Repeating Level 4? - Page 3

mariposamama · #21 03-23-2008, 10:09 PM

i don't think our gym has a policy of doing 2 years at every level. i they do have to get a certain AA score to move up. i haven't seen our level 4s practice because they are there the days we aren't, so not sure if they up train or not.

as for 10 year olds being old? i think that it depends on the gym. our old gym liked them young and they have almost all young level 4s. our current gym's level 4 this year has 6 6-8yos, 3 9-10 year olds and 4 11+ (or something like that). our gym seems to be more open to having "older" (that is so sad) gymnasts join team. our old gym i actually heard a rec coach telling a mother that her 8 year old was already getting too old, that they prefer them to be younger when they start. give me a break. i actually wish my DD hadn't discovered gymnastics till later. and i don't plan on letting DD2 start gymnastics (actually going to try to get her to do many other things in hopes she likes something else) until she is at least 4, preferably 5.

momof5 · #22 03-24-2008, 12:11 AM

Every year about a 1/3 of the level 4s repeat. Even though meet season is over in April move ups aren't till the first weeek of July. They spend those 3 months training the level 5 skills and based on that and the performance level of their current skills they decide who is moving up. A couple of reasons that I think that we have so many repeats is that when the girls are chosen for the team they don't have even half of their skills. For example on bars if they have a good glide, pullover, and back hip cirlce they can make the team. So they still have so much to learn before they start competing. some girls start the competion pause without being able to do all their skills. They have very few hours to practice since they only train 6 hrs a week. They also rarely practice any level five skills during the months July to April. So that doesn't give kids a alot of time to learn the next level skills.

Shawn · #23 03-24-2008, 04:53 AM

Is the primary purpose of competing L4 to get competition experience and gain confidence? And if so, do the girls that compete the lower levels have an advantage when they get to L4?

gymnastmom96 · #24 03-24-2008, 07:17 AM

My dd actually competed lvl 4 at 6. The year before at 5, she was ready and they had us buy all the leos and warm ups. We got to the first meet and they checked her in fine. Half way thru the 2nd rotation, the meet director came to us and told us that she was too young. We were embarrassed and mad at the coaches. They simply never asked the age requirements. They said that since she had her kip, they thought it would be fine. They tried to tell us those were new rules. I don't know I ever believed them. We're no longer at that gym.
She didn't repeat 4 but has repeated other levels. Her current coaches believe in building the child's confidence. I see no harm in letting them repeat levels.

medic3188 · #25 03-24-2008, 08:28 AM

oh my gosh I would be so mad. How did your daughter take it? Was she devistated?

Gymmonkeymomma · #26 03-24-2008, 09:08 AM


Quote:
Originally Posted by gymnastmom96 My dd actually competed lvl 4 at 6. The year before at 5, she was ready and they had us buy all the leos and warm ups. We got to the first meet and they checked her in fine. Half way thru the 2nd rotation, the meet director came to us and told us that she was too young. We were embarrassed and mad at the coaches. They simply never asked the age requirements. They said that since she had her kip, they thought it would be fine. They tried to tell us those were new rules. I don't know I ever believed them. We're no longer at that gym.

OMG I can't believe not only did they not know the rules, they didn't bother to look them up, and then lied about it???? Also, the meet director should have checked the birthdates when he/she got the entries. I know in our state, it is very clear in the handbook. My dd did level 4, 6 weeks after she turned 6 but was not allowed to do a level 5 meet when all of her teammates did, because she was not 7 yet.

gymnastmom96 · #27 03-24-2008, 10:50 AM

haha! Was she upset? If you consider stomping your feet and kicking her bag across the floor upset, that would be her! I keep thinking that will show up on Youtube. That was nothing compared to my hubby's reaction. I think I was more embarrassed by him. lol
We stayed partially thru her actual lvl 4 season because of their TOPS program. The last straw was when my hubby picked her up and saw her coach almost break her neck. They were doing straddle presses and the coach went around pushing the girls down to see how strong their arms were. Obviously, my dd's weren't strong enough. She went crashing down straight on her head. Nothing was broken but she hit so hard that it busted the blood vessels in the back of her neck. You can still see some of it on her now. So she was switching gyms mid-season. The new gym competed her 1 meet as a lvl 4, and she ended the season competing lvl 5. I have a video of her competing lvl 5 at 6yo on youtube. She was so tiny~

Now, I'm not a coach but I wonder if so many girls repeat lvl 4 because thet don't compete a kip? My dd's old gym required a kip to compete lvl 4. However, none of the 4's at her current gym have their kips. At our home meet, none of the lvl 4 competitors had kips.

