Parents Boosting Confidence for Meets

[krstew29]

This is my first post here. My just turned 7yo dd is competing level 2 gymnastics. She did a rec class last year, a brief stint on the preteam over the summer , and was advanced to level 2 in July. This is the gym’s first year competing level 2. Her floor & vault are great (scores above 9.0), bars are improving, but she appears to have a block on the beam. There is one skill that consistently trips her up on the beam, and she has fallen 3 out of the 4 meets she’s competed in, the forward roll. After the last meet, she was really discouraged and we have another meet in 3.5 weeks. What can I do to boost her confidence to get this skill consistently? She can do it in practice for the most part, but for some reason can’t seem to get it in a meet. Should I approach her coach? Have her go to open gym? I don’t want her to become discouraged to where she hates going to meets. Thanks.

 

[krisnkids]

The forward roll on the beam has two key parts, going slow and using your stomach muscles to control your but as it comes down on the beam. That said, its also something that just needs to be repeated over and over til the gymmie gets comfy with it. The coach knows how to deal with this, I wouldn't approach the coach I would just remind your dd to take her time and don't rush.

 

[MaryA]

Trust me, if your daughter stays in gymnastics, you will be posting this exact same thing (or at least consider posting this exact same thing) frequently. "My DD just seems to have a mental block and can't (fill in the blank with skill of ever-increasing difficulty)!" I still do it myself, even though I should know better. If she has good coaches, trust the coaches to deal with it. Your job is to be the cheerleader. Point out how quickly she moved from rec to team and that she should be proud of that acheivement. Praise improvement from one meet to the next, even if it's just in small things. She will get the skill, and then you will wonder why you ever worried about it (especially because she will never have to do a forward roll on beam again ever after level 2... I have no idea if my level 7 gymnast could do a forward roll on beam or not). And then you will have earned the right to give out this same advice to me the next time I post on CB, fretting because my DD can't get one skill or another.

 

[nameless]

forward roll on beam?? wowwww this would probably scare the heck out of my dd and she is a very confident lil thing!! her gym has no L2 and though my dd is in her 2nd year of L3 i have never seen our girls do any type of rolling on the beam.. ever.. it sounds scary

 

[Gymmommy71]

Wow - I didn't know you needed a forward roll on beam in L2 - that sounds really hard. I would not worry about that skill too much because, as like others have said, it is not needed in higher levels. And I'll bet your DD is still doing pretty well in the AA at meets even w/ the fall on beam as she's getting 9's on two of the other events. She should just keep practicing and trying her best to land it, but don't let her get too stressed over it, don't worry about private lessons, etc...just keep working on it at the same pace she is now, and if it gets better great, if not, oh well...and start moving on to the L3 stuff when the time comes ...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure my L6 DD could NOT do a forward roll on the beam...and she is good at beam. I will ask her this when she gets home...haha...

 

[krstew29]

Thanks all. I will (as always) continue to be supportive and tell her how great she is doing. She works hard and absolutely loves it. It's just that darned forward roll! This week they are uptraining L3+ with cartwheels on beam, robhs on the tumble trak, handstand forward roll on the floor, front hip circle and other skills on bars, etc. I really love her gym and her coach is great. I heard her tell DD this week (after my post) that she will get DD to stay on the beam!

 

[bogwoppit]

She will never use a forward roll on beam after L2, it is a hard skill and if she falls on it at every meet it will not stop her moving to higher levels.

Sounds like she is doing great with the skills that matter.

Though forward rolls in general are good to learn for control etc, don't panic about the beam. As someone said gymnastics is full of these roadblocks and every level will have a skill that you feel this way about.

 

[Gymmommy71]

Btw...L6 DD tried a few forward rolls on her home floor beam...she could roll and do it and get both feet on, but she continually fell off on the other side trying to stand up cause her momentum was a little bit to the left or right. She feels she could eventually get it, but it would take her "lots of practice" - seems like a really hard skill.

 

[Natasha]

Every once in a while my daughter's optional team all tries skills they used to do a long time ago....forward rolls, backward rolls, cartwheels.....they just happened to be doing forward rolls a few weeks ago...it was quite hysterical watching them try to do it....so yeah, don't stress over it!

 

[UnoMas]

The L2 forward roll is one of the craziest things I have ever seen. All 3 of my girls competed L2 at some point and it was torturous for all 3 of them but once they figure it out, they have got it. It just takes some longer than others.

 

[kandkfunk]

Last year, my level 7 daughter actually had a forward roll in her beam routine. She had no forward element in her routine (i.e. she had back handspring, back walkover-back walkover connection and a back tuck dismount) so her coach added the forward roll. I was stunned at first because they never practice this skill anymore. The other girls couldn't believe she was actually doing it - they all said it hurt. It took a little time, but she eventually got it down. Now, granted, my DD is much older than yours, so she could probably process the steps a little better. However, she was competing a level 3 skill which totally cracks me up. She ended up mastering it, but hasn't done a single one since last season. I wouldn't stress about it. In all likelihood, she won't ever need that skill again in the future.