WAG Making up for lost time!!

[Fijiwater]

I've got no horses in this race, but I have seen some snarky comments towards another mom with a fast tracked kiddo so maybe there's something to it.

If this child is still vaulting a handspring, so what? Her size would be a great disadvantage to her on vault and I think it's better to compete a handspring and work technique than to chuck a Tsuk or Yurchenko too early.

If this kid can't put it together for l9 next year and has to repeat 8---that's fine too. Even if you think Mom counted her chickens before they hatched---that doesn't hurt us. If the mom's worst fault is to squeeze into conversations her daughter's age and level, that's not so bad. I've never seen the mom be anything but supportive to others, so even if she toots her kid's own horn, I don't care.

The little gymnast is talented----level 8,9, whatever.

Yes, you are spot on and an important coach told DD and coaches not to worry about vault, it will come as she gets bigger, taller, heavier. Also I heard the announcers on TV at the Nastia Liukin Cup say that Chow follows this same line of thinking, that is, not to rush vault.

 

[littlegirlsdream]

Very talented and very fun to watch! It is however very easy to figure out exactly who she is and what gym she belongs to. Maybe that isn't a concern to OP but it does remind us that our posts are public. When we put our (or our kids) videos and other info on a forum we open ourselves up to many opinions.

 

[raenndrops]

I agree %100, if you study this thread closely this is clearly a 2 sided thread some on one side some on the other. It's a jungle out there in the main boards. Looks like the same routine, with level 8 requirements added, probably to get a score.

That is pretty much what I was going to say...
Easy Explanation: When just scoring out of 8 (as this girl did), they don't put their hardest tricks in. She was using the SAME music and choreo as her L7 routine.. just slightly upgraded. Then, she has spent the rest of this time TRAINING... when you don't compete, but train for SKILLS, you tend to get the skills faster (no need to run routines). This would allow her to focus on what she needs for TOPS AND work on L9/L10 progressions.

 

[gymgal]

I admit to being skeptical. GYM0M has not answered any questions regarding her DD's vault and her bars for a reason. But she is sure to tell us all in every post that her DD is a "9 year old level 9," - usually others' posts that don't warrant such a comment. So, GYM0M, while you don't need to "prove" anything to anyone, when you present yourself that way, I think more parents are going to say, "oh, let's see that 9 year old level 9 - she must be awesome!" And yes, she's talented. But, you have to take the good comments with the more critical ones.

As someone mentioned, your DD and her gym are easily identifiable by your posts and those of Dadderob03.

I question not because I don't think you have a talented little girl, but because I am confused as to why there is a rush through levels when her ability is not apparently equal across all events. I know your DD is apparently not planning to compete level 9 anytime soon, as she is concentrating on training, but I don't know a coach anywhere who will let a girl compete a FHS on vault in level 9.

I'm sorry if I appear snarky, but I really am just trying to understand. I get that you trust the coaches 100%, but sometimes it is good to consider points others are making without being led blindly.

Sorry, but not getting why some insist on being so inquisitive and a bit negative about the path this family and their coaches have chosen to take. I really don't get what you are trying to "understand" and why you are confused as to her being rushed through the levels. Are they taking a typical path? no. But they obviously have loftier goals for her. Will it work? maybe, maybe not. I am sure they will have a better idea as time goes on. And it's completely understandable to offer some experiences if the op had asked for advice on levels, training, etc. But she didn't. She posted a video. Leave it at that.

And I would also understand a moderator asking probing questions (though it still doesn't need to be snarky) to squeeze out a possible troll but this is obviously not the case here.

