Parents Introduction and Questions

[GymMomK]

Hello

I'm a long time lurker and truly appreciate all the information I have read here! I'm kind of a quiet person, so not sure how often I will post, but it is nice to know there are others out there in the same boat!

My dd is 11 and a level 9 gymnast. We live in a state where gymnastics is not as "important" as other sports (or as important as it is in other states) and it makes me sad/frustrated/confused/etc. My dd only practices 16 hours a week, 1 coach, 3 girls. They are planning to try something new this summer, more girls, but also more coaches, same time.

DD went to regionals today and actually had her worst meet of the season All of a sudden, she has decided that the judges make her nervous. She looks great in gym, but at the meet, she fell apart. Does anyone know if this is normal? It reminds me of test anxiety. (I'm a teacher). And is it something that tends to get better with age/experience/maturity? I found Doctor Ali's stuff and was wondering what kind of reputation she has in the gym world or here? Should I order any of her stuff? And if so, what is best?

Also, what are your thoughts on gymnasts who live in areas where the kids just don't put in the practice hours like the other areas? Is it possible with extra conditioning (with a trainer) she can compete with other girls who practice more? Her ultimate goal is college gymnastics? I know it is a while off, but I want her to have some kind of chance.

Thanks

 

[txgymfan]

Hi, Welcome to CB! Lots of people on here love Doc Ali. Part of the new nervousness could be age. At 11 she is starting to see how her meets affect her future, so that could be a reason for her nerves. Also at age 11 and a level 9 she has a better chance than many to go on to do college gym. She still has time to get more skills for 10 and get better at competing. Good Luck and welcome to CB!

 

[MaryA]

I would think that an 11-year-old level 9 must be getting pretty good training, to have come so far at such a young age. With a small group like that, she can probably get more out of a shorter practice. An 11-year-old level 9 should be in a good place to have a crack at scholarships too, I would think.

Some people swear by the Doc Ali stuff. When my DD was dealing with some stress/anxiety issues, I showed the Doc Ali website to her (at the time she was also 11, and a level 7) and she was very against even trying it. I felt like, if there was a chance of it helping her, she'd have to be on board and she most definitely wasn't.

Welcome to CB!

 

[GymMomK]

I would think that an 11-year-old level 9 must be getting pretty good training, to have come so far at such a young age. With a small group like that, she can probably get more out of a shorter practice. An 11-year-old level 9 should be in a good place to have a crack at scholarships too, I would think.

Some people swear by the Doc Ali stuff. When my DD was dealing with some stress/anxiety issues, I showed the Doc Ali website to her (at the time she was also 11, and a level 7) and she was very against even trying it. I felt like, if there was a chance of it helping her, she'd have to be on board and she most definitely wasn't.

Welcome to CB!

Thank you for your reply.

I will let her look at the site in the next couple days. I was going to just order the book(s). But, you're right, if she isn't on board, I would be wasting my money!

Her coach talks a good talk and says she's open to anything, so I thought about getting her the book for coaches. If dd decides she wants to try the program, I think I'll get the coach one and they will be on the same page and able to use the same language.

 

[Gymmommy71]

I agree that she must be getting pretty good training, and/or she's extremely talented, to make it to L9 by age 11 w/ a low number of hours in a non-serious gym state/city . Time is on her side definitely when it comes to college gymnastics, and she probably is at a low risk for burnout since she's only going 16 hours (as opposed to the 24+ a lot L9's do).

My DD has a tendency to underperform on beam and bars because she's extremely affraid of falling at a meet - it gets frustrating.

 

[iwannacoach]

I've sat here for about five minutes trying to envision a 16 hr training schedule that would "be enough"..... and I just can't get there when considering some of the basics that need to be included in a training program. I'm thinking an absolute bare minimum of 2hrs 10 minutes daily on just general warm-up, strength, flexibility, and beam. Assuming the 16 hours are 4 days of 4 hours, that allows just 110 minutes each practice for everything else....... like bars, floor, vault, and whatever.

It may be enough to keep up with the other gyms in your state, but I just don't see it working beyond that setting, and certainly not at level 10...... even if the ratio is 3/1. In a sense....... her 16 hour week won't burn her out, but working so few hours compared to her peers in other states may.

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

I'm thinking the 16 hours a week will catch up with her. You don't "save" 8 hours in a week by having less kids in the group. So compared to another child just like her elsewhere, they are putting in 50% more time. That is bound to have results.

Did she have her worst meet ever because she started fearing judges, or did she start fearing judges after having her worst meet? I know a few kids who, after having a bad meet, have a hard time mentally working past it, especially when they are competitive by nature.

