WAG Holding a gymnast back

[mimi]

Hi all,

After thinking about it for a long time, we have recently made a gym switch. The coaching wasn't stable at our old gym, and I have now found out that my dd has some bad habits that she needs to fix, especially on bars. The new gym has a stable coach who has been there for years and a more successful program.

At the old gym, girls were moved up in level very quickly, my daughter included (went from preteam to level 5 in a year). At the new gym girls typically spend 2 years at both level 4 and 5. My daughter will be a second year level 5 and I am starting to get concerned that she is being held back, based on some of her skills. She has a very good back tuck and back layout on floor. She can do 1/2's and fulls into a pit. She has a record of 9 press handstands in a row. She has a backhandspring on beam. BUT her bars need work.

She is almost 10 and in love with the sport. She will pass up doing just about anything to do gymnastics. She is only projected to be about 4'10" and I know I'm her mom, but I feel like she could go pretty far with the sport if she keeps up her hard work and drive.

Bottom line...is staying on level 5, (as opposed to PrepOp or push for level 7, like some other area gyms wanted to do with her) holding her back? I'm trying to trust in the coach...but just want to put my daughter in the best situation possible for the future. Sorry so long winded!

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

To be honest, bars is the gatekeeper to Level 7. Does your DD have a strong clear
(free) hip or is she doing giants? Without those skills her bar scores will really suffer alot.
Even in PrepOp, without a strong clear hip scores will be much lower.
Hopefully, if she does repeat level 5, her gym will continue uptraining so by next season
she will be completely ready for Level 7.
As another poster has said in the past, gymnastics is a marathon, not a sprint.
Good luck to your DD. And even if she does repeat she will rock the podium as a second year level 5.

 

[sglemon]

I wouldn't look at it as being held back, especially if that is the norm for the new gym. It is just their policy, and shouldn't be looked at as a negative. Our gym requires the girls to repeat Level 4 and it is a very positive experience. The difference in form that 1 year makes is HUGE for most of the girls. It is great they have all the skills, just about everyone who competes at the same level does. It is those .1 points in form that makes the difference between a 38 score and a 36 score. Girls, at our gym in various levels have been held back for several reasons, and I don't think it was ever a bad thing. Second year girls come out looking better and feeling more confident. Overall, at our gym the number 1 reason girls are held back is because of bars. They feel you need to be scoring mid 9s, to be successful on bars at the next level. Each level, scoring just gets more and more difficult. I have seen strong bar girls, scoring mid 8 and low 9s in level 5, drop down to 6s and 7s in level 6. If there are some bad habits on bars, future scoring can be really hard. Fixing the problems now, will only help. Especially if you feel you child has a future in the sport, I wouldn't hurt her chances by trying to push her up before she is ready. How exciting and confidence building will it be for her to do level 7 and score 32s? She is not being held back, she is only being slowed down, so she can learn the proper way to do things, break bad habits and to boost her chances of success in the future.

My dd came out of her second year competing level 4 super strong and polished. She has scored over 9.5 on all the events at one time or another. She has all of her level 5 skills, all of her 6 skills. Her current skill she is working on is her backwalk over back handspring stepout connection on the beam. She is competing level 5 this year. Competition doesn't start until December and she is only has to polish her routines at this point, stomach in here, smile there, foot turned out here, sort of thing. She is excited and confident to start a new competition season. That is never a negative thing.

 

[mimi]

Thanks for the feedback. Bars are definitely the issue, clear hip is pretty good, body position is an issue, connections, only doing giants on strap bar, does cast to handstand, but no kip cast to handstand. It's frustrating because the other events have come very easy to her. It is hard for her to listen to the kids from her other gym talk about how they are scoring out of 6 and going right to preop and many are not scoring nearly as well as dd. But, as you said, it is a marathon, not a sprint!

Here's hoping that with the 2013 changes, she doesn't become a 4 year level 5...

 

[vagymmomma]

L6 bars is very challenging with the cast requirements. It sounds if they hold her back she will rock when she moves on. It's really hard but try to trust the coaches.