 

[wandrewsjr]

I really find this unbelievable that everytime something like skipping levels, elite dreams, etc comes up, there are a select few who seem to always want to stir the pot. The op just wanted to post a couple videos. She didn't even talk about the above topics. You all brought them in from previous conversations, apparently. Comment on the videos or don't. Your business. but why bring in her training and the path she is taking when it has nothing to do with the posted topic? Obviously her coaches have a plan for her and the parent is comfortable with the plan. Just because it doesn't follow what your gym would do, or even what most gyms would do doesn't make it wrong for her. There are coaches out there who don't feel the need to spend so much time perfecting routines and competing in the JO system and would rather work skills for a high goals. Seriously - level 8 regionals may mean a lot to a girl who may not make it to L10 but for a girl with eyes focused higher, like elite (not saying this about op b/c I don't know), it is just another meet. Especially if you come from a gym who doesn't live and die by the medals and banners. Yes, competition experience is important but it doesn't seem that much problem in these competition videos.

Op - she really is a little spitfire. She seems to have excellent control in her tumbling. Does she do any t&t? Oh, and from being around cb long enough to know the posters, *most* of the people initially asking for the videos were truly interested in seeing such a little one perform the routines, not to critique. but I don't blame you for not wanting to post them now.

Agree, gymgal. I, too, could tell right away which posters were actually interested in seeing more videos of op's talented gymnast and which were just looking for a "gotcha" moment.(they knew the op's daughter didn't flip a vault before they asked her to post a video of her flipping a vault)

Frankly, I'd be much more concerned if I heard of a coach ALLOWING an 8 year old to flip a vault in competition. Glad to see her coach is more concerned with her safety than showing off a vault in it's development stage.

 

[gymdog]

I admit to being skeptical. GYM0M has not answered any questions regarding her DD's vault and her bars for a reason. But she is sure to tell us all in every post that her DD is a "9 year old level 9," - usually others' posts that don't warrant such a comment. So, GYM0M, while you don't need to "prove" anything to anyone, when you present yourself that way, I think more parents are going to say, "oh, let's see that 9 year old level 9 - she must be awesome!" And yes, she's talented. But, you have to take the good comments with the more critical ones.

As someone mentioned, your DD and her gym are easily identifiable by your posts and those of Dadderob03.

I question not because I don't think you have a talented little girl, but because I am confused as to why there is a rush through levels when her ability is not apparently equal across all events. I know your DD is apparently not planning to compete level 9 anytime soon, as she is concentrating on training, but I don't know a coach anywhere who will let a girl compete a FHS on vault in level 9.

I'm sorry if I appear snarky, but I really am just trying to understand. I get that you trust the coaches 100%, but sometimes it is good to consider points others are making without being led blindly.

Hopefully she doesn't mind me commenting, but I have seen her daughter do a fine level 8 bar routine. Level 9 as I mentioned previously, is a lot harder for various reasons. Her level 8 bars is fine. If she made TOPs team A or B then that shouldn't be a big stretch for you to believe because the skills test and physical abilities require cast handstands and other optional basics. But anyway, I've seen the bar routine. It was a fine level 8 set. I won't weigh in on what I think of her coaches or their plans because I don't feel I've seen anything unsafe in her gymnastics now. Vault I would hope they are taking a long time to develop a yurchenko.

 

[roll123]

I kind of laugh because it seems like on here 50% of the time people are saying trust your coaches and the other 50% of the time they are questioning what your coaches are doing.

 

[Dr Maleficent]

I kind of laugh because it seems like on here 50% of the time people are saying trust your coaches and the other 50% of the time they are questioning what your coaches are doing.

It's simple- if they're right, trust 'em and if they're wrong question them. See, easy!

 

[sce]

It's simple- if they're right, trust 'em and if they're wrong question them. See, easy!

 

[gymbeam]

I kind of laugh because it seems like on here 50% of the time people are saying trust your coaches and the other 50% of the time they are questioning what your coaches are doing.

totally this! lol.