At DD's gym, they do a lot of show routines, and spotlight on certain girls, but it is a big gym with 30+ girls in there at any given time. The spotlight puts them in the hot seat with everyone stopping to watch. The girls say it helps mimic the pressure of being watched/judged.

Good luck with your daughter.

 

[Muddlethru]

Welcome GymMomK. I too have an 11 year old Level 9 who practices actually 15 hours a week. I had to read your post carefully because you may be a member of our team. When my daughter did TOPS as a 9 and 10 year old, she was among the few that was still in the lower levels and trained for only a couple months to prepare for both state and national testing. At the national testing many 9 year old were already homeschooled and training 20-30 hours a week. So I too wondered if my daughter even had a chance at competing successfully against the high powered gyms. In addition, while her coach is pretty good, the coach is lacking in experience. So, I don't know what her future holds in gymnastics. But I am also unsure what her dreams are. She seems happy practicing those hours, having a little extra time to do other things. I watch Technique Tuesday and Workout Wednesday at gymnastike and can see the difference between the coaching at those gyms compared to my daughter's gym. And there is a significant difference. But those girls have committed to training elite. I don't know if my daughter and our family can commit to that or even if my daughter wants to. Sixteen hours a week may be enough depending on your goals.

Was the L9 regionals her first regional meet? Falling apart at this last regional meet, may just be an isolated incident. All gymnasts, even the great ones, have bad meets. Dr. Ali has a great reputation in the industry. But I've never bought her stuff. My daughter is resistant to any advice from me. Plus I think at 11, she is already overloaded with everything she does in gymnastics. Iwannacoach explained to me that these kids are learning significant number of skills at a fast rate that oftentimes they may feel like a "sinking ship". Add to that school, friendships, any other extracurricular activities, dance, playing an instrument and on our household maintaining a high GPA. With all the that they are learning, I don't know how much more I can effectively contribute or they can digest. Plus from my time reading posts here, the girls time in gymnastics has a lot of peaks and valleys.

 

[okie]

This is quite interesting. Gymnastics seems to require such an early and extensive commitment. One girl at our gym tried gymnastics for the first time at six and was practicing level 5 within two months, winning all level 4 meets with ease - a natural. Every physical and mental attribute is in her favor. If SHE were my daughter, I would feel comfortable moving to a gym with an elite track, even if it meant making some tough decisions. My daughter will soon begin competitive new level 3, practicing 9 hours a week at 6 years old. While she is talented and athletic, she is not what I would consider a "natural." Therefore, I don't feel inclined to worry about hours in the gym. So, my theory is to take an honest look at your daughter's talent, desire, and goals. If elite or college gymnastics is genuinely her goal and she is super talented (which it sounds like she is), I would get her more hours in the gym. That's my two cents, anyways. I wish you and your DD the best. Keep us updated!

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[my4buffaloes]

I got the Doc Ali workbook for my dd last year - she had just turned 12 - and I do think it helped her with the mental aspect of things. We are currently reading a couple of good books on the mental aspects of sports and those have also helped. Mind Gyms is very good and I will have to look up the name of the other one if you are interested. Those are fairly low hours for a level 9. Are you willing to do privates? Is her coach willing to up the hours - at least over the summer when everyone seems to have more time. I know my dds go more hours during the summer and that helps. Good luck!

 

[GymMomK]

In a sense....... her 16 hour week won't burn her out, but working so few hours compared to her peers in other states may.

I totally agree!!!

Her coach and I do not see eye to eye on the training hours! We are quite different in our work ethics (not sure this is the best word, but I'm trying to be nice). Even my dd wants more and has taken it upon herself to workout on her own time (conditioning).

 

[GymMomK]

I'm thinking the 16 hours a week will catch up with her. You don't "save" 8 hours in a week by having less kids in the group. So compared to another child just like her elsewhere, they are putting in 50% more time. That is bound to have results.

This is what worries me, honestly!

We have no other options in our area! The closest "serious" gym is at least 3 hours away. Moving at this point is not an option for our family.

 

[GymMomK]

I got the Doc Ali workbook for my dd last year - she had just turned 12 - and I do think it helped her with the mental aspect of things. We are currently reading a couple of good books on the mental aspects of sports and those have also helped. Mind Gyms is very good and I will have to look up the name of the other one if you are interested. Those are fairly low hours for a level 9. Are you willing to do privates? Is her coach willing to up the hours - at least over the summer when everyone seems to have more time. I know my dds go more hours during the summer and that helps. Good luck!

