Parents Require advice for a newbie

[Gym dad Wales]

Hi all,
Just a little background, I am a father to a 6 year old gymnast, she has been doing gymnastics for just under a year.
My wife wanted my daughter to do dance/ ballet / tap classes but my daughter just didn't enjoy, so as we would like to keep our very energetic daughter occupied we thought about gymnastics, so we embarked on the Rec classes
2x 1 hour sessions a week, which she went to for about 3 months,cut a long story short they changed the class days, which were unsuitable to us, for the same price we could have 45mins 1 to 1, in weeks my daughter was progressing really quickly, the coach said that she was ready for squad, we had to wait for the trial, she got in and has been in squad for 1 month.
Sorry for the long post!
Even though the gym is very friendly, I don't want to come across as a pushy parent I.e asking too many questions.
The problem is, is that I have no gymnastics experience, neither does any of my friends.
So there is just a lot that I would like to know.
she trains 7 hours a week, is this a lot?
She has her first comp in 2 weeks, what can I expect? Will it be competitive or relaxed?
What's the best way to approach the coaches to find out how your daughter is progressing? Without becoming a nuisance.

I'm sorry if I come across as a pedantic parent but I'm just quite nervous around new people.

 

[bogwoppit]

You do not sound pedantic at all. You sound like you just want to learn.

7 hours a week sounds about right for a 6 year old.

For a comp at 6 years old I would expect it to be pretty relaxed and fun for the gymnasts and parents.

Only advice is to breathe, try to relax and enjoy what she does. Praise her hard work, not her winning. Cheer her on, and her team mates too. She is part of a team even though it may not seem like it.

As for the coaches, they really are human (though sometimes they do not seem like it) just approach and say that you know absolutely nothing about any sport other than rugby and you wondered how squad and gymnastics work.

If you look in the UK forum here you will find some helpful posts and some even more helpful parents.

 

[Gym dad Wales]

Tha

You do not sound pedantic at all. You sound like you just want to learn.

7 hours a week sounds about right for a 6 year old.

For a comp at 6 years old I would expect it to be pretty relaxed and fun for the gymnasts and parents.

Only advice is to breathe, try to relax and enjoy what she does. Praise her hard work, not her winning. Cheer her on, and her team mates too. She is part of a team even though it may not seem like it.

As for the coaches, they really are human (though sometimes they do not seem like it) just approach and say that you know absolutely nothing about any sport other than rugby and you wandered how squad and gymnastics work.

If you look in the UK forum here you will find some helpful posts and some even more helpful parents.

Thank you very much for your reply.
How do you know I like rugby? Lol!!
Yeah I will try the UK forum, I'm just getting to grips with the site.

 

[bogwoppit]

Tha


Thank you very much for your reply.
How do you know I like rugby? Lol!!
Yeah I will try the UK forum, I'm just getting to grips with the site.

We have a Cardiff man in our small Quebec town. He runs the rugby club. Apparently rugby is the lifeblood of all Welsh males, so it was an easy guess.

Me I am from Manchester!

 

[Faith]

How do you know I like rugby? Lol!!
.

I thought that, then thought "durr, he's Welsh!"

Welcome, and what bog said

 

[blueredzone]

Welcome to the board! Gymnastics is a crazy sport that u will learn as time goes on. You have come to the right place.

I would recommend you get to know the other parents so they could help you out when you need them to. Also I have tried to create a friendly environment and do cookouts and stuff.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

Not just Welsh blokes either !
Shw Mae,
Have a look at the sticky threads at the top of the UK forum, they contain lots of useful information, and feel free to ask daft questions here.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

7 hours not so much

Early levels of competition should be mostly about just getting comfortable with competing. Things like presenting to the judge. Getting the hang of moving to different equipment/events. Keeping track of you stuff. Just getting used to the idea of a "meet" It hopefully should be low stress for them.

Now for the parents, a whole 'nother matter.