Recent content by NutterButter

Most gymnasts are strong and flexible however this strength and flexibility is usually not evenly distributed across your body. For example, my daughter ended up with multiple stress fractures in her back years into her gymnastics journey. At the time she was a L9 so she was plenty strong when...

This is true! And the older you get, the more difficult it is to advance 1 level each year. Another thing to consider is that drills for L9/L10 skills often start a few years before the level is competed and depending on skill progression in your gym's Xcel program, you may not even have an...

My advice is to take a step back and focus on what you can do. And also listen to the guidance and corrections given by your coach. You listed a bunch of skills that are progressive in nature meaning your coach will build you up to them by incorporating drills and strength/conditioning. If this...

Maybe an unpopular opinion here - life is short, go to L10! My DD was in a similar situation w/readiness for L10. Kept her back in L9 'to have a successful season' which didn't pan out due to injury and the pandemic. Should have just gone to L10 - at least she could have said she 'made it all...

The thing is, the age to have 'older and consenting' elite gymnasts would have to be significantly older than it is now to truly have a dent in changing any psychology or child welfare concerns. It's still going to be a sport for children. And I don't believe physiology makes it possible for...

The friendship factor and having peers her age is important. My DD was on the other end - she was the oldest by about 3 years in her group. It all worked out in the end but the couple of years when she was in middle school and her peers were still playing with American Girl dolls was...

Depends on her age and level they start competing. Depends if she can continue progressing on skills while on preteam. Depends on whether the gym has successful and competitive L10s. I don't appreciate how they brought in the older girls into the conversation like it's them vs. your DD but age...

@HopefulGymnast - all she’s saying is that compared to other sports that skew young, gymnastics has the 16 year old requirement while other sports do not. The “penalty” is in comparison to the other sports. She otherwise states she supports a higher age limit. You bring up some good points...

My 2 cents is that you are ready now for the tryout! It's unrealistic to expect that you might get new skills within the next week so instead I would just focus on what your currently have and also work on your mindset to stay positive and try to tune out any 'noise' of negative thoughts. I...

It's hard! We made it work by carpooling with other families but often this was problematic due to people's vacations and the need to fill in or cover when someone was gone. If I had to do it all over again I would outsource and hire a college student.

I think a sports psych is a great idea. Not only will they be able to give her tools for working through mental blocks but also she will have someone in her court who is neither parent or coach (two groups who she is trying to please, even if if it’s subconscious). My DD worked through blocks...

I would not pay for a 3rd year at L4 as she is more than ready to move on. I would only let her do Xcel if the training she would receive is of the same rigor as what she'd get in your gym's DP track. You would be wasting your $$ and your DD would be wasting her time in L4 for year #3.

Asking your coach seems like the logical starting point.

Do they know she has ADHD? Could you schedule a meeting with them so that you can tell them your concerns and present them with strategies that would set her up for success? It seems if it's a voluntary position they should/could accommodate her 'skill level' whether it's attributed to ADHD or...

OP - are you in the US?