I will check out Mind Gym! And DD gave me the go ahead to order the Doc Ali book.

I plan on talking to gym owner this week about hours.

 

[gymdog]

I'll go against the grain and say I think it's fine at this point. Especially since you said her goal is NCAA and she's ELEVEN. She's already way ahead of the curve (most 11 year olds are level 7s). She's younger than like 90% of level 9s (I made this up, but certainly younger than the majority).

Plus I know people who made it to nationals doing about that many hours, that's four four-hour practices a week. With three kids in the group? I have never been to a gym that has three kids in the group. You could easily take twice as many turns with a spot and/or feedback as in other gyms. Maybe two more hours a week would be good for conditioning and basics, but seriously, don't let people on here freak you out about how much your 11 year old is training. She has about 7 more years to do more hours and if she made it to regionals we know she's at least a competent level 9.

 

[GymMomK]

I'll go against the grain and say I think it's fine at this point. Especially since you said her goal is NCAA and she's ELEVEN. She's already way ahead of the curve (most 11 year olds are level 7s). She's younger than like 90% of level 9s (I made this up, but certainly younger than the majority).

Plus I know people who made it to nationals doing about that many hours, that's four four-hour practices a week. With three kids in the group? I have never been to a gym that has three kids in the group. You could easily take twice as many turns with a spot and/or feedback as in other gyms. Maybe two more hours a week would be good for conditioning and basics, but seriously, don't let people on here freak you out about how much your 11 year old is training. She has about 7 more years to do more hours and if she made it to regionals we know she's at least a competent level 9.

Thank you so much for your input!

Yes, she was one of the youngest at Regionals as she just turned 11.

I will say that when I go to practice she is constantly moving. Our gym has 6 beams so when it is beam time, all the girls are working. On floor, its always either tumbling, leaps/jumps, routines, or basics. There are 2 sets of bars and DD has her own setting so she's always swinging. Vault and coach's attention, she does have to take turns

 

[Natasha]

It sounds like her time in the gym is high quality time, which will go a long way, and if she is conditioning on her own (especially on off gym days) then I would think that is sufficient. Obviously she is ahead of the game. We live in one of the "less serious" states too, and Optional girls here tend to practice anywhere from 15-20 hours a week.
At 11 she has a lot of years to go for NCAA, I don't see any rush or reason to up training hours yet. While most girls will need more hours to be highly successful L10 athletes, there are always exceptions, your dd may be the exception.

As far as nerves go, I agree with other posters- it is probably a combination of her age and realizing what is at stake. Level 9 regionals is the first meet for many talented gymnasts that actually "matters" as performance will determine if you go to Easterns or not.

 

[gymboymom]

You have gotten some great advice. I just wanted to say that I got to meet doc Ali and ask her some questions about my non gym dd and auditioning for theater and I was very impressed! Good luck!

 

[gymmomtoo]

Sounds like she's making great use of her time at the gym! And to be 11 yr and a level 9 is awesome. She's clearly doing something well. I love Doc Ali! My daughter's gym does it weekly with the girls at the gym and my daughter does the web camp each week. It's really helped her a lot. The web camp is somewhat expensive, but your daughter can try it for two weeks for free to see if she likes it--might give her a good jump into doing the book on her own too.

 

[B&M's mom]

Last year when my daughter was also 11 and a Level 9, she crashed and burned at Regionals. She got nervous and came apart. We did get the Dr. Ali workbook and the CD which she tried. She liked it and it gave her some good coping mechanisms. Was it the solution to the problem, not really. However, I would not hesitate to get it again.

It seems based on conversations that I've had with other parents that this age (11-13) is really hard. The girls now realize what these competitions mean both now and for the future and it can play with their minds. This year, she and I have talked about being nervous (note, she somehow didn't realize that everyone gets nervous over something) and coping mechanisms. We also talked about the larger picture and how gymnastics fits into her life. I found out that she was worried about my reaction, thinking that I really wanted her to succeed rather wanting it for herself. That was adding pressure in her mind that didn't really exist. So there was a lot going on besides just plain nervousness.

She's coming to grips with what she wants from the sport and that seems to be helping the most. Of course, being 12, almost 13, that changes daily!

 

[kayjaybe]

Interesting about the time in the gym. I don't mean to hijack, but our L10s practice just 16 hours/week and they do quite well at state, regional and national competitions. Our graduating seniors that want to continue gym frequently get scholarships, although I couldn't tell you the level of the school those scholarships are for.

Just wondering about the general statement of the time in the gym not being enough.