E
EmmasMommy
My daughter will be 6 in November and her coaches plan to move her from pre-team to level 2 in the doubt her physical readiness. I know there are girls who compete younger than that, and my daughter has all the skills she needs to compete with. She also already know the floor and bars routine. I know she would have plenty of time to improve those skills before competition. She's even recently learned a backhand spring on the trampoline . . . except she doesn't need that right now. What she needs more than new skills is more maturity. That is where I'm concerned.
We used to have some problems with her behavior. Nothing major, and I won't bore you all by recapping, but she is doing much better now. All the coaches love working with her and say she has changed so much. But I worry about her being able to focus during competition. Not rushing through things, not goofing off and getting silly (trust me, I'm all for having some silly time, but I want her to understand that team competition isn't just about her, it's about being part of a TEAM and representing your team). I wonder how well she would be able to do something without the constant reminders from her coaches. I've seen some competitions and the little girls seem focused and all doing what they are supposed to be doing. Maybe my perception is off.
I know a lot can change between now and a year from now, so this might not end up being an issue, but I guess that's what I'm asking. The coaches don't seem to be concerned so maybe I'm worried over nothing. Either way, I trust her coaches to know when she is both physically AND emotionally ready, and I hear that the coaches work with the young ones to get them ready, ut I am still curious what to expect.
I guess this is more about parenting than gymnastics. I have two other children, and one is older, but he has autism so even though he is 7 and she is 5 1/2, it's more like she is the oldest, so this is my first experience with typical child development. I just don't know how much to expect a child to mature between 5 1/2 or 6 to 6 1/2. Currently, she tends to be very silly. Like hanging on the side of equipment when it's not her turn, "racing" people to be first in line (I guess to be fair, the other person is racing is her to), purposefully "falling" after she does a trick because she thinks it's funny. Things like this make me wonder how she is going to stay focused for a meet and do her routine without goofing off. Also sometimes she gets grumpy and refuses to do things all together (this is RARE these days and seem to be connected to sinus headaches and not wanting to go upside down when she has one, which is just another thing we are trying to take care of, but is still not an excuse for getting grumpy with her coaches).
Another one of her main issues is she doesn't take failure/corrections well on the spot. (She's fine after the fact. Like she will get grumpy (sometimes! not all the time!) for a correction on her form, but then come home and practice to fix it, then be fine at the next practice.) Yet if you tell her she did a good job, she'll often say, "No, I did it wrong," and want to try it 100 more times until she gets it perfect. (She's not unhappy when she does this, though. She's usually in really great mood and smiling and not at all upset that she messed up, she just wants to do it better.) But if SOMEONE ELSE tells her she needs to fix something, that is when she *sometimes* gets grumpy and will give up. She is starting to understand that the reason her coaches correct her is so that she can get it right faster, and as she's starting to understand that her coaches are the ones who are helping her with this feedback, she is getting less and less upset by it. I can imagine though that she could be in the middle of a competition and want to retry something multiple times, or getting upset that that isn't an option and "giving up". Maybe that won't happen, maybe I worry too much. She's really smart, really strong, really sweet, and generally a motivated, well-behaved little girl. But her "off days" it's like dealing with a 3 year old sometimes.
She LOVES gymnastics a tremendous amount and has been given the option to do it recreationally but she prefers being on the team and WANTS to join the competitions. I just want her to understand that if she wants to do this she is making a commitment to her team. On one hand, that seems like a BIG THING to ask for a 5 or 6 year old, but on the other hand other girls seem to be doing it just fine. Every kid is different, etc etc. But is this more common than I realize? Is it something she will likely overcome? Is this something coaches don't usually have a problem working worth or something they are experienced in dealing with? And what can I do, if anything, or is this just a matter of waiting it out? I know this is important to her and I trust her coaches, but I feel like if she is prepared it will better experience for her.
