RO BHS Back tuck - again!

[Tumblequeensmom]

O.K. I need to vent for a minute and just get some other people's opinions on what (if anything) I should do.

DD was working out w/her group last night (L5). They were working on L6 skills last night, well SOME of them were anyway. I saw 2 girls working on their flyaways, others were working on their Front HS vaults. Then they all went to the floor where almost all of them can already do the RO BHS BT series for L6. My DD and one other girl cannot do this yet, so they were sent to the tumbletrak to work on their backhandsprings (unsupervised), while the coach worked w/the rest of them on the tumbling series. My blood pressure just shot through the roof... since no one was workin with the 2 to correct whatever errors they were making, they were mostly just sitting and watching the other group. I'm still furious sitting here right now typing this. . .

Shouldn't SOMEONE have been working with them as well? How are they going to fix what they're doing wrong? They need MORE work than the others since the others already have that skill....

Am I wrong? Should they have been sent to the tumbletrak??

I don't even know how to approach the coach/owner about this. . .
HELP!

Thanks.

-Lynn

[gymnomore]

I would feel the same way you do right now. I'm one that feels the coaches sometimes pick and chose who gets ahead and who doesn't. But that's just me. You will probably get a better answer or explanation from one of the coaches on here who have dealt with this situation before. Good luck, and I hope the next practice goes more in your daughter's favor.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

It depends. There are times when the best thing to do is repetition, repetition, repetition. Sometimes there's not really much a coach can add, the kids just need to practice.

However, even in these instances, a coach should be supervising them at the very least, in my opinion.

[gymdog]

My optional group always worked out half the group on track, half on floor, but I probably wouldn't do it with L5s because in our gym the track is kind of off in another room (it has an open wall but still a little off to the side). Although if they were just doing RO BHS on track, I wouldn't find it unacceptably dangerous.

For one day though, I don't think it is a big deal, they might have been trying some new technique of spotting or drill that wouldn't be safe for girls who don't have a sense of the skill yet, and thought they'd get more done on track...this might not have been true but everyone makes mistakes with assumptions that don't play out. If it's a regular thing I'd be concerned. I think if you isolate something like this from any one day it will be frustrating because gymnastics is a pretty slow moving training sport where everyone has off days and just needs a break. So coaches will sometimes use track or tramp because a gymnast is tired or burning out and may get hurt throwing new things. Or they might just not be ready. Watching gymnastics day to day is difficult. Everyone works at a different pace and things might not always be introduced at the same time, for example, at this point in the L5 season they may only be doing flyaways with girls who have demonstrated a strong tap swing. Doing two years of L5 is also not unusual, especially if L4 was skipped/de-emphasized. Different gyms have a lot of different philosophies about this and another one may suit your family better.

I would probably give it another few days before approaching the owner, and see if it's a repeating thing or a one day issue.

[Aussie_coach]

It does sound a bit like lazy coaching, working with the girls who can already do it and ignoring the others. But the coach may have been having an off night aswell. The coach may even have been sore or injured which meant they were unable to spot that night. I agree with others, as an isolated incident this isn't really an issue but if it happens constantly then it is.

Don't be afraid to have a chat with the coach or the owner. As a coach I would appreciate a parent taking an interest and sharing their concerns with me. If the kid is just going home unhappy every night and I don't know about it thats when it is a problem. Don't fear being labelled an overbearing parent, I'd take a million overbearing parents over those who just drop off and dissapear.

[Tumblequeensmom]

HI all... thanks for your replies... I can always count on getting good advice here, especially from the coaches!

I keep going back and forth between watching the practices for an hour (I definitely do not stay the whole 3 1/2 hours) and NOT watching at all! DD was happy as a clam coming home from practice. . . I was the one who was absolutely FURIOUS!!! Her coach DOES tell her to stretch out her BHS... but how's she going to learn HOW to do that? Are there any drills he should be using to help her? I think part of MY problem (not necessarily DD's) is that she's already 13... I'd have for her to spend another year at L5 with all the much younger girls. . . Like I said, it's MY problem. . . but it's hard for my ego to get over it.

I'll just cool my heels right now and see if this becomes a regular issue... if so, I'll speak to the coach (he's the owner AND coach). . . we'll see....

Thanks again!

-Lynn

[gymgramma]

We have run into something similar. On a team of 10, 3 could do their kips, 7 could not and the coach refused to work with the girls who could NOT do their kips - not only did he not work w/them on bars, he ignored them on the other events as well.

[gymdog]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tumblequeensmom I keep going back and forth between watching the practices for an hour (I definitely do not stay the whole 3 1/2 hours) and NOT watching at all! DD was happy as a clam coming home from practice. . . I was the one who was absolutely FURIOUS!!! Her coach DOES tell her to stretch out her BHS... but how's she going to learn HOW to do that? Are there any drills he should be using to help her? I think part of MY problem (not necessarily DD's) is that she's already 13... I'd have for her to spend another year at L5 with all the much younger girls. . . Like I said, it's MY problem. . . but it's hard for my ego to get over it.

I understand, I didn't start competing until I was 11. But if she's happy, that's all you're going to get in the end, you know? I think you have to keep it in that perspective. Even if you move through all the levels and do college gymnastics, this is going to end soon and the rest of life is going to be more important. It's going to come down to memories and experience, so if she's happy going through, you're doing something right.

I would definitely watch the situation and your DD and see how it goes, but since these are still next year's level skills and it is pretty early in this season, I wouldn't be terribly concerned. A lot of coaches will try them out mainly to see now, but I'm sure they'll start much more intensive work on these skills with everyone when this season ends...many more drills, etc. Sometimes the gymnast who seems to be going slower ends up having it click and it looks better than others in the end...you never know.

[coachamyamerican]

I have to agree. I have a parent that is wanting her daughter to work higher skills than what her daughter is capable of right now. Her daughter (when mom isn't hanging the rail coaching her) is VERY happy with her achievements and work as a level 4. She is now scoring 36's and 37's. The unhappiness comes when she feels that she hasn't pleased Mom. Although I am sure that you aren't as vocal (I am assuming this) make sure that she knows you are proud and happy no matter what!

Now for the stretching out the backhandspring, I have my girls with that problem stand on trac with a tape line for their feet, reach (in the bhs) for one for their hands and land on another for the ending feet. Sometimes a visual helps them stretch them out. Mom, don't worry.... It will come!

And when it does, its usually followed by a ton of frustration and happiness... Ride the roller coaster and love the fact that she is doing something that does make her smile!

[Tumblequeensmom]

Hi Coach Amy... I'm trying to get a visual on the drill for stretching out the back handspring... so she's got tape at her feet, another line for where her hands should land and a third one for where her feet should end up, right? How far back should the be for her hands to land on? I think maybe it was you who, in another forum, said it should be about the length of her body? Was that right?

That seems like a really simple drill and I like the "visual" idea... that works best for us all!

-L