WAG Advice for bars and beam for a struggling athlete?

[owwibfma]

Hi! My daughter is a solid level 8 on the vault and floor. She's a powerful tumbler, but still struggles with her back handspring on the beam and kip cast to handstand on bars (so barely level 7). She's super passionate about this sport - always has been. She works super hard and has never given up, although lately I feel that is starting to change. She's just getting really frustrated about her lack of progress in these two areas. It's a frustration that has a different tone than before when she's struggled "more positively and confidently" if that makes sense.

Long story short....she is 14 years old and does not have a petite "gymnastics body." She's strong, but taller and bigger boned than any one else at her gym. As a result (at least in my opinion) she's never been taken very seriously and has always been in the "lower squad" with the least experienced coaches.

Anyway - looking towards the future, I wonder if anyone has any advice for her? Is her size simply preventing her from achieving these skills? Or do these skills just take years to achieve? Is it something that a different, more experienced coach / or private lessons might be able to guide her through?

Her current coach (who came from MAG) just says "she needs more reps" but I wonder if it's something else. is she just always going to be stronger in some events than others? And if so, where does that leave her in the grand scheme of the sports? Is there even a future for her if she can't get these two very significant skills?

Ok - that was a lot there, but I guess it's making me sad to see her recently becoming more and more down and frustrated.....about a sport she has always been so passionate about. I appreciate any advice about how I might support and/or advocate for her through this time.

Thanks.

 

[HopefulGymnast]

I very much don't think her size is preventing her from getting these skills. Being tall may make some of them harder though, but definitely possible.

If her coaches believe in her less because of her body, I would find that very concerning honestly. Things that could affect her gymnastics could include many many things, such as:
- These things just take her longer because she has trouble with the skills
- These skills just take years to achieve
- Needing more reps
- growth spurts or body changes due to puberty. These should not be stopped, but they'll take some time to adjust to. They require patience.
- Insufficient coaching
- Being tired from school
- Insecurity due to coaches judging on appearance
- bad habits due to body insecurity (e.g. not drinking or not eating during training). This feels unlikely, as it'd affect floor and vault as well.

And yes, some of these skills can take years to learn. I've known gymnasts who took years to learn a front tuck. They weren't on team. I learnt a kip within a year of starting gymnastics, but after 2 years don't have a back handspring. Everybody has their difficult skills.

Advise:
Talk to her, not about her body shape but about how she's been feeling about gymnastics. Is she still having fun? Are there any issues? Coaches being negative, skills she'd want to learn that are frustrating her. Is she happy with her coaching? If she's still happy at the gym then it's all fine, but make sure she knows that if there are issues you're there to talk and you'll be there to help her find a solution or even just vent. If she's not happy at the gym, find out why and see what you can do with it.

In case you need some motivating examples:
Nina derwael can definitely kip-cast handstand and she's lsited as 1.70m or 5 foot 7. Marie-Sophie Hindermann was 5 foot 9 or 1.75m, according to wikipedia: At the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she finished 14th in the all-around and 5th on uneven bars.
At my gym, 5 foot 5 is normal if not short for adult women, just because of coincidence in our area. We have some elites, but in my country that's probably not the same level as US elite. They all have different heights and body types.
I'm not going to give examples of gymnasts of different body types, because it feels rude to do so. But unless she has serious weight issues I've seen higher level gymnasts of all kinds of body types. I think when it comes to body, it's important you have the body that fits you. If you are trying to keep a skinnier or fuller body than you naturally have, it may mess with your performance because you're not regulating your energy well that way. So when it comes to that, my advise is: don't mess with it, just trust your body.

 

[owwibfma]

Thank you for your very thoughtful reply! Much appreciated!

 

[HopefulGymnast]

Just thought I'd drop in and add this: I came across an illenois gymnast who is 6 foot (1.83m), and she made it into college gymnastics, can also can do BHS on beam and kip cast. (I've not seen her do giants though, I bet they're a challenge when you're that tall.) Just a little fun fact.