WAG Cautious gymmie?

[xxStumpyxx]

Maybe this is not the right word for it but my daughter is what I call a cautious gymmie, she is not the type that just goes for a new skill, she has to think about it first and make she she is confident and can do all the drills or other skills leading up to it, she seems to like to get things "right" before moving on.

I have seen what happens when you just chuck or go for a skill you are not ready for, so I am kind of grateful she is not a skill chucked and the coach has never had an issue as far as I am aware as the coach has never mentioned anything.

Are most gymmies the type to chuck skills or are there more cautious ones out there like my daughter?

 

[Alie21]

Are most gymmies the type to chuck skills or are there more cautious ones out there like my daughter?

This is exactly my DD (8yo first born) too. She "has" far fewer skills than some of her teammates (her assessment), but lovely form on what she has (my opinion!) She gets a bit dispirited by it I think and is really hard on herself. I try and remind her sometimes about being brave and giving things a go. She nearly always surprises herself and does better than expected. This is just her personality - she is the same in school/scouts etc. My DS (5yo) is more the opposite - started chucking front saltos on the tramp recently with terrible form. I nearly had a heart attack and promptly banned him from doing those until his coach allowed him in class. Thankfully when DS asked, coach very firmly said no!

Disadvantages and advantages to both 'styles' - as long as she is having fun and learning then all is good

 

[Faith]

Totally normal

DD is a chucker, her best friend is more cautious, like your DD. DD needs to be allowed to try a skill, then clean it up, her mate needs to visualise, work drills etc until she is completely ready, but it's beautiful from the first try.

By the time DD has cleaned up the skill enough for competition, he friend has been through her process and they usually end up with it competition ready at the same time.

Different horses different courses

 

[ladybird]

My dd is very cautious! It used to be because of fear of getting hurt, but now it's fear of not doing things perfectly the first time. She's very self-limiting but she will be in this for the long haul.

 

[sleeping judy]

My dd is fairly cautious, yet she doesnt always realize it. It takes forever for her to get skills, but when she does, they are pretty polished. Right now, I can tell she has this wall about getting to complete handstand on bars. She has gone over before so she knows it's possible, but for some reason she just won't do it on a regular basis. I don't say anything, she will get there. It's been a less than stellar year for bars as she can't get that handstand, but oh well.

 

[2gymnastand1soccerplayer]

My youngest dd is definitely chucker, she but if she going to chuck she's going to do it until it's perfect (according to the coach this is a very hard combination to teach) often times she'll hick a skill and then spend the rest of the rotation perfecting it to get it perfect when she was only supposed to do x amount of that skill

My oldest dd is the cautious one, she has to think things through, watch someone do to see how it is done, do drills to work up to it, then maybe ah will try it. Personally I find the cautiousness less scary to watch

 

[samsmama]

My DS is the cautious type. He has an equally talented teammate who is the opposite. They both have similar skill sets but DS often takes longer to get each skill. Still, this season DS outscored his teammate on nearly every event as his form is just much better from all the extra drills and practice.

 

[Vivianflips]

I'm definitely the cautious type! Though when I was younger and not in gymnastics I would try to do front handsprings etc and fail miserably! (I realize now how unsafe that was and wouldn't recommend anyone do that!) I'm the type of person now that will do every step before doing a skill by myself!

 

[l.c.o]

I have one kid of each flavor. DD (older) definitely tends to be cautious. As she gets older, though, she's been a bit more daring. In that I mean, instead of hiding behind the others and trying something last (after watching each girl go), she'll often offer to try it first. I definitely agree with the others that she tends to have skills competition ready at the same time as the kids who tend to chuck them, then clean them.

DS is the chuck it, then clean it type. He's finally starting to become interested in having good form for the sake of having good form... Rather than making corrections so coach won't yell.

 

[Moxiegrl83]

I have a chucker. I think her coach's both love and hate it. I've started to see a "tiny" bit more caution since the skills have gotten harder, (a slight hesitation to throw her first back handsprings on beam for example). I guess the plus side is, she understands that drill work makes the skill work, and will happily go do drills for that new skill she wants. :-D

 

[xxStumpyxx]

They were doing something called a "Pike front" (whatever that is) into the pit this week and she have it go and did a few, only going by what she said as I didn't actually see it.

 

[wgymmom]

I think my DD is on the cautious, perfectionist side, but she's very driven. She has some slightly advanced skills, but I've never seen her just chuck something.

 

[roll123]

This is interesting to read. My daughter has always been cautious, it's really her personality in most everything. She's kind of slow and steady in the gym, never the first to get anything but usually caught up and as proficient as her teammates when she needs to be.
Now that we are headed in to the optionals years I am curious how
this will be, will she be able
To keep up and get skills fast enough.

 

[raenndrops]

OG was, and still is, a very cautious gymnast. She wants it perfect before she goes it alone. YG is the opposite.
HC used to joke that she could tell YG that she wanted her to do something... anything and YG was game to try it. (Imagine the look on the face of a 13 year old L7/8, new to our team, when HC called YG over at the age of almost 5 and asked her if she wanted to do a "standing double back" and the response was "Sure!"
The older girl was freaking out, lol. HC had YG stand on the vault stack and jump into a "ball" and rotated her through a double back... told her to open, and placed her on the floor!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I wouldn't call my girl cautious. I would call her thorough. She likes to be prepped. She is not always the first to get a skill, not a rusher. She wants to feel ready. By the time she competes the skills she is usually a top finisher.

 

[cbifoja]

Mine is also a "toss it and let the chips fall where they may" kind of gymnasts. We have another gymnast who is more "cautious". Our HC jokes/not jokes about how these two girls are on the opposite end of the gymnast spectrum. She says mine takes about five minutes to learn a new skill (not really) but then it takes her a year to polish it (really) while the other gymnast takes a year to learn a new skill but when she throws it, it is textbook perfect and beautiful.

 

[3gymgirlsmom]

My odd and dd3 are both cautious, dd2 is is a tiny bit at times but def is much less

 

[flipon_]

I know that when I am learning a new skill, I can be very cautious.

 

[xxStumpyxx]

Do you think it hurt's their progress to much or it doesn't really matter on the whole grand scheme of things, I am leaning towards - it doesn't really matter camp but what do I know.

 

[cbifoja]

It's probably a grass is greener thing. I wish form mattered more to my daughter and that she would slow down and learn things right rather than seeing if she can do it. Luckily she is getting to a level where the skills are too hard to figure out without drills and little steps. But I don't know......doesn't seem to be changing her approach. She actually screwed up her back tumbling trying to teach herself an Arabian. She couldn't figure it out (I don't think) and got her salto and twisting mechanisms screwed up. Lost her 3/2 and her full and then got mental issues in BLO and BT. If only she had waited for her coach. *sigh*