practice is fun...no, really!

[dazed]

okay, so I mentioned earlier that my 7 yo has moved up a level. Her coach told me today though that she still needs to work on her pull-ups and getting her hips to stay straight when she's doing the splits. I mentioned this to my daughter and she looked less than overjoyed. How can I get the out-of-class practice in that she needs and have it be fun, not work? Any suggestions? She still says she likes gymnastics and wants to succeed, but I'm afraid of pushing her to the point of dropping.

[ZJsMom]

Did the coach tell her to work on these things at home?

If so, I'd use some kind of checklist she can do to track her progress. Maybe she could give herself a star when she completes the assigned workout.

If the coaches havn't told her she needs to do extra conditioning at home, then I'd just leave for them to deal with in the gym.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I've always been a big proponent of the theory that the parent and the coach are two separate roles and should not be mixed. Unless the coach has specifically said she should work on it at home, leave it for the coach to handle at practice.

[dazed]

The coach did ask if we could work on these skills at home. There were a few other skills she needs practice on but she said those were best left at the gym. She suggested the monkey bars at the playground for the pullups, but I have no idea what I'm looking at for the splits. I'll ask her about that, but I just wanted to know how to make it fun. Otherwise, yes, I'd love to leave it all up to her coach!

[littlegymchampsmom]

dazed my dd does the same w/her bad split - cuz it HURTS lol .... she leans to get comfortable. For the pull up I think monkey bars would be fun... let her start with doing only one/trying 2 competely on her own... and maybe add per week. That would take only a small amount of time and after she can do a few I bet she will be more excited to beat her score... good luck

[gym law mom]

Dazed--you can also put a chin up bar in the house if it won't destroy a wall. That way she has somewhere to work on the pull ups when the weather is bad or you just can't get to the playground. If you do that make sure an adult is watching her and tell her this bar is not for swinging!

I would ask the coach to show you exactly what she needs to be doing in the splits and how you can help her hands on. That way you're not guessing and the help you give her at home is the same way its done in the gym.

As far as making it fun, well there have been some good suggestions about a chart. Maybe she could keep a little book with each day's practice in it and how many she did. That way she could take it in to show her coach how well she's doing at home. Also sit down with her and let her pick time of day and days she would like to do the practice---ie none on days she has practice. What about putting some favorite music on or while practicing splits let her watch a video she enjoys?

Some kids really like the strength work and others just don't. It may help if her coach explains WHY she needs to work on the upper body and get the splits nicer.

[Steve Long]

Quote:
Originally Posted by dazed How can I get the out-of-class practice in that she needs and have it be fun, not work? Any suggestions? She still says she likes gymnastics and wants to succeed, but I'm afraid of pushing her to the point of dropping.

Don't want her to drop? I agree with leave it for the coach phylosophy -especially with strength and flexibility which are hard work no matter what. She has time to develop -don't worry. If she wants to work outside of the gym, fine -but let this be her decision. When she brings it home on her own she'll be having "fun" -even if it's a hard workout. I would not even support the coach with home workouts unless she showed the interest herself.

Gymnastics can be pretty tough on a little person's psyche. For someone entering the competitive side of the sport I'd recommend considering a boundary. As a child's self worth begins to intertwine with their success at gymnastics how they "perceive" an important person's feelings about what they're doing has a huge impact. These perceptions can be way out of line with a parents and coach's true feelings. The "perceived" perfection they may think they need to attain is impossible to reach. It's much better for these perceptions to be projected on the coach. In fact -this is part of a coach's role.

Help to balance the other side of the self worth equation. Leave gymnastics (coaching, analysis, critique, workouts, discussion, reward) in the gym. Only talk gymnastics when she brings it up -and only in positive ways. Embrace the parent's role -at home, in the car, outside of the gym the fun job (not the easy one) is only to love, encourage, and often with gymnastics to understand and comfort.

[dazed]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I really appreciate all the advice. I think I will leave the coaching to the coach. I'm glad I don't have to feel guilty that maybe I'm not doing enough for my dd if I don't push at-home practice.