Let it go! If the rule is that everyone competes L3, that’s the rule. Let her have a great season at 3 and then she will likely have everything perfect for 4 when the time comes. Just being able to perform the skills is not enough in JO...they need to be done pretty much perfectly.
This of...
I would let her compete 6 while polishing up her skills for 7. No reason to not compete! Also no reason to rush her into a bars routine that she isn’t ready for. She can compete some L7 skills in 6. I just hate level 5 so I would never recommend that for anyone! ;)
I would say that in my career as a gym mom (11 years now)...my girls maybe went to one or two out of state meets on average per season, but with the exception of one they have been within 4 or so hours away.
Very successful results with dry needling for my DD’s back. It did not completely eliminate the problem but brought her significant relief. She still has it done about once a month (long standing, probably never ending relationship with PT).
My daughter switched from gold to JO 4 at this time last year. She was 10. She was not scoring fabulously in gold, so your daughter is probably ahead of where she was. She had all the skills for 4 within a month of switching, but she needed a lot of cleaning up. First meet of the season was...
Another culprit can be SI joint pain. My daughter has been dealing with back issues for 3 years now and after about one million tesrs showing nothing it seems to be the diagnosis that fits the best. She has a great PT who quite literally moves her joint back into place...frequently. She’s...
There are definitely pros and cons to xcel. My kids have done both. If the main focus is winning/placements, then I honestly think “older” kids are better off in JO (especially level 5 and up) because the older divisions in JO tend to score lower! Those xcel silver scores can be crazy...
Actually she was taking a dance class and that’s what made it flare up (the deep knee bends/plies). She had patellofemoral knee syndrome several years earlier but this was more painful which is why we took her in. She retired last year as a L8 unfortunately (not related to the knee but to...
Let’s see. I don’t think it ever kept her out of practice or from competing, she probably just reduced deep knee bends, lots of ice and did fewer reps on things that aggravated it. I don’t remember it lasting terribly long, maybe a couple months? My kid had so many injuries that they all kind...
My youngest switched from xcel gold to JO 4 at age 10. It hasn’t been easy, but there is no comparison in her skill level and attention to detail since having switched. Having said that....her “future” is basically being in gym for fun, exercise, and energy burning, so I can’t speak to that...