WAG DD1 is bored...

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ollieblueeyes

Proud Parent
So DD1 competed Lvl4 on the development team last year. She has has her kip, cartwheel, back ext roll, ROBHSBHS since the beginning of summer. She is currently working thru a fear issue w/the cartwheel due to splitting the beam. Her coaches had us get grips mid-summer and she has no issues kipping w/them but she avoids using them. As of now she is set to compete lvl4 again but with the competitive team. She has started to complain about being bored at practice. At the beginning of summer she needed a lot of form/polish to her routines. She reports great strides in this area.

She has said that coach is spending a lot of time teaching the rest of the squad kips cartwheels etc and she is not doing much up training. Earlier this week she said she complaining that all she did on bars that day was kips, kips, kips. She has commented that coach is not moving on until all the girls have similar skills. The first meet is the beginning of December.

At this point I am debating talking with the coach about advancement. I am concerned she will lose interest in the sport due to the stalling. I hesitate for a few reasons. 1. The fear issue on beam. 2. Stage Fright. Last year she had an issue w/this and I feel doing lvl 4 at her first real meet will be a confidence builder. 3. I am not a coach and know next to nothing about gymnastics.

Is this an issue I should bring up or shall I tell her to keep plugging away?
 
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How old is she? My daughter repeated level 4, she was 6 her first year and 7 her 2nd year. Had her kip and other L5 skills, but still needed polish, lots of it! It was a great decision. She had a wonderful year, really learned how important the little things are and it did wonders for her confidence. Sure, she got bored sometimes, but sometimes gymnastics is boring. I would tell her that even the big girls did basics and boring stuff and usually she would get over it and be happy again.

The only thing that is different is that our season starts in September, so maybe getting to start competition season helped as she loves meets.

Unless her level 5 skills and routines are really ready and polished, I would just talk to her about how gymnastics sometimes is boring, you have to learn to work hard even when it is boring! My daughter got to uptrain during her repeat season, but only when level 4 stuff was done and done pretty.

The joys of gymnastics parenting. I miss the days when her only complaint was being bored. As the years have gone by more and more issues come up. LOL.
 
That is tough. Since she had issues with stage fright, I would be inclined to keep her a level 4 to build her confidence.
 
Perhaps she could do the first few meets at level to get over stage fright, work more on form, and build confidence. Then comete level 5 second half of the season.
 
Our gym does require all the girls to compete level 4 for 2 years, no matter what. They work level 5 skills inbetween the two competition seasons, and most are sufficient, then they comepete level 4 the second time. Honestly, it has been a wonderful experience for my dd. First year she was getting 36s, winning some, losing some, but second year, Oh My! 37 and 38s AA. She was on top of the podium for just about every meet. It was so fun! The second year competing, is a lot less stressful,more laid back, she really got to enjoy the meets and competing. Had fun and started inserting personality into her routines. Confidence wise, dd would repeat every level and has already asked to repeat 5. LOL! She started training level 5 this summer, just turned 9 and already her routines look gorgeous. She learned her floor and beam in 1 day. She just has some minor polishing to do, like tummy in here, foot turned out there. Her coach said, she could compete tomorrow. Her first meet is also the first weekend in December.



One other thing you need to think about, it is good your child is learning her level 5 skills now, because next year when she goes to Level 5, level 6 skills will be the requirements.
 
Is she on the level 4 or 5 team? If it's 4,then they are already uptraining with the kip and cartwheel on beam. At that level and with a lot of girls not having those skills, I would not expect the team to uptrain further.

I'm not sure advancement would be wise at this stage, with the fear and anxiety. Another year at level 4 will help her considerably with that. And she is right - doing endless kips or handstands on the beam is boring. But it is also necessary. And getting used to the grips is important as well - if the coaches insist on the girls using them in upper levels.

Just keep talking to her about how important this stage is for better success in the upper levels and that if she wants to get there, she has to be disciplined and persistent at the lower levels, even when it is "boring". Relate it to giants if you have girls doing them in the gym. These girls literally do thousands of giants in the course of a year - even after they have mastered them.

At this point, I would have her talk with the coach about what she needs to improve on for each of her skills: straight arms, tight legs for kips, no hesitation for cartwheels on beam, etc. If she has a specific goal for each skill, she will have more motivation to keep working on it.
 
Our gym does require all the girls to compete level 4 for 2 years, no matter what. They work level 5 skills inbetween the two competition seasons, and most are sufficient, then they comepete level 4 the second time. Honestly, it has been a wonderful experience for my dd. First year she was getting 36s, winning some, losing some, but second year, Oh My! 37 and 38s AA. She was on top of the podium for just about every meet. It was so fun! The second year competing, is a lot less stressful,more laid back, she really got to enjoy the meets and competing. Had fun and started inserting personality into her routines. Confidence wise, dd would repeat every level and has already asked to repeat 5. LOL! She started training level 5 this summer, just turned 9 and already her routines look gorgeous. She learned her floor and beam in 1 day. She just has some minor polishing to do, like tummy in here, foot turned out there. Her coach said, she could compete tomorrow. Her first meet is also the first weekend in December.



