WAG Level 7 Question

[Hamilton]

Looking to get some opinions from others. We currently have a daughter that scored out of level 7 in VA however we as parents know she is not ready for level 8 at this point. We are looking to another year preparing for level 8, as she is only 9 years old. We have a difference of opinions between two coaches. One suggests staying in optionals at level 7 the other suggests doing a year of Platinum to refine her skills while working level 8 skills. We are really torn on what to do and are hoping someone has some experience and can gives us an opinion. Thanks

 

[htimcj]

My DD is repeating L7 because she just won't be ready for L8 bars in time. So instead of going L8 and having a mediocre season she is repeating L7 and upgrading everything she can while training L8 all year long. I am not concerned because you can have pretty much an entire l8 routine in level 7. About the only L8 skill I haven't seen in L7 was a double salto pass such as FHS FT FT or FHS FLO FLO. Otherwise I have seen all other skills.

So if your gym really will up train l8 while repeating L7 then I would go that route.

 

[Hamilton]

Thank you for your reply, our only concern is that Grace is doing well but she has been pushed so fast to get to each level she has missed some of the foundations that she needs to keep moving up. We are not sure that her current coach will push the level 8 skills while building that foundation. Tough decisions and thanks again for your reply.

 

[Seeker]

Thank you for your reply, our only concern is that Grace is doing well but she has been pushed so fast to get to each level she has missed some of the foundations that she needs to keep moving up. We are not sure that her current coach will push the level 8 skills while building that foundation. Tough decisions and thanks again for your reply.

That statement changes the decision somewhat. If she moved to Platinum would she have a different coach that focused on those things? Who would be her coach when she moved back to L8?

Personally, I would not like my DD to do Platinum...I would prefer she stay in L7 and work to refine and polish whatever is lacking and gain the confidence and self awareness that is needed in the higher levels. Since your daughter is so young, she has plenty of time to do just that. But the critical component is the coach and the program. Where will she get what she needs?

 

[Hamilton]

That statement changes the decision somewhat. If she moved to Platinum would she have a different coach that focused on those things? Who would be her coach when she moved back to L8?

Personally, I would not like my DD to do Platinum...I would prefer she stay in L7 and work to refine and polish whatever is lacking and gain the confidence and self awareness that is needed in the higher levels. Since your daughter is so young, she has plenty of time to do just that. But the critical component is the coach and the program. Where will she get what she needs?

 

[Hamilton]

The other coach will continue to coach her next season if we go to her she coaches all the way up to level 10 her plan is to refine her skills in Platinum and work her current Level 7 things while incorporating Level 8 skills. Her current coach wants to push the big skills and says shes has a lot of time to refine. However my wife and I are both former college athletes and coaches ourselves. We fill that further delaying a solid foundation will lead to bad habits that are always hard to break. The new coach wants to solidify that foundation while progress is made to move into level 8 next year. Both are great coaches just different ideas. Thanks again

 

[Natasha]

I think what happens in training is more important than if she does Platinum or L7. She can do pretty much the same skills in both, and if she is working toward L8, what she is competing isn't as important as what she is training.

 

[Hamilton]

Thank you for you reply that is the feeling we have as well.

 

[Lilly]

I can't imagine any program that offers Excel is doing even a quarter of the conditioning and drills necessary. Perhaps you could ask Al Fong for some recommendations of gyms in your area that teach gymnastics correctly. He actually responds, so it's pretty cool. It saddens me to see so many gymnasts struggle when they get to this level and think they just aren't quite good enough to eventually become a good level 10 when they really just have not been made to conditioned much.

If your daughter wants to do level 8 she should be able to do the following. If she cannot, it is imperative that she work on these so she can be competitive in level 8 AND level 9 and 10 and not be injury-prone.

5 minute wall handstand with perfect form
100-250 handstand shoulder touches in a row (using wall acceptable)
2-3 minute handstand hold without walking (legs straight and together)
handstand walk 200 feet forwards and 100 feet backwards and both sides
100 V-ups in a row
2-minute hollow hold
10 pull ups (minimum) without squirming
10 straight-body rocks on the bar
30 leg lifts in a row on the bar or stall bars
10 kip cast glides in a row
1 minute each - V hang with toes on bar and legs straight, and inverted hang with upper thighs on the bar and looking at toes
At least 10 but preferably 20 or more standing back tucks in a row in 1 minute (she should NOT consider trying this if she has ANY trouble with standing back tucks



Achieve these and she has a GREAT chance of doing well through level 10!

Happy conditioning!

 

[gracyomalley]

DD repeated L7 last year due primarily to fear issues with the big L8 skills and did refine some fundamentals and scored well, gained confidence - but she didn't work nearly as much on the L8 stuff as I would have hoped....and she was already really strong with good form. It really depends upon how the gym trains....if each year the optionals are working on skills/drills several levels ahead, then no reason to push to higher level....and I'd personally say whichever choice leads to the most training and least emphasis on competition (as DD ended up spending way too much time trying to clean up a minor deduction here and there once she was a stats champion "contender" - rather than up training).

 

[vagymmomma]

My daughter competed L8 last year in VA and it felt like a really big step up from L7. If the coaches and you aren't sure, then looking at alternatives is a great decision (especially at such young age). I know in our gym the training program is VERY different between Platinum and L7. Are there different coaches? Different training hours? Different training goals in terms of skills? Platinum is also scored really different (a girl from DD's L7 team moved to Platinum and her state meet score went up 3 full points from L7 with about the same skills).

If the intent is for her to compete USAG, then personally I would stick with L7 and have a great year there. What's most important is what they're training (L8 is all about the flipping vault, beam series, floor twisting, and the pirouette -- a lot of platinum girls don't compete these skills), who will be training them (do you or your DD prefer one of the coaches), and when they'll be training (are there a lot less hours with platinum?). Especially for younger girls (who will always be against tough competition), it's nice to be able to get some wins under their belt to build confidence.