So . . . yeah, I'm just curious to hear other similar stories or any ideas on what to expect. Has anyone experienced this with their little one or known any kids who were the same way but grew out of it? Or do they pull it together for the competition? Or have there been disasters with young kids at meets? Is this normal for her to be this way at 5 1/2? the other girls on her team seem to be a little more mature, but most of the girls she practices with are older. Are there things I can do to help her with readiness?
We used to have some problems with her behavior. Nothing major, and I won't bore you all by recapping, but she is doing much better now. All the coaches love working with her and say she has changed so much. But I worry about her being able to focus during competition. Not rushing through things, not goofing off and getting silly (trust me, I'm all for having some silly time, but I want her to understand that team competition isn't just about her, it's about being part of a TEAM and representing your team). I wonder how well she would be able to do something without the constant reminders from her coaches. I've seen some competitions and the little girls seem focused and all doing what they are supposed to be doing. Maybe my perception is off.
I know a lot can change between now and a year from now, so this might not end up being an issue, but I guess that's what I'm asking. The coaches don't seem to be concerned so maybe I'm worried over nothing. Either way, I trust her coaches to know when she is both physically AND emotionally ready, and I hear that the coaches work with the young ones to get them ready, ut I am still curious what to expect.
I guess this is more about parenting than gymnastics. I have two other children, and one is older, but he has autism so even though he is 7 and she is 5 1/2, it's more like she is the oldest, so this is my first experience with typical child development. I just don't know how much to expect a child to mature between 5 1/2 or 6 to 6 1/2. Currently, she tends to be very silly. Like hanging on the side of equipment when it's not her turn, "racing" people to be first in line (I guess to be fair, the other person is racing is her to), purposefully "falling" after she does a trick because she thinks it's funny. Things like this make me wonder how she is going to stay focused for a meet and do her routine without goofing off. Also sometimes she gets grumpy and refuses to do things all together (this is RARE these days and seem to be connected to sinus headaches and not wanting to go upside down when she has one, which is just another thing we are trying to take care of, but is still not an excuse for getting grumpy with her coaches).
Another one of her main issues is she doesn't take failure/corrections well on the spot. (She's fine after the fact. Like she will get grumpy (sometimes! not all the time!) for a correction on her form, but then come home and practice to fix it, then be fine at the next practice.) Yet if you tell her she did a good job, she'll often say, "No, I did it wrong," and want to try it 100 more times until she gets it perfect. (She's not unhappy when she does this, though. She's usually in really great mood and smiling and not at all upset that she messed up, she just wants to do it better.) But if SOMEONE ELSE tells her she needs to fix something, that is when she *sometimes* gets grumpy and will give up. She is starting to understand that the reason her coaches correct her is so that she can get it right faster, and as she's starting to understand that her coaches are the ones who are helping her with this feedback, she is getting less and less upset by it. I can imagine though that she could be in the middle of a competition and want to retry something multiple times, or getting upset that that isn't an option and "giving up". Maybe that won't happen, maybe I worry too much. She's really smart, really strong, really sweet, and generally a motivated, well-behaved little girl. But her "off days" it's like dealing with a 3 year old sometimes.
She LOVES gymnastics a tremendous amount and has been given the option to do it recreationally but she prefers being on the team and WANTS to join the competitions. I just want her to understand that if she wants to do this she is making a commitment to her team. On one hand, that seems like a BIG THING to ask for a 5 or 6 year old, but on the other hand other girls seem to be doing it just fine. Every kid is different, etc etc. But is this more common than I realize? Is it something she will likely overcome? Is this something coaches don't usually have a problem working worth or something they are experienced in dealing with? And what can I do, if anything, or is this just a matter of waiting it out? I know this is important to her and I trust her coaches, but I feel like if she is prepared it will better experience for her.
So . . . yeah, I'm just curious to hear other similar stories or any ideas on what to expect. Has anyone experienced this with their little one or known any kids who were the same way but grew out of it? Or do they pull it together for the competition? Or have there been disasters with young kids at meets? Is this normal for her to be this way at 5 1/2? the other girls on her team seem to be a little more mature, but most of the girls she practices with are older. Are there things I can do to help her with readiness?