Parents They keep forgetting she's new...

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So as I posted before DD is new to gymnastics (4 classes of 1 hour each now) but was placed in an experienced class and they've "tested" her and in fall she will go to their most advanced rec class. I'm happy for her but I feel like the coaches keep forgetting that she's brand new to the sport and they are teaching her the same way they teach the other girls in the class, who have been doing gym for up to 5 years. Quick example (and forgive me if I use the wrong terms, I'm gym clueless): they were working on casts and had to do 10 good ones. She watched the girls before her enough to know the arm motions (she had only been on a bar once before ever so didn't know what a cast even was), but she couldn't get her belly off the bar. I quickly noticed from watching the others that DD wasn't keeping her feet together and squeezing her butt. I was sitting literally 5 feet from the two sets of bars they were using (no parent viewing room, the chairs are RIGHT there) but I did keep my big mouth shut although I just wanted to say "keep your legs together!"

I have told the coaches that she hasn't done any of this stuff before but her progression is so fast and her tumbling is better than the rest of the class so I think they "forget" and don't watch to be sure she's doing the basics that the other girls know. I don't want to be a pushy parent and keep reminding them of her inexperience but I also don't want her learning something incorrectly. I had planned to do at least 1-2 privates to 'catch her up' to the girls she will be with in fall. Would it be totally CGM to make some notes as to what I think she may be doing incorrectly or may not know how to do? I don't want to become known as some overbearing obnoxious mom 3 months into this new sport.

Full disclosure: DD is a dancer and has a bad habit of not "noticing" the little things in a skill like maybe arm position or something. I was a dancer and can point that kind of stuff out to her (hold your hands like this when you do X step) but gym= clueless mom and I wouldn't try to correct her in gym anyway.
 
I would bet that the coaches are more aware than you think they are. They may be giving her some time to adjust to the new class and its higher expectations before cracking down on the little things. Just as an example, this past year, I had a little one who skipped preteam and moved right onto our first level of competition team, with a group of girls who had already competed a year. She had clear potential, but she, like your daughter, sometimes had difficulty with the details. If anyone watched her bars, casting with bent arms and throwing her body around, they would have thought we weren't "paying attention." This child is now one of my top bar workers. She needed time to adjust. (And about 1000 rope climbs to focus her energy....lol...but that's a totally different story!). Once she learned the routine of practice and understood the expectations, only then did I really start to bear down on the details.
 
You are new to the sport, so take this in the spirit intended from a parent that has been involved for 12 years. Leave the coaching to the coaches. DO NOT try to give her little tips about things you see. You have to be the support system for her at home and not viewed as someone that is always going to be critical of what you see at the gym. You have to begin to build the trust factor in the coaches because if she lasts in the sport to the upper levels, she will end up spending more time in a given day with the coaches than she will with you. You can be assured that if the gym you are at is worth it's salt the coaches are well aware of your dd's ability and "newness" to the sport and that they will make sure she catches up just fine. I must say that I would not be paying for "privates" just so she catches up; let the coaches do thier thing.

Good Luck
 
1-2 privates is nothing compared to 3-6 months of training.

There are only so many details and points you can target at one moment anyways.

Give her a month to three months and see where she is before you really are concerned with private lessons. Especially at such a low level.
 
The only notes you need to take are those surrounding you child's emotions, like stress, fear, happiness, and enthusiasm. Going beyond that isn't going to help.
 
When my dd went from Rec to team she did not do pre-team or the beginning xcel team, so she was placed immediately with a team of girls who had already been competing for 1-2 years. For months I wondered if she would ever "catch up" and I noticed that she didn't hold her arms like others or have any type of "polished" look at all. But, the coaches knew what they were doing and knew her potential. By the end of the season she was the top scorer on her team. THey worked on the big stuff with her first and then did all the polishing. Gymnastics is very different than dance too- they have to focus on the most important stuff first in a skill (i.e. those things that will keep you from getting injured) then they can work on things like keeping legs together, pointing toes, etc. So, just give it some time, it will all come together- and probably faster than you think!
 

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