Parents adjusting to new gym? new fears? both?

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

gymbeam

Proud Parent
my daughter (age 9, xcel silver) switched gyms about a month ago and i feel like she's gone backward in some skills. she is being very timid on beam with her handstands & cartwheels, her vault is looking wonky and she just won't give her all to master a BHS so while she does them beautifully with barely an eensy touch of a spot- as soon as she has to do them alone, she buckles.

i'll be honest and say that none of this bothers her! i'm the one having a hard time accepting this regression and lack of advancement this summer! i'd hoped summer would bring some positive movement forward and i must also confess that i am wanting these new coaches to see her best and and they haven't been seeing that so far. (don't worry, i'm not expressing any of this to my daughter.)

so, i'm wondering if its typical to have this kind of adjustment period to new equipment, set ups, coaches, etc. she is very happy at this new gym and has no regrets about the switch, thank goodness. this new gym is much bigger, much more competitive and does a TON more conditioning & strengthening- so much so that my daughter leaves practice tired and is sometimes sore the next day. even so, she loves knowing she is now in a more "serious" gym.

anyway, anyone been in the same shoes? i would love to hear how it worked out. do you think coaches expect that new girls are going to have this kind of adjustment phase? is a month too long for it?

thanks!
 
DD lost about a month or so of progression with her recent move, maybe more, maybe less - and she was actually moving to a gym with a coach who had previously coached her old L5-6...still lots of adjustment to equipment, new drills, different conditioning, coaching styles, and the social aspect have all played a big role for her. Of her friends who made the same move, some 2 years ago, some this summer also, most seemed to "slow up" a bit but then progress nicely 6-12 months later. Lastly, in past girls have moved to either this gym or DD old gym from a couple in the region with lower standards and those girls have really backed up and had to re-learn much - I know 2 girls who had competed L7, then didn't compete for a year, just retrained everything, then repeated L7 - so seem to have lost 2 years...HOWEVER, both are training L9 successfully now....

It may be that they are having her learn things slightly differently and that has thrown her off...if she's happy and working hard it will fall into place but may take longer than a parent is comfortable with!
 
My answer is somewhat similar to graceyomalley's. when dd switched gyms several years ago, after her assessment we were told that she had learned her walkovers on the wrong foot and she had to relearn everything! We recently made another move and she had to readjust several things, nothing as drastic as the first time, but still had to go back a bit with skills and adjust some things to these coaches' styles.

I wouldn't fret, especially since it sounds like she is happy.

:)
 
thanks for the replies. it does help me a lot to hear that it happens. i mean, logically, it makes sense. but, it was such a hard decision to make the move and it makes me second guess a little bit. a VERY little bit, though! lol.
 
Have moved one of my gymnasts, 10 yrs old at the time. It honestly took about 6 months to adjust - new gym, new routine, increased hours, different conditioning and flexibility exercises. Plus the social aspect of missing old friends, making new ones. Each gym has its own expectations, customs and culture and it took a while to adjust to that. Skills stalled for a while, but then were quickly caught up. Hang in there, if she is happy that is the main thing.
 
Just moved my daughter from a USAIGC gym to a USAG gym at level 4 and I have been feeling the same. It seems like she just doesn't look like herself since the move. She hasn't been as clean and tight, she hasn't really learned or improved anything yet and it's been a month. I know it's overwhelming for her since she not only has to learn a lot of the harder skills there are some basics they never worked on at the old gym that she has to learn. Plus learning a routine that is a lot more detailed then what she did last year. I'm giving it time and trying not to stress but honestly I'm getting worried. I also feel her new coaches haven't seen her best yet. I'm not sure if it's normal but I can say your daughter isn't the only one experiencing this.
 
It is so awkward changing gyms! We made a change (mid-season at that!) in Feb. K is STILL working out some fears. Her BHS was learned with really bad form so we are just now seeing the fruit of the corrections they are making, her vault is pretty good, but oh my word her beam. Her last meet at the old gym had a very traumatic beam experience and she has still not recovered. Things are looking better, but she has developed an intense fear of the handstand on the beam. Very strange to me since her dismount looks beautiful, but that darn handstand. If she gets vertical more than once per practice it is a miracle. She knows the fear is there and is working very hard to get past it and I know eventually she will. Changing gyms is hard. There is always some technique difference, different requirements on routine elements, getting to know new coaches and team mates and then on top of that the summer training can get intense as girls are working hard to move up. It really has taken all this time for my DD to feel at home in this gym and I honestly think that when another girl was added to the team and she quit being the new girl, was really when I saw her starting to improve.
 
ahhh, yes. another new girl would be soooo helpful! my daughter is uber reserved so that becomes a challenge because its hard for her to make friends with a group of people. she does much better when given one-on-one time to open up.

anyway, thanks for the additional replies. glad to see its probably something coaches expect to happen at least to some degree.
 
DD just moved to a new gym. She really likes the coaches and the girls, but, I suspect she's in for an adjustment... She almost fell asleep in the car last week. The conditioning is crazy!

Also, she has to work on her form some. The coach wanted her to do drills last week, and she told me she told the coach, "but I can already do that skill, I don't need to drills for it." The coach just said, " Just humor me and do the drill, okay?"
 
  • Like
Reactions: COz
I gotta be honest, this thread made me nervous as dd was getting ready for her gym switch when it was posted. She competed xcel bronze last year. The very first day at her new gym she went onto the floor and did her robhs with no mat and no spot, for the first time after having a fear issue the few weeks since learning it at her old gym. I asked her what made her go for it, and she said they didn't know her well and she refused to be thought of as a chicken. Go figure. Since she has been learning a few harder skills on bars, like baby giants and such and generally is very happy. She has had trouble landing her beam dismount (front tuck) for the first time all summer, though. I think I am gonna stop trying to figure her (or the sport) out altogether and just enjoy the ride. Lol.

Eta: the social aspect has been the hardest for her. The group is never complete- people are absent a lot- and nearly everyone is 15+ to her newly 13 year old self. She also said they joke and mess around a LOT more than she is used to. The coach seems to appreciate her serious nature, and she said the girls are nice and she isn't there for conversation anyway, but I am curious how the friendships may play out. Her best friends in the world were at her old gym. They were really like a family.
 

New Posts

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Gymnaverse :: Recent Activity

College Gym News

New Posts

Back