gymmies who are best/worst in their training group

[Bobby]

Is there anything much a parent can do or say to help a gymmie who is consistently at one end of the skill spectrum in their training group? I'm talking about either girls who struggle to keep up with their own group but are too advanced to fit the next group down - or (vice versa) girls who are consistently ahead of their own group, but not advanced enough to fit with the next group up?

I guess in a perfect world there's always someone to chase so you don't get unmotivated, or something you can do better than someone else so you don't get defeated. Or else there's exposure to higher/lower groups so you get to see things to aspire to, or remind you how far you've come. But what about the girls at the top/bottom of their group who really need to stay in that situation for a lengthy period (I'm talking months rather than years) and whose training times don't coincide with the next group up/down so they just don't get that perspective?

Is there anything you could reasonably hope a coach might do in this situation? I guess many girls have this experience at some point or other - so I would love to hear.

Or is this even a "problem"? Are there advantages that I don't see that I should be helping DD to absorb??

I did try searching for "best/worst in traning group" as a topic but didn't see anything there.

PS: Although these things are hard to predict, the gap DD's experiencing seems unlikely to reduce any time soon?

 

[gymgurl]

This all depends on the type of motivation the individual reacts too.

If the gymnast in question has a lot of intrinsic motivation, the group she is in shouldn't affect her too much she should be able to find motivation wherever..

However, if the gymnast needs extrinsic motivation the group she is in will have more of an affect on her. If she is the bottom of the group, she is constantly thriving to catch up and will remain motivated as long as there is something to "catch". If she is by far the best in the group she may slacken off as she no longer has motivation to continue working hard. This is when kids should be looked at as an individual. If they need to be moved up to remain motivated, perhaps the gym should arrange that.

As for what to do, I have a few suggestions. You could:
- Stay after at a comp to watch optionals
- Talk to the coaches about moving her up to keep her motivated
- Find a local collegiate meet or something of that sort and take her to watch
- Show her videos on youtube of gymnasts in higher levels

The options are endless, you just want to remind them of what they could do.

 

[10.0]

Those are 2 separate issues but you can almost treat them the same. From a coaches perspective this happens all the time. Dealing with a kid that is the top of the pact is easy have her do x amount of good whatevers then up train some skills, actually that one works for the bottom students too as you give them a smaller correction like if you don't bend your elbows 5 times you can work on _____. There are also ways to motivate everyone, sometimes we do progress charts and for so many stars you get you get a prize or we give points or fake money away and you can buy special things with it like trampoline time, no conditioning, a popsicle etc. but for that they goals are different based on where the kid is. Maybe Sally is no where near doing her handstand on the high beam so her points are awarded for doing nice ones on the low beam and then maybe Suzie has a great handstand on high beam but doesn't always stick so she has to do 10 in a row stuck for her points.

Obviously you are a parent and can't make coaches do these things but you can set something up at home, I am not talking bribery but incentive. This one works better for the underdog and you didn't specify which your kid was so it is harder to give specific advice. In either case you could try a couple of privates and speak with the coach about what your dd needs out of it whether it is working on skills she has issues with or getting to do some uptraining to keep her interested and work her way up to the next level.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

Since training groups are often mixed-level (mine goes from level 7-10; another is 4-5; another is 5-8; they are based on the hours/week that are appropriate for your level and that you are willing to do), it's actually often hard to determine who is "best" or "worst" in their training group - there are several different spectra you might consider.

-Who is the most advanced, skills/level-wise?
-Who has the best form? (this also depends on how close to comp. season you are, how many years she's been doing those particular skills, and her age)
-What is her future in gymnastics like? How old is she?
-How hard does she work?
-How receptive to the coaches' advice is she?
-Does she have a positive attitude? Does she work through fears or does she give up?

I think the last one is one of the most important things to consider. For example, we have one girl who is 12 years old, excellent form, a lot of talent, training/competing level 8, with level 9 skills on beam and floor. However, she usually only listens to one particular coach. If she feels training a particular skill is pointless or scary, she won't do it or won't give it much effort. She barely does anything on the competition bars set because of fear and a feeling of hopelessness.

This girl has a bright future but is unable to work towards it because of her mental state. She feels she can't make goals because she doesn't want to fail to meet them. When she is in a bad mood, she won't do much of anything, is disruptive and abrasive, and swears at her young teammates. Looking at her in competition (her age, her form, her level) you would say she is one of the most advanced in the training group, but looking at her in practice is an entirely different picture.

I know my response is not specific to the OP's situation, but I think it's important not to get hung up on who's "best" in a training group or competition. The "best" we think about depends a lot on innate ability, age, and how many years they've been in the sport - and "best" is different from those who practice well. Gymnastics is at heart an individual sport, and its participants must be able to function in a mixed-level group, especially at the higher levels.

TL;DR: "best" depends on a lot of different things, and gymnast function pretty much independently of each other at the higher levels anyway.