I remember the kip being a tricky skill to acquire. Just a thought.....

Ingymmom · #28 03-24-2008, 10:53 AM


Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn Is the primary purpose of competing L4 to get competition experience and gain confidence? And if so, do the girls that compete the lower levels have an advantage when they get to L4?

It all still depends on the coaching, the gymmie, the club preference etc. etc. - L4 is not necessarily repeated the most... getting the kip is difficult for some, easy for others but this & the jump to the high bar can be a big hang up for some of the younger gymmies so they end up repeating L4, or maybe it is for confidence, or maybe they could not get a solid cartwheel or handstand on beam.... the vault could be another reason - it all just depends, there is a big difference from L4 to L5. competing L3 and being successful is absolutely no indicator as to whether a gymmie will be successful at L4, 5 or beyond.... there are MANY hang-ups in gymnastics. Mostly mental that happen along the way. It is difficult to generalize because there are so many different scenarios. Just when a gymmie is jumping for joy they got their much sought after skill, it could be gone in an instant. And the frustration begins again.

Having a good coach really is the most important factor of success in the sport - just my opinion. Our gymmies don't compete until L5 and have all been very successful because we have fantastic coaches that know what they are doing. L4 was originally added simply to start making $ for the competitive programs in the beginning, but now it has become quite competitive, almost every gym in our area starts competing @ L4...

ultimately, there really is no definitive answer to your ? - wish I could help out more

. Just keep your gymmie safe and happy (or as I like to say keep it real LOL) , and make sure she continues for herself and one way or the other things will work out.

Megley · #29 03-24-2008, 12:16 PM

We usually have at least some girls repeat Level 4, but it because they haven't been able to get their level 5 skills in time for competition season. We don't have a certain score that the girls have to get in order to move on. I think it is pretty common to repeat at Level 7 and Level 9. They have to get giants to move to Level 8, as well as moving out of the fhs vault into a flipping vault and that hangs a lot of girls up. I know that going from Level 9 to 10 is difficult too and many girls repeat Level 9. At the compulsory levels, I think the younger they are the more likely they are to repeat. At this juncture I think that my 6 yo (she must be about the same age as your dd Shawn) is hoping and planning to move to Level 5. However, she doesn't have all her Level 5 skills yet so it will depend on how well she does picking them up. I would not be opposed to her repeating Level 4 or Level 5 for that matter, especially since our gym generally skips 6, but I know she wants to move on with her teammates.

To the mom who mentioned the kip at Level 4, they used to do a kip at Level 4 not that long ago. It probably was required when your dd was a Level 4, but they took it out the last time the routines changed. I have talked to several parents of Level 7s at our gym who distinctly remember their dd's struggling with the kip at Level 4.

Meg

beam girl · #30 03-24-2008, 12:34 PM

I think it really depends on your child and her maturity level and how driven she is to do the work necessary at the next level. My dd has had to repeat level 4 this year and has been completely miserable, feeling like a failure. The fact that other girls from her team have also repeated the year does not make any difference to her. She is totally self-motivated and hasn't achieved her own personal goals. If your dd needs to place at each meet to feel o.k. with herself, then she might do better to repeat and have a successful year the second time around. There are girls doing optionals at my dd's gym who never place at any meet and haven't placed at any level, but they just keep moving on. But it's not good to hold them back just to get higher scores the next year either. It really has to be based on the individual gymnast and what she wants to achieve. And, of course she has to know that you think she is the greatest thing alive, with or without gymnastics!