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

I don't feel attacked. I really don't. And I don't expect all sunshine and rainbows, nor am I looking for a pat on the back for my DD. I'm not a competitive person, not at all. I could see some backlash if I was sitting over here saying.....meet the next Mary Lou......or......mine's better than yours......but that's simply not the case bc long before gymnastics, I learned a very valuable lesson: There's always someone BETTER!
The point I'm trying to make here is that many people are scared away bc of the constant negativity! We are well on our way to becoming a disgruntled association as opposed to a supportive community! Respectful disagreements and critiques are one thing, but downright rudeness is another. This post does not just pertain to this thread (this thread is actually kinda soft compared to some of the others), but more the trend of posts, in general. I'm not gonna sit in a corner and sulk, or be banished to a social group, or runaway with my tail tucked. I just feel that EVERYONE has something valuable to offer here and we should ALL be more supportive of one another!

Mary Lou Rettin! That's who she reminds me of!

And yeah, I noticed the snark and underhanded comments. Sorry. Maybe I will post a video of my dd from this past weekend. You can be sure that will take the heat from you, lol!

 

[LJL07]

I kind of laugh because it seems like on here 50% of the time people are saying trust your coaches and the other 50% of the time they are questioning what your coaches are doing.

Lol! It's sooo true. And truly different areas/gyms do things so differently. No wonder we question! I joined the boards bc I had concerns about my child's placement. It seemed counter to how other areas did things. I remember describing her skills and being told by a couple of members that I was either lying or that her form must be really terrible. It sure didn't inspire me to post any videos. And shortly thereafter, a woman with a talented 5 or 6 year old posted some videos and then got dogpiled on. She has never posted again. I think it would have been neat to hear how that child progressed. The board is geared towards people with kids in gymnastics and more specifically, mostly kids on a team track, so I would imagine many, many of the children of the parents on the board are very talented. I don't get the hostility/snark either. I've never seen the op as anything but supportive. This should be the perfect place to post her videos. Not everyone is in the social groups or brag alert. I would think new members or people who don't post often enough to be in brag alert or a social group would really enjoy these videos too.

 

[twinmomma]

Here's what I can't understand. Why does anyone CARE what her daughter's trajectory, training path, etc. is? Why bother questioning it if the OP didn't ask for opinions on it? I can understand some of the questions if the OP said, "This is what my DD's coach wants to do and I am not sure I'm on board, what do you all think?" THEN, go ahead, weigh in. But for crying out loud isn't there enough negativity around to not manufacture reasons to be negative?

To the OP, your DD's floor routines are awesome and she's so adorable. Good luck to her in TOPS and whatever else her gymnastics path takes her to.

 

[Clover]

Here's what I can't understand. Why does anyone CARE what her daughter's trajectory, training path, etc. is? Why bother questioning it if the OP didn't ask for opinions on it? I can understand some of the questions if the OP said, "This is what my DD's coach wants to do and I am not sure I'm on board, what do you all think?" THEN, go ahead, weigh in. But for crying out loud isn't there enough negativity around to not manufacture reasons to be negative?

To the OP, your DD's floor routines are awesome and she's so adorable. Good luck to her in TOPS and whatever else her gymnastics path takes her to.

ITA. This little girl is fabulous! Hope her dreams come true.

 

[Faith]

I don't think anyone's been negative, just interested.

We care because we love gymnastics. We are interested in the different paths, different reasons for doing different things. There is no one size fits all, and by asking and finding out what others do we can see if there might be a different or better path for our own.

Gymnast, coach or parent, we can all learn from others journeys. I don't know whether it's best for a gymnast to be put at a higher level matching their best apparatus, and let the others catch up, or put the child at a lower level that fits all their skills, but then they can't compete their advanced skills. But I'm interested to know .

My dd competes 4 events (not gym). One is focussed on, then another. The other two are pretty much ignored until competition day. In her case it's because her coach is concerned about impact stress on growing bones, so won't coach the two events until she's 13 or so. Other coaches coach all 4 alongside each other. I see her not doing so well in comps on those events, but knowing the reasoning behind it means dd and I are happy to compete higher level comps to stretch her, and accept results that perhaps don't reflect her potential....