 

[gymgal]

Thanks for the feedback. Bars are definitely the issue, clear hip is pretty good, body position is an issue, connections, only doing giants on strap bar, does cast to handstand, but no kip cast to handstand. It's frustrating because the other events have come very easy to her. It is hard for her to listen to the kids from her other gym talk about how they are scoring out of 6 and going right to preop and many are not scoring nearly as well as dd. But, as you said, it is a marathon, not a sprint!

It's tough to watch the other girls move ahead, but keep remembering why you moved her in the first place. Moving to fast will not get them ahead in the long run. Your dd will likely meeting up with them again at 7 or 8 because the other gym hasn't taken enough time build that important foundation. Personally, I am not a fan of a universal "2 year policy" for any level and definitely not for 2 compulsory levels in a row. That seems a bit too much. But obviously they are big on form, which will only help your dd in the future.

As for bars, it is what hinders most gymnasts. So she's not alone. She will get it. It will eventually just click. Bars comes comparatively easy for my dd but she has a heck of a time learning tumbling (both fear and mechanics). Everyone usually has one event where they struggle.

 

[iwannacoach]

Progress in the sport can be measured with many diferent values. Milestones that appeal to one child may be completely dismissed by another. So it really is up to the individual to decide which metric to embrace.

I tend to favor skill development and execution over all others, including "mastery" of disposable compulsory skills where elements are being polished to the extreme for competion and never used past that level....think mill circle, front hip cast, beam dismounts from a handstand. There long term benifits in learning how these skills work, but only short term benifits in polishing them for competition, as it's just as easy to teach good form with skills that have carry-over value or future utility.

Possibly the new gym is holding kids at L4 and L5 to uptrain them with-out respect for their competition level to grease to way to the upper levels. Two years at L4 or L5 sounds like a good way to have more time for future skills, while still providing competition experience. If that's the case, where do I send my resume'?

Looking at your dd's age, time since being "discovered", her current abilities on floor and beam, assuming vault is on par with beam/floor, and factoring in some wasted time and opportunities while at the last gym......no panic buttons need be pushed. Take a video of her training on each event, really do this, and follow it in six months with a second video. Watch these two videos back to back six months from now...........That's when, and only then, to question your decision.

 

[mimi]

They definitely uptrain in the off season so I am hoping that what you said about providing competition experience while creating more time with future skills is exactly what the coach tries to do. Thank you so much for your insightful comments, it really helped me to feel as if I haven't made a huge mistake. I know that the coaching is much better at this gym, but the time thing had me concerned. Glad to hear it is not too late to make a run at this sport. She could end up changing her mind someday about gymnastics, but for right now she is charged up, and I want to make sure I am providing the best possible situation for her. Thank you again and I'll keep you all posted!

Progress in the sport can be measured with many diferent values. Milestones that appeal to one child may be completely dismissed by another. So it really is up to the individual to decide which metric to embrace.

I tend to favor skill development and execution over all others, including "mastery" of disposable compulsory skills where elements are being polished to the extreme for competion and never used past that level....think mill circle, front hip cast, beam dismounts from a handstand. There long term benifits in learning how these skills work, but only short term benifits in polishing them for competition, as it's just as easy to teach good form with skills that have carry-over value or future utility.

Possibly the new gym is holding kids at L4 and L5 to uptrain them with-out respect for their competition level to grease to way to the upper levels. Two years at L4 or L5 sounds like a good way to have more time for future skills, while still providing competition experience. If that's the case, where do I send my resume'?

Looking at your dd's age, time since being "discovered", her current abilities on floor and beam, assuming vault is on par with beam/floor, and factoring in some wasted time and opportunities while at the last gym......no panic buttons need be pushed. Take a video of her training on each event, really do this, and follow it in six months with a second video. Watch these two videos back to back six months from now...........That's when, and only then, to question your decision.

