

We went through the whole negative gym experience and when my gymmie did start crying after practices, I knew it was time to leave. She still has buried some of the nasty things said to her by her previous coach and as she feels more comfortable in her present gym and with those coaches she is talking about it a little more.

I agree with Aussie Coach about only 1 hour/week of practice? Is that 1 hour plus another class? There is no way any kid will get ready for team with very little practice and your dd especially needs time to get skills down solidly and correctly. He also has a very valid point about conditioning/strength etc. all being lost. Are there any other gyms to look at?

If the choice is between staying where you are or moving to the other gym, then I agree about talking with the head coach or owner about more time for your dd. She(and you) will feel so much better in a positive enviornment where they take time to refine skills, uptrain and encourage her. In the long run, it is probably best to take the year off from team and learn things correctly then jump in as a L5.

gymnastmom96 · #6 03-16-2008, 03:59 PM

Oh my heart goes out to you. I once posted what happened to my dd. It was a horrible time in our lives. We shed a lot of tears during those days. She suffered an athletes worst injury, a broken spirit. Its a slow and painful injury and often, they never recover. We did what we thought was best and pulled her from gymnastics all together. She was out of the the gym for almost 2 years before we found a new gym. She is a different child, a different gymnast now.
Don't worry about the skills, she may relearn them stronger and better then before. Gymnastic is supposed to build confidence not crush it.
Keep us posted.

Gymnasticsgirl521 · #7 03-16-2008, 05:50 PM

I am sorry you are going through all this. My heart is breaking for you. I say the right thing to do is put her spirit and wellbeing first and make the change. I am sure you can get some privates or extra open gym time to help her along the road. I do hope things get better.

Panda-girl's Mom · #8 03-19-2008, 09:10 PM

An Update
My daughter competed her last meet a few days ago her team mates and her did alright but their team placed last. I was surprised at how low their scores were on beam and bars. I am not surprised at bars since they all had difficulty with getting these skills but the beam scores have gotten progressively lower with the past few meets. The floor scores have improved slightly but some of them thankfully not my daughter are still landing on their heads during their backhandsprings. The vault scores have stayed in the low to mid 8's and have not improved since the first meet. This along with my daughter stating she is sure she wants to go to the new gym has pretty much convinced me that we should change. I am going to let her finish out the month but I signed her up at the new gym. She is alright with this and does not mind finishing up since they are learning new skills at her old gym. I plan on talking with the owner of the new gym about her taking extra classes or privates. My daughter states she is totally fine with not being on the team at first. I hope everything will work out, thanks to everybody for their input.