 

[gracyomalley]

Not sure if this adds a thing, but I, for one, think the videos are a great example of a well trained, polished young L8 /training L9 and "pre-elite" who seems to have great parents and coaches with a plan specifically with her best interests in mind (not those of the team, thus not "making" her compete more).

I am jealous, I admit, that these opportunities are not available in our area (TOPS, etc) - but I also know talent and dedication when I see it - this little girl has both at this point and I hope she stays happy and healthy and enjoying her gymnastics journey, wherever it takes her. My kids do not have this kind of talent, and that's fine too....their gymnastics journeys will not be the same as hers and their paths shouldn't be!

It's interesting to hear what other regions/coaches can do with the really talented kids - and I learn from them (maybe my tiny one wasn't badly coached by not being taught a flipping vault when she was a 3ft 9in tall L7....maybe even though that kept her from L8 at new gym it was a good idea? When I heard coaches saying that a kid vaulting on 1 should never be getting ready to do flipping vaults (she did lots of trainers) I thought it meant that she should've been taught to vault higher - but perhaps she was just too small then... See, even parents of kids who will never be on this path can learn from it!)

I have seen videos of young L9s and L10s doing harder skills than this little girl - and with much less polish, form, strength, etc. When I see those I wonder why the kid was moved so fast. I enjoyed watching the videos both to "cheer her on" and because to my untrained eye she seems to be really solid and well trained - not "chucking" things...of course her higher level skills won't look as polished at this point (I assume for at least some) but if anything I think her routines are a good example to other families wondering what a routine should look like if a kid is considering scoring out....solid, polished with strong fundamentals and ready to learn more! There are lots of parents on here with kids whose coaches are thinking about moving them fast or with parents who wonder whether their kid should be moved faster....the OPs DD is a good example for comparison.

So in all, thank you for sharing and she's a joy to watch!

 

[sevenatenine2]

I thought she reminded me of Kim Zmeskal when she was little.


I youtubed Kim Zmeskal and found video of her very first competition, which was as a ten year old Class 2, which was about the same as a Level 8-9 back then. It looks like the train more, compete less philosophy has been around a while.

 

[Gym proud]

Gosh I'm so sorry this thread turned into this! I loved your comment- "there is always someone better!" You are raising an amazing young athlete on quite a journey! As someone who believes very much in the same philosophy as your coaches it makes me laugh to read responses!
Congratulations to you for being the PARENT of a child on this journey. In some ways I feel that we are in a similar path yet our family is struggling with keeping it together- all while knowing that my child will NEVER be at her level- I commend you for everything you do to make this journey possible for your child!
You are an amazing person!

 

[lovelife]

Thanks for posting the videos! She has really great presentation for her age. I love the stuck landings.

There is not one "right path". Seems that her coaches are doing what they think is the best for her.

It is stressful for these kids to have to work routines and TOPs at the same time. I can see how for some kids state and regionals are a big deal. But some gyms really don't make a big deal out of these meets. It might not be a travel meet for her. So going to the ranch and showing off her skills might be way more exciting.
Bottom line, level 9 season is a year away, she might grow a ton and have a flipping vault. She might not. What matters now is she is happy and safe.

 

[SignHere]

Well, I have told my DD multiple times that the State meet " is just another meet". So, certainly as a mom, I would have no problem with skipping it to train bigger skills for an invite camp.

I personally think the coaches, and girls, place too much importance on that one meet. Also, if your DD is interested in, and has the "mental chops" to go the Elite path, she will likely be doing much fewer competitions.

I hope I get to see her at P&G champs soon ! I am an AVID fan of the juniors!

She has a lot of personality and showmanship on floor - reminds me of Laurie Hernandez.

So, Gym0m, the Haters are gonna hate, but Shake it off. Your little girl clearly loves what she does, and that is what is important!