 

[SignHere]

Also, depending on the state, competition at 10 and under in Level 7 is CRAZY! For example, my friend's kid scored something like a 37 last year at one meet and didn't even get on the podium! So it is really better to make sure her bars are good before moving up. Also, at our gym, a lot of girls do 2 years at level 5 while up training level 6 skills, score out of level 6 and move up to level 7. Level 6 isn't a real popular level . The judging is a lot pickier and it's a lot harder to do well . The consensus seems to be that it's better to move em up to 7.

 

[ALgymMom]

At our gym moving up a level always seems to be based on bars. I've always found that odd & a little unfair to some girls. My daughter is very strong on bars , weak on beam, average at floor & vault, but yet she will get moved up before another girl that is weak on bars & amazing at beam, floor & vault. Me & the other moms can never figure that one out & honestly, it can be a little uncomfortable for me & DD.... Just seems like coaches make such a bi deal out of bars.

 

[Chocoholic]

A little off-topic here, but how do you know that your daughter will only be 4'10"? Not to be too nosy, but if she has had a bone scan or some other testing that shows this, have you spoken with her pediatrician about growth hormone testing? My nephew has been diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency and is receiving therapy for that. I know that being small is good for gymnastics, but there are health detriments if that lack of growth is because of a hormone deficiency that is left untreated.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Bars is a large factor in move ups because you can't just talent your way through a bar routine. You need a high level of strength and technique even for the basics.

 

[lhmom]

Bars is a large factor in move ups because you can't just talent your way through a bar routine. You need a high level of strength and technique even for the basics.

I think that is how DD's coaches feel. There's a girl who will compete level 5 with DD who could've been bumped up to 5 last season if it hadn't been for bars. Unlike the other events, she just plain struggles on picking up bar skills and it takes time for her to get the proper form once she does have them. Her mom feels it's the right approach. The HC uptrains the girls so this girl still gets to work on harder skills but she also gets a chance to get the proper technique on her weakest event. It may be that once your daughter cleans up her bar form, she will progress quickly. Good luck to her at her new gym!

 

[gym law mom]

You mentioned your dd has some bad habits to fix on bars as well as it being her weakest event. You also said this gym has a good coach and is pretty successful. Don't draw paralells between the new and old gym----they move kids at different rates and obviously let girls with less than correct skills move up. Use this year to get all the bar problems corrected because bars is very hard to score well on without good technique. As someone else pointed out the girls from the old gym will probably struggle or stall out and your dd will be competing against them again in 1-2 years.

 

[mimi]

That's a sensitive subject for us. Yes, she has had testing. All blood work came back normal and there was no growth hormone deficiency. The 4'10" is just a prediction, I am personally hoping that she makes it to at least 5 feet. I am only 5 feet tall, and my husband is 5'4" so the genetics dictate that we will probably have small children. Her height is something that she has been sensitive about in the past, but it has gotten a lot better since she started gymnastics. I am definitely not ignoring a would be health problem just so that she can be small for gymnastics. As a mom, I worry about her everyday, as I think most moms do about their children, but my husband and I have tried to teach our children that people come in all different shapes and sizes and if she does wind up being 4'10" or even shorter I am going to teach her to embrace it instead of feeling like there is something wrong with her. Small stature doesn't seem to have held people like Gabby Douglass or Shawn Johnson too much in life!

A little off-topic here, but how do you know that your daughter will only be 4'10"? Not to be too nosy, but if she has had a bone scan or some other testing that shows this, have you spoken with her pediatrician about growth hormone testing? My nephew has been diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency and is receiving therapy for that. I know that being small is good for gymnastics, but there are health detriments if that lack of growth is because of a hormone deficiency that is left untreated.

 

[mimi]

Thank you to all who have posted about being held back. Deep down inside I know that everything that everyone said is true, I was just getting discouraged and you all pulled me out of it. Thank you!!

 

[Chocoholic]

So glad to hear you had your daughter tested, Mimi. I was very short through middle school and then suddenly grew so you never know. My best friend in elementary school and I were always the first two in line (for some reason they lined us up by height back then!). She's still petite and I'm average. She's beautiful and her lack of inches has never held her back in life! I'm sure your daughter will fare just as well. My daughter is very short right now as well; I don't care what height she ends up as long as she is happy and healthy!