One other thing you need to think about, it is good your child is learning her level 5 skills now, because next year when she goes to Level 5, level 6 skills will be the requirements.[/QUOTe

As to the 2nd part of your reply....you're going to confuse some people. That's implying this gymmie will be skipping a level. She will still need to learn current L5 skills, so next year if she "moves up," she'll be in L4.
 
Our gym does require all the girls to compete level 4 for 2 years, no matter what. They work level 5 skills inbetween the two competition seasons, and most are sufficient, then they comepete level 4 the second time. Honestly, it has been a wonderful experience for my dd. First year she was getting 36s, winning some, losing some, but second year, Oh My! 37 and 38s AA. She was on top of the podium for just about every meet. It was so fun! The second year competing, is a lot less stressful,more laid back, she really got to enjoy the meets and competing. Had fun and started inserting personality into her routines. Confidence wise, dd would repeat every level and has already asked to repeat 5. LOL! She started training level 5 this summer, just turned 9 and already her routines look gorgeous. She learned her floor and beam in 1 day. She just has some minor polishing to do, like tummy in here, foot turned out there. Her coach said, she could compete tomorrow. Her first meet is also the first weekend in December.



One other thing you need to think about, it is good your child is learning her level 5 skills now, because next year when she goes to Level 5, level 6 skills will be the requirements.[/QUOTe

As to the 2nd part of your reply....you're going to confuse some people. That's implying this gymmie will be skipping a level. She will still need to learn current L5 skills, so next year if she "moves up," she'll be in L4.

Do you know new rules about moving up? I haven't seen anything on it. At our gym, our second year Level 4s, will be going to level 5 next year (and will need their 6 skills) That is what our gym is telling them.
 
Ok, then it sounds like your girls are skipping a level! if they are planning to have your girls in L5 next year, they will never compete current L5 skills. Seems odd to have some do 2 years at L4 and skip current L5. But I do agree that if your DD has fears, it's good to repeat.
 
I think your DD is only enough to be told and understand at age 11 that gymnastics is not all about learning new skills. She may already have her kip and be bored waiting on other kids to get theirs, but she will be working kips for many years to come. I'm sure there is much perfecting to be done and she should focus on that. DD's gym has a day where they just work basics on every event. There are days where they don't even really do any skills on certain events. It's just part of gymnastics unfortunately. Learning new skills gives my DD a high for sure, but they also have to enjoy the daily grind. It's not for everyone for sure. I know DD has had a lot of friends who were not very excited by this.
 
I think your DD is only enough to be told and understand at age 11 that gymnastics is not all about learning new skills. She may already have her kip and be bored waiting on other kids to get theirs, but she will be working kips for many years to come. I'm sure there is much perfecting to be done and she should focus on that. DD's gym has a day where they just work basics on every event. There are days where they don't even really do any skills on certain events. It's just part of gymnastics unfortunately. Learning new skills gives my DD a high for sure, but they also have to enjoy the daily grind. It's not for everyone for sure. I know DD has had a lot of friends who were not very excited by this.
DD's coach likes to point out that the Olympic gymnasts can still improve on their back handsprings in order to make the point that the basics aren't as easy as the girls like to pretend they are once they think they "have them".
 
It sounds like she is uptraining already. As for doing alot of kips---that is just part of the sport. She'll work many skills thousands of times to correct little things and have the skills mastered.
 
Oh yes, you have both gotten to the root of DD. She is all about the new skills. I do think I have an adrenaline junky on my hands. Don't even ask her about roller coasters! I have asked her about how she is feeling going into meet season and she replied "Confident". I am hoping this is an indication that her stage fright has lessened. Hopefully the excitement of the meet season (new uniforms, meets out of the gym) is what she is missing.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
It's a tough situation that lots of girls find them in, but just let your DD know how much better off she'll be when they move along to long hang kips, free hips, and other higher level skills. Is level 4 where you are just a fall season? Or will she be competing through the spring? Perhaps there could be a chance of a mid-season move up if she keeps progressing the way she has been and is rocking level all through the fall meets.
 
I would talk to the coach, it is possible that they haven't realized they are teaching all new skills but not to your Dd. if the group is developing and progressing the coach can feel like it is successful for everyone and they may forget that one certain child hasn't been given any new challenges.
 
Well, at the end of last week we learned the head coach is no longer with the gym. As a result the owner is taking the head coaching position and will be having the team girls evaluated this week. I think I will wait and see the results of the eval and decide how to proceed from there.

Thanks for your thoughts, I really appreciate it.
 

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